Any claims of internet-age rap’s “post-regionalism” only go so far when considering Detroit, a perennially underwritten city for about as long as rap’s existed, save for that one time Eminem won an Oscar. Like all the most exciting regional rap movements, Detroit’s street rap scene has been steadily bubbling over the past few years; since 2013 in particular, the city’s been churning out criminally overlooked projects from guys like Doughboyz Cashout (and related members), Icewear Vezzo, Pablo Skywalkin, and more. But the city’s new wave of rappers isn’t actually all that new: it’s a direct continuation of the raw, late 90s/early 00s-nodding street raps groups that helped shaped Detroit gangster rap in the era of Cash Money and No Limit’s retaliatory materialism.
Doughboyz Cashout: "Boss Yo Life Up"
The Midwest has shed its reputation as flyover territory for thriving local rap scenes over the last few years; but while an unprecedented spotlight introduced emerging Chicago rappers to a national audience starting around the drill boom of 2012, Detroit’s burgeoning street rap scene hasn’t seen the same sort of coverage. When Detroit rappers do cross over, it tends to be for their singularity: individual rappers like Danny Brown, Big Sean, or Eminem likely come to mind before any unified regional trends—understandably so, given the city’s track record for weirdo trailblazing, from Juan Atkins to ICP. But where Chicago’s drill scene has arguably stagnated over the past year—as the subgenre’s big names have drifted further left-field and produced fewer immediately compelling full-length projects, its initial spark has dulled—Detroit street rap has been quietly flourishing. (Ask Drake, effectively rap’s most influential A&R, who recently bestowed his almighty cosign on Motor City rap-singer Dej Loaf and her buzzing single “Try Me”.)
Quis: "Mayweather" [ft. Payroll Giovanni]
Ascendent local favorites—including Doughboyz Cashout, Icewear Vezzo, Pablo Skywalkin, and Stunthard Hotboyz—don’t have the crossover potential of the city’s more bankable acts, in all likelihood. In fact, Detroit’s street rap scene is fairly hype-averse, more informed by the sounds and aesthetics of the late 90s and early 00s than any trends circulating in 2014. (Doughboyz Cashout, the west side supergroup with the best shot at crossover appeal—if for no other reason than their affiliation with Jeezy’s CTE label—haven’t updated their official Twitter account since 2013, a solid indication of the grassroots nature of their come-up.) Their styles gesture back toward Cash Money and No Limit in their prime: blunt murder-piano evoking Mannie Fresh at his gruffest (think “All On U” or “Tha Block Is Hot”); the casual slap of Silkk the Shocker-era Beats By The Pound productions; even the increasingly rare propensity to rap in Hot Boys-style supergroups.
Eastside Chedda Boys "I'm a Chedda Boy"
But the style is as firmly rooted in Detroit as it is indebted to Baby or Master P. The precedent for the current wave of Pen & Pixel’d turn-of-the-century revivalists was laid out by Detroit groups active around the time of Cash Money and No Limit’s heydays—specifically, the sprawling supergroup Eastside Chedda Boyz and opposing west side crew, the Street Lordz. Despite the longstanding rivalry between the city’s east and west sides, the groups’ territory clashes weren’t based so much in geography as they were in name; members of the Street Lordz, including central figure Blade Icewood (whose own style sat somewhere between B.G. and Mac Dre), claimed to have originated the name Chedda Boyz and bristled at the Eastside Chedda Boyz’ alleged appropriation. Their rivalry culminated in tragedy: Eastside Chedda Boyz’ Wipeout was shot and killed in 2004; Blade Icewood was shot in retaliation that same week (he survived, but was killed the following year).
Though neither group managed to create much buzz on a national scale (not for lack of trying—the Street Lordz’ Platinum Masterpiece album featured guest spots from Baby, Juvenile, and Beanie Sigel), they achieved cult status in their hometown. Both groups’ legacies are integral to the blueprint for the current sounds of the city, Eastside Chedda Boyz’ 1999 album Makin’ Chedda on the Eastside in particular—from their tendency to roll absurdly deep to their fondness for brittle beats that often evoke someone strategically mashing a keyboard with his elbows. Doughboyz Cashout’s “Boss The Fuck Up” directly references one of Blade Icewood’s biggest songs, “Boy Would You (Boss Up)”; group member Kiddo makes the influence even more explicit on a cut from his recent solo project Breaking All The Rules: “I wanna fuck the city up how Blade did it/ I want the Range Rover truck how Blade did it.”
