About South

Over the last twenty years, we’ve seen a dramatic increase in southern hip_hop artists; however, there are several distinctly southern artists who are not necessarily considered in conversations about southern musical traditions. We sit down with Scott Heath, a scholar of African American literature and culture, to talk about the southern inflections of neosoul music. We also discuss soul artists Ray Charles, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Al Green, and Nina Simone, and we listen to music by Taylor Swift, Outkast, James Brown, Erykah Badu, and Maceo Parker in order to investigate the qualities that make a sound “southern.” Learn more about this episode at www.aboutsouthpodcast.com. | Co-Producers: Gina Caison & Kelly Vines | | Music: Brian Horton | www.brianhorton.com |