The Dirty South takes a lot of knocks from the greater Hip-Hop Nation. New Yorkers, especially, accuse us of dumbing down the music. They love to say hip-hop is dead, murdered by stupid songs like "Laffy Taffy" and "Chain Hang Low." They say our beats are wack and our lyrics are moronic. Chamillionaire is everything the smarty-pants New Yorkers say we are not. He's a fiercely intelligent rhymer, his beats are always fresh, he respects the music's history while carrying it forward and, what's more, he can sing. Somehow, he's commercial enough for radio and platinum-plus sales without being droolingly stupid, and clean enough for families to enjoy together, while hardcore enough to keep his cred. He's done not just Houston proud, but all of Hip-Hop America.