Blade Icewood: "Boy Would You (Boss Up)"
Doughboyz Cashout formed in 2006 from the union of two previously existing groups (Doughboyz and Cashoutboyz) and signed with Jeezy in 2013. The number of official members vacillates frequently, ranging anywhere from four to twelve-ish, and the majority of members have good-to-great solo careers to boot. (See Kiddo, otherwise known as HBK; Yae Yae Jordan, whose recent single “Everybody Getting Shot” is about as staunchly matter-of-fact as it gets, evoking drill’s chilling nonchalance in the face of violence; and Payroll Giovanni, perhaps the group’s most talented member, whose 2013 Get Money Stay Humble tape was full of effortless punchlines like “I’m the man again, face it/ Hit the Louie store and even leave the mannequins naked.”) Gangster-rap supergroups in 2014 are hardly fashionable, and even less profitable; in an age where it can feel like a feat of endurance to slog through a three-and-change minute music video without restlessly opening a few other tabs, songs crammed with four distinct verses might seem like an overly optimistic test of the audience’s patience.
But the group’s transcended any dated practices to become the scene’s biggest name; their 2012 album, Free Roc, remains one of Midwest rap’s best full-length projects of the past few years, with this year’s excellent fourth installment of their We Run The City mixtape series in close competition. While they’ve jumped on a couple of by-now-requisite DJ Mustard productions, and borrowed some starpower from Jeezy and labelmate YG on their 2013 collaborative tape, the group has stayed true to their Y2K-era influences—thanks in no small part to Helluva, the local producer responsible for their best beats, who wears his Mannie Fresh admiration on his sleeve. And while the group’s lyrics mostly hinge around bling-era conceits and grimy hustlers’ tales, they’re often studded with thoughtful self-reflection, as on “My Idols”: “Most of my idols either dead or in the fucking cell/ Or on the run, all by their motherfucking selves/ Kids prolly look at us like we like them guys/ But we ain’t shit compared to niggas that we idolize.”
Doughboyz Cashout: "Woke Up" [ft. Jeezy & Yo Gotti]
On the east side of the city, Icewear Vezzo has been building his own buzz, spurred largely by the late-pass success of “Money Phone”, initially released in 2012 but given a second wind by a recent remix from Atlanta veteran Rocko. Troubling echoes of the longstanding east/west rivalry re-emerge in Vezzo’s relationship to Doughboyz Cashout; he’s admitted to playing a role in last year’s brutal robbery of Doughboyz member HBK. He might also be the most lyrically proficient of his peers; on his Clarity 3 mixtape, released in June, he drops clever, unshowy one-liners like “Earrings twerking, chain do the nae nae” (“Respect”) with calm but unfazeable confidence.
Pablo Skywalkin: "Flex On Em"
The group with the most overt tendency for Cash Money references is Stunthard Hotboyz (to wit: they’re a four-piece group that literally call themselves Hotboyz). Like their peers, the Hotboyz gravitate towards stabby piano blasts and menacing, piled-on steel drums, often recruiting Helluva and Pooh Beatz for production. And if all that wasn’t indicative enough of their Cash Money influences, their We On Fire mixtape, released in June, boasts “Hot Girl”, their very literal interpretation of the Hot Boys classic, and Wayne homage “The Block Is Hot”. But the group is more than just a retread: mixtape cuts like “Story” offer dynamic, unpreachy real-talk narratives, and there’s an easy charisma that comes from the members obvious pleasure in rapping as a group (see the light-hearted derailment at the end of “Hot Girl”).
Stunthard Hotboyz: "Where You Been"
All of the above acts draw certain parallels to the lean-muscled slap dominating the DJ Mustard and YG-dominated West Coast. But that aside, not much of Detroit’s not-so-new wave of late-90s-worshipping street rap relates to 2014 trends—a refreshing byproduct of the hyperlocal, grassroots nature of groups like Doughboyz Cashout’s rise. (One has to wonder if something so incarnately 2014 as a Drake cosign would have any significant effect on the Doughboyz’ trajectory whatsoever at this point.) And though it’s no small stretch to picture this wave of Midwestern turn-of-the-century revivalists (or more accurately, preservationists) seeing the same sort of sudden national attention as drill artists did two years ago, it’s safe to say the movement is primed to sustain itself; Detroit could care less if you’re still sleeping.