Unlike New York, where hip-hop and R&B can be heard from Manhattan clubs to Bushwick bars, you rarely see these kind of events listed on Resident Advisor, the go-to gig guide for local London music kids. Luckily, a string of parties called “Player’s Ball” have managed to pack out clubs with lines down the block each month. These parties, along with “Hip Hop Karaoke,” are hosted by Southern Hospitality—a label, blog, and party thrower that’s focused on Southern rap, hip-hop, and R&B. Now in its third year running, DJ and promoter Rob Pursey, David Sadeghi (aka Davey Boy Smith), and DJ Superix have carved out a niche in dance-music-saturated London, exposing and connecting locals with music from Atlanta, South Carolina, the West Coast, and more.
We find out their story below and chat about Makonnen, the “luxurious bass” of R&B, and the crossover between grime music and Young Jeezy.
GRACE WANG: Could you talk a bit about your early influences in music?
ROB PURSEY: All that early ‘90s music was really important to me, so I guess things like Public Enemy, Snoop, and Dr. Dre, NWA, and A Tribe Called Quest.
DAVID SADEGHI: I think my first rap cassettes were Fugees' The Score and LL Cool J's Mr. Smith. But the music that really shaped my formative years can probably be traced back to me picking up the Tear Da Club Up Thugz CD and the full-on Three 6 Mafia obsession that ensued. The feeling I got when listening to [them] at their creative peaks is the feeling I look for when checking for new music.
How did Southern Hospitality first start?
RP: I started writing for Hip Hop Connection, and there was so much good music coming out of the South and the Bay Area—stuff like David Banner and T.I.—and I felt like there needed to be more of that represented over here. We did a blog and just wrote about what we loved.
Why do you think this kind of music was lacking in London? Were people just not exposed or they can’t relate to it as much?
RP: I think it’s sometimes to do with the gatekeepers—who’s writing for the magazines, who owns the clubs, who’s DJing in the clubs. [But] there is a reason why London maybe relates to a New York sound a bit more, because of the intensity of the city and the weather, as opposed to G-Funk. So a grime kid [here] tends to be into [Young] Jeezy and Gucci Mane, Wacka Flocka [Flame], and Rick Ross. It’s got that double time; it’s got that bounce—the tempo’s a bit quicker within the bars.
Southern Hospitality is really good at capturing and promoting up-and-coming artists. What do you look for and how do you stay so up to date?
DS: What we're mostly listening for is someone who lets their emotions flow freely—there's been a wave of new artists who are embracing this very expressive, hyper-melodic style of rapping. [For example,] Makonnen [first grabbed me with] his embodiment of the Based philosophy of not being afraid to embarrass yourself, and you can hear it best when his voice crackles or goes out of tune slightly on certain notes. He has such a strong pop sensibility, but paired with his lucid style of rap songwriting just elevated him far above his peers. I spend at least two hours a night online looking for new artists.
RP: There’s nothing like capturing the music in that [first] moment, when it’s the only thing you want to listen to that day, and nothing else will do. It’s exciting.
You guys also show a lot of love for R&B, too. What is it that draws you to it?
RP: R&B definitely ha
We find out their story below and chat about Makonnen, the “luxurious bass” of R&B, and the crossover between grime music and Young Jeezy.
GRACE WANG: Could you talk a bit about your early influences in music?
ROB PURSEY: All that early ‘90s music was really important to me, so I guess things like Public Enemy, Snoop, and Dr. Dre, NWA, and A Tribe Called Quest.
DAVID SADEGHI: I think my first rap cassettes were Fugees' The Score and LL Cool J's Mr. Smith. But the music that really shaped my formative years can probably be traced back to me picking up the Tear Da Club Up Thugz CD and the full-on Three 6 Mafia obsession that ensued. The feeling I got when listening to [them] at their creative peaks is the feeling I look for when checking for new music.
How did Southern Hospitality first start?
RP: I started writing for Hip Hop Connection, and there was so much good music coming out of the South and the Bay Area—stuff like David Banner and T.I.—and I felt like there needed to be more of that represented over here. We did a blog and just wrote about what we loved.
Why do you think this kind of music was lacking in London? Were people just not exposed or they can’t relate to it as much?
RP: I think it’s sometimes to do with the gatekeepers—who’s writing for the magazines, who owns the clubs, who’s DJing in the clubs. [But] there is a reason why London maybe relates to a New York sound a bit more, because of the intensity of the city and the weather, as opposed to G-Funk. So a grime kid [here] tends to be into [Young] Jeezy and Gucci Mane, Wacka Flocka [Flame], and Rick Ross. It’s got that double time; it’s got that bounce—the tempo’s a bit quicker within the bars.
Southern Hospitality is really good at capturing and promoting up-and-coming artists. What do you look for and how do you stay so up to date?
DS: What we're mostly listening for is someone who lets their emotions flow freely—there's been a wave of new artists who are embracing this very expressive, hyper-melodic style of rapping. [For example,] Makonnen [first grabbed me with] his embodiment of the Based philosophy of not being afraid to embarrass yourself, and you can hear it best when his voice crackles or goes out of tune slightly on certain notes. He has such a strong pop sensibility, but paired with his lucid style of rap songwriting just elevated him far above his peers. I spend at least two hours a night online looking for new artists.
RP: There’s nothing like capturing the music in that [first] moment, when it’s the only thing you want to listen to that day, and nothing else will do. It’s exciting.
You guys also show a lot of love for R&B, too. What is it that draws you to it?
RP: R&B definitely ha