Hip-hop, as an art form, hasn’t always been something that the city of Baton Rouge has embraced.
Kevin Gates, Boosie Badazz and Webbie all hail from the Red Stick, but they don’t often make visits to the Capital City to perform, and beyond that trio, the area hasn’t necessarily produced many prominent hip-hop acts.
However, the local rap scene is perhaps more alive than it’s ever been right now, thanks to a wealth of underground artists that are challenging the preconceptions of what Baton Rouge hip-hop sounds like, breathing creativity into the city’s art scene in the process.
Standing at the forefront of this emerging wave of talent, complete with six rappers, two painters, two photographers, two videographers, a personal chef and a tattoo artist, is Small World International.
Eb Matthews / Owner
When LSU graduate Eb Matthews helped to launch Small World International in 2011, her primary focuses were on promoting her recording artists and developing the company’s brand as a record label. However, after five years of continued growth, she says she now feels that the term “record label” has become constricting, as Small World has developed into a much deeper collective of multitalented artists.
“I wouldn’t even call us a music label,” Matthews says. “We open up avenues to be able to push through more creators. There are some great artists in Baton Rouge, but a lot of them are getting overlooked. I’m trying to bring the spotlight here.”
Although she never experiments with making music herself, Matthews has worked hard to link up her artists with the best production the country has to offer, collaborating with producers from Atlanta to New York. While she hopes that Small World will be a household name within the next few years, she’s happy to encourage as many local artists as possible to pursue their passions for the time being.
“One of my mission statements is ‘build a nation through creation,’” Matthews says. “It’s what I push my artists to do every day. We want to challenge more people in the area to get out there and create.”
Made Groceries / Recording Artist
Comprised of New Orleans native MCs The Landlord, Mauley Sincyr and OeauxNeal, alternative hip-hop collective Made Groceries is arguably Baton Rouge’s top hip-hop prospect. With each member of the group delivering his own different flows and contributing his own biting lyricism, Made Groceries has developed into one of the most dynamic rap acts that the city has to offer.
“We have three really cohesive sounds,” The Landlord says. “We all love original, 90’s hip-hop and we grew up on similar New Orleans artists like Lil Wayne, Jay Electronica and Curren$y, but we all take different things from them.”
The trio’s recent EP, released Oct. 12 and titled “WahnTown,” is the group’s most high-concept project to date. The tape’s setting, The Landlord says, is Storyville, the red-light district of New Orleans established to regulate prostitution and drugs at the turn of the twentieth century. Through the EP’s seven track runtime, Made Groceries bring to light the parallels that exist between Storyville and modern-day New Orleans, a city in which they faced adversity and overcame fear to pursue careers as musicians.
“The tape is really about what comes with growing up in New Orleans as a youth,” The Landlord says. “It’s really like escaping New Orleans, as much as it’s positive on the outside looking in. There’s a lot you have to deal with when you’re actually from there. It’s about overcoming our fears to achieve something we love, which is making music.”
“WahnTown” is available to stream on Spotify, Apple Music and Tidal. Made Groceries has also filmed a number of narrative-driven, hard-hitting music videos, most recently for their track “High Key.”
Lord Huey / Visual Artist
Hip-hop is only a fraction of the artistry of Small World, as visual artist, Lord Huey, can attest. While he primarily utilizes a paintbrush and canvas, he regularly experiments with different mediums, including charcoal, pastel and pencil. Recently, he took to using the human form as his canvas, painting a slew of coinciding images atop jet black mannequins.
“Right now, I’m just trying to stay relevant when a lot of things seem down and depressed, in the country and locally,” Lord Huey says. “I’m just trying to remain positive and keep people in perspective. Life is still here, so we should celebrate that.”
At Small World’s live hip-hop events, Lord Huey sometimes sets up a mobile version of his studio and paints live next to the stage, feeding off of the energy of the crowd for his inspiration.
“Sometimes I go in there with an idea, and sometimes I go in there and try to feel it from the crowd,” he says. “I get feedback from the crowd, as well. I like criticism.”
Drexal Flowers / Recording Artist
Before he rapped and before he joined the ranks of Small World, Baton Rouge native Drexal Flowers’ main creative outlet was poetry. Now, he’s made a name for himself in the local hip-hop scene, flowing nonchalantly over wavy, relaxed instrumentals.
“Baton Rouge has a lot of talent,” he says. “I feel like Baton Rouge is probably the biggest gold mine for real hip-hop, but nobody’s taking the time to go gold mining.”
Flowers’ first two projects, “Debonair” and “The Highlander,” were both highly conceptual, but his upcoming third tape might be the farthest departure from his traditional style to date. Titled “I Brought Her the Moon,” his new project will focus on women, relationships and general romanticism.
All of Flowers’ music is available on his SoundCloud profile, where “I Brought Her the Moon” which was released on Oct. 1.
$mall$ / Recording Artist
Lafayette native $mall$, is the first recording artist ever signed to Small World and was instrumental in getting the label off the ground when it first started in Lafayette in 2011. Working alongside his brother and fellow hip-hop artist K. Small, he established the foundation of what has now become a multifaceted community of creatives.
“Small World is definitely working,” he says. “I want everyone to keep their eyes and ears open, because we have a lot of things in store.”
$mall$, who relocated from Atlanta to Baton Rouge last year, has developed a sound and delivery that isn’t necessarily common within Louisiana’s hip-hop scenes.
“When new people hear my music, a lot of them are amazed that I’m actually from here,” he says. “New ears are always telling me that it doesn’t even sound like it’s from the area.”
His first mixtape, “W.K.T.N.C.R.? Vol. 1,” gained $mall$ a sizeable amount of local popularity. His newest tape, “You Killin’ Me $mall$,” was released on Sept. 5. You can listen to all of his projects on his SoundCloud profile.
