student asking question

Why would a singer specifically mention "south", instead of just "Detroit"?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

Taking a look into the meaning of the original song, it appears that “South Detroit” isn’t a place that actually exists. However, you will find that in many cases, “West/East/South/North” + the name of a place appears in songs, movies, and shows. Because the geographical location of a place can be quite widespread, there are often big differences between socioeconomic class, demographics, education, and even culture within a city. When these location markers are mentioned by someone, chances are it has a big significance to their character or identity. Ex: West Philadelphia, born and raised ... (Fresh Prince of Bel Air theme song) Ex: I’m from South Side, Chicago.

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