The birthplace of funk itself, New Orleans, gave the world its distinctive take on hip-hop in the late ’90s: hyperkinetic, self-made, deeply grooving and completely uncompromising. Cash Money Records, founded in 1992, turned a cassette-tape hustle into an empire, evolving the percolating and bawdy local “bounce music” into a unique strain of gangsta rap. The label conquered the globe thanks to the flows of Lil Wayne, Juvenile, B.G. and others, even getting the words “bling bling” into the dictionary. Similarly, the enterprising Master P relocated from California to his NOLA birthplace mid-decade, making stars of local MCs Mystikal, Mia X, and his brothers Silkk the Shocker and C-Murder. In the years since, bounce has become a national concern thanks to ambassador Big Freedia. Contemporary Big Easy rappers may not always have that twerk-ready sound, but gangsta-rap sensations like Boosie Badazz, Kevin Gates and YoungBoy Never Broke Again are keeping things vivid and personal.