In some interview I half-remember reading, Trick Daddy mentioned consciously eschewing booty music to escape the limited definition available to Miami rappers at that time. Understood historically, Trick's trepidation makes perfect sense. His occasional forays into Miami Bass environs, however, are studies in absence along the lines of Ghostface going in on classic breaks—teasers of great music we missed by fluke of an MC born in the wrong era.
Since then, the city has given rise to everything from the international schlock-pop of late-period Pitbull to the manga-aisle armpit sniffers of Raider Klan. Out of Liberty City and the ashes of Pac Jam, Miami-style rap has spread from Broward to Tampa, St. Pete's to Tallahassee, taking new form in the hands of each scene and expanding the possibilities of what a Florida rapper can be. And while MMG and Khaled's kharpetbaggers have burnished most regional identity from Florida's (inter-)national presence, strong pockets of post-Bass articulation continue thriving: in the melodics of jook, the mania of stickin-n-rollin, and a continuing dialogue with New Orleans bounce.
Presented here is a collection of my favorite records to come out of Florida in the last decade or so, songs that neither deny the past nor live in it. You won't find this on the Internet—but as with everything, you can.
GREETINGS FROM THE GUNSHINE STATE!
1. CRISTOL - ALL UP N THRU THERE
2. STRIZZO - UP DOWN #TWERKTEAM (FT. LIL KEE)
3. K KUTTA - PULL OUT THE STICK (FT. S.O. CERTIFIED)
4. DJ CHIPMAN - STICK IT AND ROLL IT
5. P.A. TEEZY - BENNIE BIGGLE WIGGLE
6. UNDA SURVEILLANCE - ON DECK
7. BALLGREEZY - SHONE
8. TAMPA TONY - KEEP JUKIN'
9. PICCALO - STICK AND ROLL
10. GRIND MODE - ECSTASY REMIX (FT. TRICK DADDY)
11. TOM G - JUST JUMPED (FT. J CREEK)
12. NMB STUNNAZ - CLAP THEM THIGHS
13. HUSTLE HOLICZ - THROWED OFF
14. MR. MONEY MAN, WYSEMAN, KIDD - NEIGHBORHOOD SUPERSTAR
