The best rapper from all 50 states

Arkansas

Artist – SL Jones

Years Active – 2010s

Notable Track– “Big Bank (No Ones)” (2013)

Sample Rhyme:

“Granddaddy was a hustler

Yeah I’m sticking to tradition”

—

Little Rock — from which young rapper SL Jones hails — is about halfway between Atlanta and Houston. The style was always going to be southern, but the question remained under which sphere of influence a rapper like SL Jones would fall.

Early on, his inspirations were decidedly mixed. His first solo mixtape, C.O.L.O.R.S: Bangin’ on Wax featured names from all corners of southern rap’s territory, from Virginia’s Clipse to Houston’s Chamillionaire to Atlanta’s Killer Mike.

With arguably his biggest track to date, SL Jones’ true loyalty became more clear. Featuring production by Metro Boomin — Future’s trusty sidekick — “Big Banks” sounds very Atlanta, while still retaining a unique enough flavor to make it SL Jones’ own.

As a sort of aside, isn’t it impressive when a young rapper like SL Jones can just nail the look on the first try? Mastering that mix of confidence, pseudo-dancing and style really pays off for music videos like the one made for “Big Banks.” Now if he could only come out with a follow up record …

Next: California