A Brief History of Atlanta One-Hit Wonders

From Tag Team to the Shop Boyz, a look at the rappers of the Peach State who captured our hearts, if only for a moment.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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In the 2000s, Atlanta—almost indisputably—supplanted New York as hip-hop's dominant metropolis, the cultural Mecca of innovation and influence for the genre as a whole. Although it would gain a reputation for its ability to throw one-hit-wonders up the charts, that reputation was also a little overblown. From pioneers like Kilo and Raheem to underrated local stars like Ghetto Mafia and Da Organization, to crossover stars like T.I. and Young Jeezy, to legends like OutKast and Goodie Mob, to hitmakers like D4L and Kris Kross—who had, yes, a number of charting records—Atlanta has always had a deep bench of artists whose careers impacted beyond the charts.

Even the one hit wonders—some of whom are catalogued here—would have sustained careers beyond their single smash, whether on a local level or behind the scenes—think Freak Nasty, who released a number of albums and was actually an early Cash Money affiliate in his Louisiana hometown. Other times, they just happened to stumble into success by a chance collaboration or whim of the business. An important thing to remember, though, is that one hit wonders have always been a part of hip-hop. Although this list skirts the '90s, that's as much about the nature of the business as anything. Whereas today, a local dance craze can be a national sensation faster than ever, two decades ago, the infrastructure wasn't nearly as strong. The hits were still being crafted; they just didn't get propelled to the same level of notoriety.

So consider this not a criticism, but a celebration of the artists who have made a significant contribution to hip-hop culture—a part just as essential as any other. This is A Brief History of Atlanta One-Hit Wonders.

RELATED: The 50 Best Atlanta Rap Songs 
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Tag Team "Whoomp! (There It Is)" (1993)

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Charted: (#2 Pop, #1 R&B)

It's a bit unfair to include much '90s Atlanta hip-hop in the "one hit wonder" category for a simple reason: the industry hadn't really figured out how to channel an obviously-productive club culture to the mainstream, give or take a handful of singles. Luckily for Tag Team, they got the chance, and "Whoomp! (There It Is)" managed to become a massive smash, peaking at No. 2 on the pop charts and becoming one of the biggest hip-hop singles of the '90s. It was one of several successful Atlanta bass records—artists like the A Town Players ("Wassup Wassup") would manage similar regional hits on a smaller scale throughout the decade, and of course, records like "My Boo" would popularize a wave of bass-based R&B records that gained significant attention. But few could touch the success of Tag Team, which managed to spin off "Whoomp!" into records like "Here It Is, Bam!," Whoomp! There It Went," "Addams Family (Whoomp)," and "Bulls There It Is." Of course, none were nearly as massive as the original.

Freak Nasty "Da' Dip" (1996)

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Charted: (#15 Pop, #16 R&B, #4 Rap Single, #6 Rhythmic Top 40, #41 Top 40 Mainstream)

"But wait!" you say, after rushing to fact-check this post on Wikipedia, "Freak Nasty returend to the charts in 2007 with the single 'Do It Just Like A Rock Star'!" In actual fact, his second "hit" charting at No. 45 on the Hot 100 was a case of mistaken ID3 tags, as iTunes inadvertently retitled that song "Party Like A Rock Star," causing one one-hit wonder to be confused with another. (More on the Shop Boyz in a moment.) Freak Nasty's real shining moment is a classic, one that, in a just world, would be rewarded with a Nobel Peace Prize and a ticker-tape parade. Instead, Freak Nasty is consigned to the one-hit wonder category by publications like this one, simply because his one transcendent moment was so bright that every other song he released was a candle in the sun. That said: he has had a long-running career, first as a founding member of the New Orleans-based PMW (also spelled PxMxWx), affiliated with Cash Money Records and some of Mannie Fresh's earliest work. He moved to Atlanta, though, in '92, and became a solo artist. It was there that he launched "Da Dip" on his own Hard Hood record label in '96. The song has its own website to this day, where you're encouraged to share your own "Da Dip" stories.

Slim Cutta Calhoun f/ Andre 3000 "It's OK" (2001)

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Charted: (#1 Rap Single)

For much of the '90s, the Dungeon Family was the most widely-celebrated sound of Atlanta. Bass music may have filled the clubs, but OutKast and Goodie Mob had crafted a different perspective of their hometown that existed outside the strip clubs and dance floors. As the 2000s approached, a number of the more successful group's affiliates got their shot—and while many had fertile creative careers as album artists, few managed to scrape more than a single hit on the mainstream stage. Cool Breeze ("Watch Out for the Hook"), Backbone ("5 Duce 4 Tre"), and Slim Cutta Calhoun all managed to get a taste of popular success in the late 1990s and early 2000s. "It's OK" was a particular success, becoming a No. 1 rap single and helping Slim Cutta release The Skinny on OutKast's Aquemini Records label in 2001.

