Which two cities should I compare for this freaking series next?

Fun Fact: During the Civil War, former first lady Sarah Polk lived in Nashville, and she was so well respected that both the Union and Confederacy agreed that Polk Place was neutral ground.

You know what Mr. Beat? In a time where American pessimism and division seems to grow stronger every day, your videos providing a neutral, honest and somewhat positive view on all parts of your* history and geography is such a fresh breath of air. Love what you do, America deserves voices like yours! *I am European, so talking from an outsiders perspective :)

Memphis, in my eyes, has always been a fusion of Tennessee and Mississippi culture. Especially since Mississippi gave Memphis both the blues and Elvis Presley

As a lifelong Memphian and person who visits Nashville more than probably any other city, I’d say this is a very well made and accurate video, hitting the highs and lows of both cities. If we could just get control of the crime Memphis would be a great place to live. It seems like we have all the puzzle pieces for it but the crime/poverty solution is missing. (PS you also mentioned about Nashville’s pedestrian bridge: we have one that goes over the river into AR).

I was born in Memphis and I live in Arkansas now. Thanks for making this Mr Beat! Memphis will forever be my favorite major city in the USA! On a side note: both are amazing

Thank you Mr Beat for this video! I'm a big fan of yours and I live in Memphis and was born here, and I gotta a say; it's an honor to have my home talked about in a positive light, especially by you. Living in Memphis is extremely demoralizing. It's dangerous and the government does a horrible job and seeing Nashville surpass Memphis in every way is just sad considering how intertwined we are historically. This video made me feel good about where I live for once and I don't intend to give up on it anytime soon. Thanks again!

Video idea: The all time cabinet. Go through and pick who you believe was the best secretary for all 15 current federal departments, i.e. the best secretary of state, interior, treasury, attorney general etc. Would love to see your picks

Thank you Mr. Beats for pointing out the similarities of Memphis and Nashville

Went to Memphis just a couple weeks ago and I loved it. Everyone was so incredibly nice, the music was great, and its definetly one of my favorite cities I've been to.

Fun Fact: Nashville and Memphis are both connected to the profession wrestling business. The Tennesee wrestling territory, called NWA Mid-America started in the mid 40's. The owners of the territory, Roy Welch and Nick Gulas were two of the top promoters in the National Wrestling Alliance for almost 40 years. They promoted some of the biggest stars in wrestling, such as Jerry Lawler and Sputnik Monroe. Wrestling was so popular in the 50's in Memphis that even other celebrities were getting involved. The son of Sam Phillips was actually promoted in matched against little people as a joke and booked as the "world's tallest migit " when he was 12. Elvis used to sneak into the Ellis Autatorium to watch matched featuring Cora Colmes who was a female wrestler. Jerry Jarret, the founder of the Memphis territory, known as the Continental Wrestling Association, started out working for them running shows in Eastern Tennessee and parts of Kentucky before breaking off and stealing many of their top stars, including Lawler, known as the King of Wrestlingwho was one of wrestling most well known stars and is still considered a major celebrity in Memphis. His celebrity in Memphis was so great in the 70's that he was in talks to have a charity fight against Elvis before Elvis died. Sputnik Monroe, While less known outside of wrestling is considered a legend in Memphis. He was known for his flamboyant outfits and over the top personality and was well loved by African American Wrestling fans. He would often go to Beale street, which was, at this time a nearly all African American neighborhood? And would drink at African American owned bars with his fans, which was illegal at the time under Jim Crow laws. He was arrested for this many times. He was the first white person ever represented in court in Memphis history by an African American attorney. Monroe also played a part in desegregation of pro wrestling events in Memphis. At the time, attendance for wrestling shows was down for white fans but they were having to turn African American fans away from the upper level seating areas designated for them which were collectively known as the "crows nest". Monroe made a public announcement that he would no longer defend the Championship he held in Memphis unless his African American fans were allowed to sit in the lower parts of the venue, which the promotion agrees to. Though, it was like the promoters idea and they chose to let Monroe present it in case something went wrong. And, if you look at Memphis area yearbooks from the 1950s, when Monroe was first becoming a major star, you'll see that many teensge boys were bleaching white stripes in the front of their hair. This was to mimmick Monroe, who also did this.

