Rising hip-hop star ReeCee has Charlotte 'Rapped' around her finger

02/24/22 • 29 min

This has been a historic year for women in rap and hip-hop, all the way to the 2021 Grammy Awards when Megan Thee Stallion and Beyoncé broke records as the first pair of women to win in the best rap performance category. As NPR Music put it, “To know what tomorrow sounds like, one need only listen to the women in rap today.” And to know what the future of Charlotte hip-hop is, one need only turn to rhythmic lyricist ReeCee Raps.

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'Those roots are really here': From the Carter Family to Bill Monroe, unearthing the hidden history of Charlotte country music

Back in the 1930s, more country music was recorded in Charlotte than in Nashville, Tennessee. Some of the Charlotte recordings from that period have become part of the essential canon of traditional country music, from "the first family of country" — the Carter Family — to the first career steps of "the father of bluegrass" Bill Monroe. So how did Charlotte become the center for country music? And why isn't it any longer?