Then came a group out of Memphis: Three 6 Mafia. Cultural critic Kiana Fitzgerald has chosen Three 6 Mafia's debut album — Mystic Stylez — as one of hip-hop's game-changing moments.

"I was in the studio with somebody the other day, they were like 'I didn't know you produced [Three 6 Mafia hit] 'Sippin' on Some Syrup,'" the Memphis rapper/producer tells EW over Zoom.

By Eduardo Medina Lola Chantrelle Mitchell, the Memphis rapper and former member of Three 6 Mafia who, as Gangsta Boo, helped define Southern rap with her confident flows and forged a path for ...