Third Coast

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Third Coast is an American colloquialism sometimes used in the United States for regions other than the "East Coast" and the "West Coast." The term became especially popular in the Great Lakes region during the 1960s when major coastal lake cities and college campuses throughout the area became hotbeds for extreme political and social movements. Although the term is still common in many areas of the Great Lakes, the term is most commonly linked to the city of Chicago (see Third Coast International Audio Festival), given its influential world status.

Chicago has a large metropolitan population, is classified as an Alpha City, has a liberal voting record, is left of center, and is also a world leader in culture, industry, and business. However, there are other large major urban centers in the central part of the United States that are also leaders in many areas of arts, culture, business, and industry. (ie. Houston, Detroit, Minneapolis-St. Paul, etc.) Places outside of the Great Lakes where the term "third coast" has become more common in recent years are Atlanta, Georgia, and Houston, Texas. In these cities the connotation of the term is quite different than in the Great Lakes. It is less a reflection of shared political and cultural views between regions and has a great deal more to do with musical and pop culture contributions in recent years, especially in the music genre of rap. These two cities generated unique hip-hop styles known as "screw" or "dirty soul" and local rappers sometimes refer to their region as the "third coast" or "dirty third". Also the city of Nashville, Tennessee, is sometimes referred to as the "third coast" because of its role as a center for country music.