Bone Crusher f/ T.I. and Killer Mike "Never Scared" (2003)

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Charted: (#26 Pop, #8 R&B)

"Never Scared" was a massive success in part because it was an era of excess and bombast. Of all the early '00s crunk anthems, nothing—not "Get Low," not "Neva Eva," not "What's Happenin"—sounded quite so huge as Bone Crusher's biggest song. Bone Crusher also had the advantage of looking as huge as his song sounded, and matching that intensity in his opening lines: "Let a choppa go BLOW! To your melon/Now the plasma is oozin' outta your cerebellum!" One of the problems about living up to the outer limits of your potential on your first single is that it gives you no room to maneuver afterwards. However, "Never Scared" did help launch one career, as T.I.'s performance became one of the defining moments of his burgeoning comeback after his 2001 debut failed to gain traction nationally.

Boyz N Da Hood "Dem Boyz" (2005)

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Charted: (#56 Pop, #15 R&B)

Boyz N Da Hood was a super group that was lucky enough to hit right when Jeezy mania was just beginning. All four of the group's rappers were talented—Jody Breeze deserved better!—but it was Jeezy's moment, and his evident charisma propelled the record into the spotlight. For those willing to make the trek through the group's two-album catalog (Jeezy was replaced by new star Gorilla Zoe for the group's second release), there are number of records worth celebrating, and singles like "Bite Down" were novel enough to sustain airplay on mix shows throughout the South and Midwest. But they lacked the star power Jeezy brought to the table on the group's debut, and after he left, their chances as mainstream stars evaporated. 

Shop Boyz "Party Like A Rock Star" (2007)

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Charted: (#2 Pop, #3 R&B, #10 Mainstream Top 40, #1 Hot Rap Songs)

"Party Like A Rock Star" came at a dark time for hip-hop fashion: the peak of boot-cut Ed Hardy jeans, wallet chains, and the ugliest of patterned shirts. But hey, at least the song matched the mood? Shop Boyz were another post-Snap crew, only they managed to earn 2007's best-selling ringtone. The song's shameless mercenary hookiness made it an obvious success, but was so reliant on its one lazily executed gimmick that it was tough to imagine the group transcending it. And they didn't; the follow-up single, the David Banner-produced "They Like Me," was a conceptual rewrite of one of snap music's biggest singles, minus the novelty and joy.

Playaz Circle f/ Lil Wayne "Duffle Bag Boy" (2007)

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Charted: (#15 Pop, #4 R&B)

When 2 Chainz was still Tity Boi, one half of long-running also-rans Playaz Circle, he was the lucky benificiary of a perfect Lil Wayne hook, right at the peak of national interest in Lil Wayne. And so Playaz Circle were propelled to one-hit-wonder status, which 2 Chainz could only transcend after rebranding himself as a solo artist with a somewhat more contrived but equally-silly moniker. The song's chorus was so good that it became known more as a Lil Wayne record than a Playaz Circle one, likely to the detriment of Tity and Dolla Boy. The two deserved another Billboard smash for "Look What I Got," a classic regional summertime single that never achieved the same level of traction. 

V.I.C. "Get Silly" (2008)

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Charted: (#29 Pop, #13 R&B)

Although it has a reputation as a genre full of one-hit-quitters, snap music mainstays like D4L and Dem Franchize Boys were able to throw up a few singles before the genre faded from the mainstream. "Get Silly" isn't really a snap single—more post-Soulja Boy dance record, released two years after the reign of "Laffy Taffy." But it's definitely a better example of a lightweight dance single being a much larger record than the artist who created it. Of course, V.I.C. was relying on a supergroup of producers for the record, which combined the talents of Soulja Boy, Mr. Collipark, Tomar Williams, and Salih Williams (of "Still Tippin" fame) for its beat. The song was propelled into the Top 40, and sustained an even longer life when it received an all-star remix and essential re-versions by Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj.

Roscoe Dash f/ Soulja Boy "All The Way Turnt Up" (2010)

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Charted: (#46 Pop, #18 R&B)

Roscoe Dash's pop ear was unrivaled for a time. But unlike sympatico trio Travis Porter, with whom he originally collaborated on the song, he was unable to follow up his big single with another. Of course, he did end up with another major hook—for Waka Flocka, whose "No Hands" was the highest-charting record that artist would ever release. Roscoe Dash's only real revenge is that for all Travis Porter's success—singles "Make It Rain," "Bring It Back," and "Ayy Ladies" all hit the Hot 100—no song would chart as high as "All the Way Turnt Up," which hit No. 48 on the Hot 100 and No. 8 on the R&B/Hip-Hop charts in 2010.

Trinidad James "All Gold Everything" (2012)

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Charted: (#36 Pop, #9 R&B)

It might be a little early to say Trinidad James is a "one hit wonder." Certainly, it's what his detractors want to see: another overvalued Internet hype artist, played out by a bunch of armchair A&Rs who don't understand what the people really want. 

But if the industry is putting money behind him—and there's no evidence that Def Jam has done anything but that—it could easily be a premature judgement. His latest record, "Def Jam," may or may not be a hit, but it's definitely a step forward. And James has already co-starred on August Alsina's No. 1 R&B/Hip-Hop song "I Luv This Shit." After all, we excluded Cash Out from this list because his latest single, "She Twerkin," has seen some slight chart momentum that could see him slide back in as a hitmaker. But consider this a guilty until proven innocent situation: for the time being, Trinidad James remains a one hit wonder.

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