In its four-plus decades of existence, hip-hop has always been steadily evolving. Like all evolutionary paths, hip-hop’s hasn’t moved in a straight line. For every decision that moved the genre forward as a whole, there were artistic niches and splinter groups that either went flourished before rapidly going extinct or moved on into their own lane entirely.

In this series, we’ll look to introduce our readers to some of the more interesting branches and subgenres that sprouted from the hip-hop family tree and give a primer of 5 essential tracks.

In the inaugural edition, we’ll take a look at Bounce: the frenetic, twerkin’ music that has served as the sound of New Orleans for over 20 years.