What Should Be The Official Hip-Hop Song of North Carolina?
Last week, a trio of state legislators proposed the Petey Pablo classic "Raise Up." But a more recent NC anthem comes to mind, too.
In case you missed it, the NC General Assembly boldly ventured into the rap game last week, with Senate bill 512: “AN ACT TO ADOPT THE SONG "RAISE UP" AS THE OFFICIAL HIP HOP SONG OF THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA.” Of course, you probably didn’t miss it, because such a thing is what SEO dreams are made of, and therefore was posted to every website immediately:
Setting aside, for a moment, the bill’s core purpose (naming an official state hip-hop song), S512 offers something else of value: insight into who Sens. Natalie Murdock, Kandie Smith and DeAndrea Salvador, acting in their official capacities for the state of North Carolina, consider the most essential hip-hop acts from the Old North State.
Quoting from the bill: “Whereas, North Carolina is the home state of Petey Pablo, J. Cole, Rapsody, 9th Wonder, Phonte, Big Pooh, and many other hip hop icons.” A smart, if a bit safe, list from Murdock, Smith and Salvador — no glaring omissions, but no real surprises either. Good for Rap and the rest, but one wonders about those “many other hip hop icons” — who they are, how close some of them were to making the cut, and what the deliberations amongst the senators looked like in both regards.
Was there an old school Jay-Z fan in the room, passionately making the case for Greensboro’s Ski Beatz, who produced “Dead Presidents” back in 1996? Was the 4x Platinum status of “Favorite Song” invoked as proof that Toosii, at just 25 years old, is one of our all-time greats? Did Sen. Salvador, who represents Mecklenburg County, implore her colleagues to consider DaBaby, only for that proposal to be shot down for, well, multiple reasons? I digress.
Amidst a flood of mostly regurgitated, boiler plate slop about the bill, the best coverage came from the always-industrious Jeremy Markovich at NC Rabbit Hole, who was scrupulous enough to not just state the basic facts of the proposal but call out some other songs of statewide import or acclaim, from J. Cole’s “Carolina On My Mind” on The Come Up, Vol. 1 mixtape to the mid-2010s time capsule that is DaBaby’s (at the time, Baby Jesus) “Dab City.”
But even Jeremy failed to mention a track that, particularly among Durhamites but also rap fans throughout the state, would seem of obvious merit: G Yamazawa’s viral, sauce-with-the-slaw sensation, “North Cack.”
The second track on Yamazawa’s 2017 album Shouts to Durham, “North Cack” overcame its decidedly Bull City-centric cast (G, Kane Smego, and J Gunn are all from Durham) with a greasy overture to the whole state in its chorus: “It’s the North Cack, baby, I’m a boss/ Carolina barbecue sauce with the slaw.” It also got a boost from its music video, a captivating one-take shot out in rural Durham County that would rack up more than a million YouTube views and go on to win Best Music Video at the 2017 Harlem Hip Hop Film Festival (Craig Carter actually wrote about it for us, way, way back in the day). A later remix of the song featured Petey Pablo himself.
That said, is the purpose of this article to seriously make the point that, if we are to declare an official hip-hop song for the state of North Carolina, it shouldn’t be “Raise Up”? Not really.
Given the song’s formidable staying power in 2025, it’s hard to believe that the Greenville native’s debut single peaked at just No. 25 on the U.S. Hot 100, and No. 61 on the year-end R&B/hip-hop chart in 2001. An in-stadium pump-up song (UNC football, Carolina Hurricanes) more than 20 years later, and the musical accompaniment for one of the best Stephen A. Smith memes in recent memory, “Raise Up” is a bonafide, Exhibit 1A talisman of Timbaland-dominated, turn-of-the-millenium hip-hop, and of the enduring nostalgia for that era.
And so, more because we’re all introducing bills now — last Tuesday, an average of 5.6 bills were introduced per senator — than out of any particular opposition to “Raise Up,” I offer a resolution to make “North Cack,” at the very least, our state’s official independent hip-hop song.
The bill is as follows:
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED: AN ACT TO ADOPT THE SONG "NORTH CACK" AS THE OFFICIAL INDEPENDENT HIP-HOP SONG OF THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA.
Whereas, in 2023, hip-hop fans across North Carolina and the world celebrated the 50th anniversary of hip-hop music, and;
Whereas, George Yamazawa Jr., henceforth known as G Yamazawa, was born and raised in Durham, North Carolina, and;
Whereas, the contributions of unsigned and/or “independent” artists have immeasurably shaped the culture of hip-hop, and;
Whereas, North Carolina is the home state of LesTheGenius, SK The Novelist, leroy, Cyanca, Khalil Nasim, Kourviosier, MindsOne, Tesh, Kooley High, and many more independent hip-hop recording icons, and;
Whereas, "North Cack" was released in May 2017 as a tribute to the people of North Carolina and maintains its cultural significance as an anthem for the State, and;
Whereas, in a remixed version of the song, “North Cack (Remix),” there is a verse from Petey Pablo, creator of “Raise Up,” himself, and;
Whereas, the song’s official music video, shot in a technically challenging “one-take” style by Saleem Reshamwala, Ned Phillips and Mandy Padgett, has been viewed 1.6 million times on YouTube, and was named Best Hip-Hop Music Video award at the Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival in 2017, and;
Whereas, the lyrics “It’s the North Cack, baby, I’m a boss/ Carolina barbecue sauce with the slaw,” are undeniably some of the coolest ever written; Now, therefore, The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. Chapter 145 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 145-52. Official independent hip-hop song.
The uncensored version of the song "North Cack" by North Carolina rappers G Yamazawa, Kane Smego and Joshua Gunn is adopted as the official independent hip-hop song of the State of North Carolina."
My work here is done. Complaints can be registered by calling my legislative office and leaving a voicemail (I will not pick up).
