Geography has always been pretty important to hip-hop—there’s the famous east-west rivalry of the 90s, of course, and the crazy quilt of regional rap scenes across the U.S., each with its own history and style. In Houston the rappers take their cues from recreational cough-syrup abuse; in Atlanta they take their cues from the strip club. Memphis rappers tend to sound paranoid; San Francisco rappers tend to sound like they do a lot of ecstasy.
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Chicago has a long-standing reputation for producing serious and frequently conscious hip-hop—which isn’t entirely baseless, despite how annoying it is when people from outside the city see the words “Chicago rapper” and automatically think “Common.” (Remember that Kanye literally wore a backpack during some of his early promotional appearances.) But even though I’m fully aware that the city produces hip-hop artists who appeal to their fans’ less cerebral side, the first time I heard King Louie—specifically “I’m Arrogant“—I felt compelled to hit Google and make sure he was really from Chicago.
When pushed to name his influences, Louie says he has a couple of friends whose styles have rubbed off on him, then lists a bunch of superstar rappers—Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross—who sound nothing like him. “Anybody successful,” he says. “I can’t say who I sound like. I don’t know. I don’t think I sound like them. Just because they influenced me doesn’t mean I have to sound like them.”
