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I wanted to try out the newly launched Memphis Rap & Hip Hop Tour and thought that the city’s unofficial civic holiday would be the perfect opportunity.
So, on 901 Day, I and eight other patrons took the bus tour, with the meeting point being B.B. King Boulevard and Beale Street. The group gathered, pre-boarding at Alfred’s on Beale’s outdoor patio.
Pro-tip: Leave yourself time for parking and walking. Because it was a holiday, many surrounding streets were blocked for a 5K. The bus had no issue with navigating the orange cones, but I had to hoof it from Vance Avenue.
(I got my steps in!)
Memphis brother and sister Carlos and Taylor Barksdale launched the tour on Aug. 22. The siblings grew up in Parkway Village and are White Station High and Soulsville Charter School alumni, respectively.
I signed up for the 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. tour. Taylor is the tour guide.
“Memphis hip-hop is really what is putting Memphis on the map now,” Taylor told me in an interview after the tour. “When you go globally, anywhere and you tell people (you’re) from Memphis, the first thing they’re going to say is ‘Oh, GloRilla! Oh Young Dolph!’ So this is what is being nurtured around the world in connection to Memphis right now.”
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Taylor is a Rhodes College graduate with an English degree. She minored in African American studies and art.
She has worked as a tour guide for Backbeat Tours for about a year, and still works there, along with her new tour company.
Before that, she worked as a tour guide for the Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum for about nine years.
“She’s a phenomenal person, she’s really creative, she’s really smart, she’s very personable,” Meagan May, vice president of Backbeat Tours, said on Monday. “... Within a year, she’s one of our highest-rated tour guides.”
 Taylor Barksdale stands in front of a mural of Memphis rapper Young Dolph on Monday, Sept. 1, 2025. (Elle Perry/The Daily Memphian)
Carlos, a Columbia University engineering graduate, resides in New York and works in the venture capital space.
Backbeat provides the transportation for the Memphis Rap & Hip Hop Tour. The bus I rode was the company’s 30-passenger “Love and Happiness” bus.
The tour costs about $50. Tips are not mandatory, but encouraged.
Something perhaps unexpected: The tour was a very tactile way to learn the condition of Memphis roads.
There were several points where we bounced up and down in our seats as our bus navigated the bumpy terrain. However, I didn’t end up needing the Dramamine I stash in my purse just in case I ever have motion sickness.
A cliche “Memphis drivers” moment: Right before we were about to depart, the bus was lightly rear-ended.
During the tour, Taylor enthusiastically doles out Memphis rap history — both more well-known items and more obscure history — enough to satisfy someone well-versed in the local rap scene and those newer to it.
It included references to Mighty Rappin' Fishbone and DJ Spanish Fly, DJ Zirk and DJ Squeeky, Three 6 Mafia, Tommy Wright III, Kia Shine, Pooh Shiesty, Big Boogie, Duke Deuce and twin duo DJ Tootz.
Large portions of the tour focused on Yo Gotti, GloRilla and Young Dolph.
Taylor’s own personal anecdotes and connections were mentioned.
The majority of the attendees on my trip were Memphians, but there were also two tourists from Italy. Afterwards, Taylor told me that these are the first non-Memphian tour takers so far.
Tour stops gave attendees the chance to take photos at murals.
I snooped around social media beforehand and knew that a stop would be to Makeda’s Homemade Butter Cookies in Castalia, the site of Young Dolph’s death.
I ultimately decided that this felt like a pilgrimage. The tone was a somber one before leaving the bus, and guests took photos of the memorial inside the store.
We also bought cookies from the warm shop employees. The same store that this beloved Memphian also patronized.
Another poignant moment was a stop at the mural on the side of Growlers of the late Gangsta Boo.
Entrepreneurship was a focal point — particularly anecdotes about hustling CDs and cassettes to gain both money and an audience.
The tour weaved through South Memphis, Orange Mound, Midtown, the Edge District, and North Memphis, with short stops or mentions of each site’s significance.
The tour traveled down Deadrick Avenue to highlight GloRilla’s importance and down Garland Street to talk about Yo Gotti’s rise.
There was optimism, with talk of Memphis rap’s newest superstars like GloRilla, NLE Choppa and Key Glock.
The tour is a mix of Taylor talking — using a headset microphone, relevant songs played over the bus speakers, and the stops.
Taylor highlighted the use of sampling and its importance both locally and to the genre overall.
During my tour, uncensored versions of songs were played. Taylor said, during the tour, that these were the unvarnished thoughts of the rappers, not necessarily her own.
“I want (people) to know that this is going to not only be a fun experience and not only am I looking for people to turn up, I’m really looking to ensure that people understand how these stories have impacted the city,” Taylor said after the tour. “How these neighborhoods have impacted the artists, and how thusly both of these situations have impacted the global understanding of where Memphis rap sits in that industry.”
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