Well, i write about the fucking stuff all over the world, including in magazines you apparently quite like!
Guess that might put me some way into the "head" camp, but, really, what's with all the one-upmanship stuff going on here? It's a bit silly. WTF does it matter if i started listening to hip-hop at the age of 13 or 23, or even 33?
It's utterly moronic to be saying things like "The South killed hip-hop" when it's one of the main regions doing good things and even, as you seem to be completely crazy about this, moving numbers, too - it's not just one style either, but a whole heap of varieties of rap music coming from below the Maso Dixon.
I really don't get this jaundiced, blinkered, true-school view of any kind of music music at all, certainly not music people purport to love and care about.
I also hope to God that plenty of producers and artists from the South, the North, The East and the West consider themselves music listeners, because that's what it takes to make decent music - looking around, feeling your way, drawing on new ideas and seeking fresh directions.
Dart, seriously, it's people with attitudes like yours killing their own very particularly defined style of "real" hip-hop, not the whole game being up.
Your view is the entire reason that New York is for shit right now, as much as you might want to cling to Papoose and Saigon and all your old dudes.
The South, The Bay and wherever is next (I'm putting a small side bet on Baltimore) are all doing just fine, thank you.