The sound of Memphis is one of rap’s most distinctive and secretly influential: Its hardcore tales of hustle and horror originally emerged from murky DIY cassettes to ultimately change the sound of modern hip-hop entirely. In the early ’90s, 8ball & MJG and their fellow rappers on Suave House Records broke first, with booming 808s, slick pimp tales, and grimy crime rhymes. But the more subterranean moods and slasher-flick imagery of Three 6 Mafia would provide a darker shadow, inspiring future generations of lo-fi producers, bloody-minded horrorcore MCs, hyperactive crunkateers, slow-boiling trap rappers, and more. Mixing the moods of vintage Memphis with contemporary explosive trap beats, younger rappers like Blocboy JB, Young Dolph, and Moneybagg Yo join the Tennessee of past and present.