Thanks to groups like BlackCity, Six One Tribe, and ThirdEye & Co., Music City is experiencing a rap renaissance
Time and time again, local hip-hop has come tantalizingly close to breaking into the mainstream. Young Buck did it in 2004 with his record Straight Outta Cashville, but even a year later, locals were bemoaning the dismal state of the scene in this very paper, pointing to the lack of community as a key reason why local rap was stuck in the mud.
But that was nearly two decades ago. Now, in 2022, a new rap renaissance is unfolding in Music City. Dozens of rappers, constellated into groups and collectives sprawled across the Midstate, are all vying for spots on your heavy-rotation playlists and crossing over into Nashville’s pop and indie-rock scenes. Not only are they building a community, they’re expanding that community into a big tent.
Three of the groups in this ever-expanding hip-hop world — BlackCity, Six One Tribe, and ThirdEye & Co. — represent a small but strong fraction of the blazing-hot talent in Nashville.
