Ludacris

Ludacris

When rap’s Dirty South movement broke nationwide in the late ’90s and early 2000s, Ludacris rode it to immediate, widespread popularity, becoming arguably the most commercially successful Southern rapper of the time. The entirety of the aughts saw the rapper scoring hit after mainstream hit and achieving platinum success with albums like 2001’s “Word of Mouf” and 2003’s “Chicken-N-Beer.” He quickly became a multifaceted superstar, making multiple film and television appearances while staying active in music, with consistent guest features on other artists’ tracks and albums of his own like, 2015’s “Ludaversal.”

Ying Yang Twins

Atlanta’s party rap duo Ying Yang Twins scored a hit with the single “Whistle While You Twurk,” which received nationwide airplay on urban and crossover radio stations. Their full-length debut album, “Thug Walkin’,” appeared later in 2000. “Alley: The Return of the Ying Yang Twins” from 2002 sold well down South, but it was the duo’s 2003 team-up with Lil Jon”The King of Crunk” —that brought them nationwide success. The party anthem “Salt Shaker” was a massive club and radio hit and soon had the TVT Records label chasing the duo to sign. They did, and their first album for the label, “Me & My Brother,” yielded two more crunk hits, “What’s Happnin!” and “Naggin’.” The same year, the duo appeared on Britney Spears’ album “In the Zone” and her television special of the same name. In 2004, TVT released the remix-filled “My Brother & Me” with a bonus DVD of the group’s videos. “U.S.A. (United State of Atlanta)” appeared in the summer of 2005 as its single “Wait (The Whisper Song)” was dominating urban radio. “Chemically Imbalanced” followed in 2006.