Three rivers and two rappers

Could it be that Pittsburgh is actually getting a spot on the map as a hip hop city? The local scene is now strong enough to support an annual Pittsburgh Hip Hop Awards (hosted this year by Mele Mel.) Local rapper Wiz Khalifa has started to make a name for himself and is poised to breakout, having been signed to Warner Bros.

But it's another city kid, Pittsburgh Slim (above), who is getting the most attention with his single "Girls Kiss Girls." Slim, a former member of local rap group Strict Flow (who we actually booked a few times for shitty bar gigs), was signed by Jay-Z to a 5-album deal for Def Jam, and the "Girls Kiss Girls" single is exploding. According to his MySpace page, Slim is even slated to appear at next week's American Music Awards (I'm not sure in what capacity, though; the show's website doesn't list him as a performer or presenter.)

For years hip hop was an east coast vs. west coast thing, but then St. Louis got big for a while. Two rappers certainly doesn't constitute an explosion, but as Mel said, if St. Louis can become a rap epicenter, why not Pittsburgh?

MP3: Pittsburgh Slim - Girls Kiss Girls (Method Mix)
MP3: Pittsburgh Slim - First Date