Carte blanche: Crystallmess Memphis special
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Regarded as the godfather of Memphis rap, DJ Spanish Fly has shaped a singular sound since the 1980s—marked by heavy basslines, murky, hypnotic rhythms, and funk and blues samples. A key figure in the underground scene, his tapes circulated throughout Memphis, spawning genre-defining tracks like Get Buck and Gangsta Walk. A major influence on artists such as Three 6 Mafia and 8Ball & MJG, DJ Spanish Fly embodies the raw essence of Southern hip-hop whose legacy continues today.
Originally from Memphis, La Chat rose to prominence in the late 1990s through Three 6 Mafia’s Hypnotize Minds label, with a sharp flow, raw lyrics, and fierce energy. Alongside her close friend and icon Gangsta Boo—whom she remembers in Luna Mahoux’s film—she forged a space for powerful female voices in a male-dominated scene. In 2001, she released her acclaimed solo debut Murder She Spoke, followed by the iconic single Chickenhead with Project Pat, before continuing her independent career with albums, mixtapes, and collaborations.
A cult figure of Memphis’s underground, Tommy Wright III is one of the most influential rappers in the Southern DIY scene. Recording from the early 1990s, he layered rapid-fire flows over frenzied beats in a lo-fi aesthetic. A raw storyteller, his lyrics tackle street life, paranoia, and survival in albums like Ashes II Ashes, Dust II Dust (2006) and The Memphis Maniac (2011), delivering an unfiltered portrait of his city.
A singular voice in American underground rap, Cities Aviv hails from Memphis and began his musical career as the frontman of the punk band Copwatch. Drawing from his DIY roots, he crafts a hybrid sound that blends hip-hop, cloud rap, noise, ambient, and lo-fi textures. Since the 2010s, he has built a radical and introspective body of work, marked by deep vocals and dense production. In 2024, he released two experimental rap albums: Archive & Practice 001 and Cafe Tom Tom.
