Memphis rap is in the middle of another moment and the city's influence on the wider Southern sound is louder right now than it has been since the early 2000s wave of Three 6 Mafia and 8Ball and MJG. The artists carrying it this time are a different generation and the infrastructure behind them looks more like a real industry than a regional scene. Yo Gotti's Collective Music Group has built into one of the most consistent rap labels operating, Key Glock has settled into the kind of solo career that does not require a feature run, NLE Choppa is in his most intentional creative period, and a younger group of artists are coming up through the same pipeline.
Yo Gotti has run CMG since 2016 but the label hit a different level of relevance in the last 24 months. The roster includes Moneybagg Yo, Key Glock, Lehla Samia, Big30, Blac Youngsta, GloRilla until her departure last year, EST Gee, and a deep bench of younger artists who have been moved through the development cycle. CMG's distribution deal with Interscope was extended in February through 2030 and the label has been responsible for nine top 10 Billboard 200 albums in the last 24 months. The model is closer to old school Cash Money or Roc A Fella than the typical major label imprint and the artists tend to stay rather than splinter.
Key Glock has had the cleanest solo run in the catalog. His album Glockaveli II released in October 2025 debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 142,000 album equivalent units, and the singles Trust and Cars and Money have spent 28 and 22 weeks on the Hot 100 respectively. He has not done a feature run in over two years and his streaming numbers across Spotify and Apple Music have grown month over month for 14 consecutive months. The Memphis to Atlanta to global pipeline that he has settled into is the same model his cousin Young Dolph built before his death in 2021, and Glock's continuation of the Paper Route Empire infrastructure is part of why the city has retained creative continuity.
NLE Choppa is in the middle of a deliberate reset. He took a year off touring in 2024 and 2025 to focus on health and family and his return single Higher Power released in January was the first project release on his new label deal with Atlantic. The album BLOOM is scheduled for May 22 and the rollout has emphasized live instrumentation, faith and personal accountability themes, and a more developed vocal style. The early single performance is well below his peak Shotta Flow and Walk Em Down numbers, but the press cycle has been the most positive of his career and his first late night performance on Stephen Colbert in March drew strong reviews.
Big30 and EST Gee represent the younger end of the CMG roster and both have built consistent followings without crossing into pop superstardom. Big30's third album Last Run Up released in March opened at 41,000 first week units, his strongest debut yet, and his single 30 with Pooh Shiesty after his prison release in February has been a chart staple for ten weeks. EST Gee, who is technically based in Louisville but works closely with the Memphis CMG team, released El Toro 3 in November and has been one of the most consistent touring acts on the roster. Both artists fit the CMG profile of building one fan base brick by brick rather than chasing a viral moment.
The new wave of Memphis artists outside CMG has its own momentum. Glorilla's departure from CMG in 2024 to her own venture House of Glo with Yo Gotti as a partner has paid off with her sophomore Glorious Era debuting at No. 1 in February, the first solo female Memphis rap album to top the Billboard 200. Pooh Shiesty returned from federal prison in February and has been working on his post incarceration debut for 1017 Records. Soulja Boy collaborator Lil Wyte's protege Slim Klassick is signed to a deal with EMPIRE. The producer Tay Keith remains the city's most influential beat maker and his work with Drake, Travis Scott, and BlocBoy JB continues to anchor the sound.
The civic side of the Memphis rap economy has caught attention from the city government. Mayor Paul Young's office launched a Memphis Music Initiative in October that included a $4.2 million investment in studio infrastructure, music tourism marketing, and a public private partnership with the Stax Music Academy. The Memphis Music Hall of Fame inducted Three 6 Mafia in February and the city has been pushing for a Visit Memphis campaign tied to the rap heritage. The Beale Street ecosystem has long been blues focused but the new programming in summer 2026 will include a Memphis rap showcase and a Yo Gotti curated festival.
For Nashville listeners, the I 40 connection between the two cities matters. Several of the CMG artists record at studios in both Memphis and Nashville, and the Tennessee music industry economic impact study released in January put the combined Memphis Nashville rap economy at $312 million annually with 4,200 direct jobs. Younger Nashville artists are increasingly looking to Memphis as the model for building a regional infrastructure rather than relying on Atlanta or LA, and the venues, studios, and management companies that support that have started to mirror the CMG playbook. The city has done this before with Three 6 Mafia and 8Ball and MJG, and the second time around the infrastructure is built to last.