The 1995 Source Awards: 'the South got something to say' + Suge Knight's Bad Boy taunt
At the Paramount Theater inside Madison Square Garden, OutKast wins Best New Rap Group; André 3000 takes the mic to a hostile NYC crowd and says 'the South got something to say.' Earlier in the night, Death Row CEO Suge Knight tells the audience that artists tired of executive producers 'all in the videos' should sign to Death Row — a public swipe at Sean 'Puffy' Combs of Bad Boy.
Why it matters
The single ceremony where two of the most consequential fault lines in 1990s hip-hop are drawn in public on the same night. The Knight-Combs exchange catalyzes the East-West conflict that ends in the murders of Tupac (Sept 1996) and Notorious B.I.G. (March 1997). André's line marks the moment the South stops asking for permission and starts cataloging its own canon — within a decade, Southern artists dominate the U.S. Top 10.
Branches
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Nearby in time
- 1995The Infamous is released
- 1995F. Gary Gray's 'Friday' opens — Ice Cube and Chris Tucker comedy hit
- 1995Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... is released
- 1995'The Show' documentary opens theatrically
- 1995'Yo! MTV Raps' airs its final episode
- 1995Tupac released from Clinton Correctional Facility after Death Row posts bail