Haystak

WHEN HE BROKE INTO THE SOUTHERN RAP SCENE IN THE LATE ’90S, TENNESSEE RAPPER HAYSTAK COMBINED HIS BIG PERSONA WITH SELF-REFLECTIVE SINCERITY. UNLIKE MANY OF HIS SOUTHERN PEERS, HAYSTAK DIDN’T EMBRACE MATERIALISM AND GREED; HE RAPPED ABOUT HIS LIFE AS SO-CALLED “WHITE TRASH,” EXPLORING THE SOCIAL DIMENSIONS OF BEING WHITE AND UNDERPRIVILEGED IN THE SOUTH. FOLLOWING THE SUCCESS OF CONTEMPORARIES EMINEM AND BUBBA SPARXXX, HAYSTAK FOUND IT EASIER TO EARN RESPECT IN AN INDUSTRY THAT HAD LONG FROWNED UPON WHITE RAPPERS, PARTICULARLY THOSE FROM THE COUNTRYSIDE.