North Florida's kind of weird. Nothing ever seems to get accomplished in T-Town. And the landscape above the I-4 corridor is a desiccant abyss of 'villes (Jacksonville, Gainesville, Crawfordville, etc., I'm talkin' to you).
On the the other hand, South Florida is at the sweltering foreground of the Sunshine State -- teeming with beautiful people, tropical wetlands, and most importantly, cafe con leche (OK, we're biased). Like they say, it's always dirtier in the South. And dirty is usually how we most like our hip-hop.
The region is home to a horde of rap heavyweights -- Miami birthed Uncle Luke's booty bass (the genre turned 20 in March!), and then there's our dearest, bearded talent Rick Ross from right over in Carol City. (Sorry Jax, you can keep Limp Bizkit.) We've compiled a numbered list of South Florida's 25 greatest rappers of all time. The genius starts here.
See also: Miami Booty Bass: Ten Best Acts of All Time
25. Buckwheat Boyz
Hometown: Miami
Style: Baltimore club jamz
Thanks to these dudes, "Ice Cream and Cake" and "Peanut Butter Jelly Time" became party anthems, inspiring viral YouTube videos of fools lathering peanut butter on an imaginary piece of bread. Now where he at?
24. Brisco
Hometown: Opa-locka
Style: Catchy party rap
Brisco has two legitimate singles to his name (the Lil Wayne and Flo Rida collab "Just Know Dat" and nasally club hit "Black Shades"), but British Alexander Michael sure knows how to lay down a diss track. The steady Weezy collaborator released "Waka Blacka" back in 2010, taking shots at the Brick Squad leader, Gucci Mane, and OJ Da Juiceman on Flocka's "O Let's Do It" sample. Brisco mocks Waka for getting shot two times, and calls out Gucci for namedropping him on his song "Heavy." Don't mess with this "Opa Locka Goon."
23. Robb Bank$
Hometown: Coral Springs
Style: Conscious geek rap
Some lyrical genius comes with juvenescence (see Joey Bada$$, Tyler the Creator, Earl Sweatshirt). And it's good to know South Florida's got jits to follow suit.
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Enter Robb Bank$ -- a Coral Springs teen who raps what he feels and what he knows: Pokémon, ex-flings, and fantasies of Game of Thrones' Emilia Clarke fixing him dinner. The diehard anime fan has worked with the Raider Klan's SpaceGhostPurrp, and like his boy, he's not trying to copy mainstream hipster spitter A$AP Rocky. In an interview with New Times, Bank$ stated in regard to his gold shiners: "Every nigga with grills ain't trying to be A$AP Rocky."
22. SpaceGhostPurrp
Hometown: Carol City
Style: Eerie "phonk" noise rap
Amidst the "pop champagne, fuck bitches" ideology that pervades hip-hop, SpaceGhostPurrp is running another game. No, no, he's not just a middle class kid from Broward with a skateboard. The Raider Klan leader's unadulterated Goth-tinged rap taps 666 symbolism, masonic elements, and often equates his old 'hood to a flaming hell.
Whatever the case, Purrp's "Been Fweago," and it'll be interesting to see where him and his crew take the eerie, nightmare-rap trend. He may be young, like Bank$, but he's quickly rising in the ranks as South Florida's finest of the genre.
21. Iconz
Hometown: Miami
Style: Wilin' out party jams
Few remnants remain of Slip-N-Slide crew Iconz on the Internet (barring archived album reviews and label compilations for sale on Amazon), but that doesn't matter. The Florida crew followed Miami bass kings Poison Clan's party rap formula, imbuing the bass with a dirty South twang. Their rowdy club crasher "Get Fucked Up" got those shoulders bouncing, and packed the same punch as early Three Six Mafia. And if you don't remember Iconz, we feel sorry for you.
See also:
Best South Florida Rappers of All Time: From 20 to 16
Best South Florida Rappers of All Time: From 15 to 11
Best South Florida Rappers of All Time: From 10 to 6
Best South Florida Rappers of All Time: From 5 to 1
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