0:01: 🎶 Memphis and Nashville are both music cities in Tennessee, with Memphis known for blues and rock and roll, and Nashville known for country and western music. 2:49: 🍖 Memphis-style barbecue is a well-known and unique regional style of barbecue in the United States. 6:04: 📚 The video discusses the history and founding of Nashville and Memphis in Tennessee. 9:27: 📚 Memphis had a larger population than Nashville in the early 1900s, but Nashville has since surpassed Memphis in population and now has worse traffic. 12:30: 🎵 Beale Street in Memphis is a historic landmark known for its role in the blues music genre. 15:45: 🎶 Nashville and Memphis are both great cities for music lovers, with Nashville being home to the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Grand Ole Opry, while Memphis has the Stax Museum of American Soul Music and the Memphis Rock 'n' Soul Museum. 18:26: 🎵 The video discusses the unique features and attractions of Nashville and Memphis in Tennessee. Recap by Tammy AI

I'm a Nashville tour guide. Just wanted to say thank you, Mr. Beat. You did a great job bringing my city to life.

The timing of this video is on point. I’m literally boarding a plane to Nashville right now. It’s my first time to Tennessee so this was extremely helpful and informative. Thank you!

Memphis is the better city, in my opinion. I moved there in 2016 and it was love at first sight, so I really appreciated your kind words at the end of the video. This is a unique, diverse American city with great food, a lovely biking culture, and some of the best urban parks I've ever seen. Go, Grizzlies!

Hello Mr. Beat, life long Memphis resident here who’s been following you since high school. I want to add that part of the reason Nashville is seeing higher growth than Memphis is due to gentrification. A lot of residents cannot afford to buy homes in that city as well. Yes the job market is exceptionally well there however it is highly expensive to buy a home there than here in Memphis which has the lowest home prices in the country for metro cities. Memphis is currently going through a gentrification phase that is probably going to affect the look of the city in the next 10 years. There are more than 8 downtown projects happening over the next 5 years that’s expanding the downtown Memphis area with more homes, restaurants, markets, entertainment and infrastructure. Developers from other states are also buying land in Memphis to convert into living spaces for younger residents. Google has also started a second headquarters in Southaven MS which is directly next to Memphis bringing more tech jobs here. As a city we are behind but are slowing progress to become more competitive in the future. I play on running for city council in the future to overlook the progress of the city. The one thing Memphis has to correct is the crime situation however it will take a while to find a solution.

Memphis has more famous rap acts, too…

I’m SO HAPPY to hear about my state’s top cities!! Even though I am from Knoxville, this really means a lot Mr. beat.

Thank you for covering my native (Memphis) and current hometown (Nashville)! Memphis has its share of well-known problems but what it lacks in affluence it makes up for in generosity and determination. It is a special place, and I'm grateful that you recognized that! Nashville has a lot going for it. The metro area has experienced unprecedented prosperity and economic growth, but the growth has come at an enormous cost for its native residents, specifically the dramatic increase in housing prices. Folks moving here from out west or traveling here from around the world are great - and are more than welcome - but natives can't compete with $1MM+ housing budgets of Californians or long-term rental stock being replaced by Airbnb's.

As a Memphian, I’m glad you finally did a comparison video of my hometown. Back in May following the Barbecue Festival, me and my mother happened to meet a Dutch couple who also toured both. On their last night of their ‘southern tour’ while they stayed with us, they thought locally we had more character and soul than Nashville. I love Nashville and would like directly compete with them on with tourism and industry, but as stated with the large increase in property values they have lost some of their original identity also with the large increase in population. In my mid-20s, there are other young people my age I know who’ve attempted to start their careers in Nashville, being forced to move home due to the high cost of real estate in the city limits.

Thanks Mr. Beat for making this vid. I'm from Memphis originally but now live in Nashville. Also, a lot of the Nashville BBQ joints started out in West Tennessee (Memphis).

Mr Beat you are such a good history teacher. I had one in 8th grade who gave me such an interest. I appreciate your videos a lot. I wish I could reach out to my old history teach to let him know how much I appreciate him. Mr Hale if you see this you were the best. Mr Beat you are great. 😁

As someone born in Nashville and living relatively close in Clarksville, TN, thank you for making this video!

Born in Nashville and lived half an hour southeast of it my whole life, and have naturally been there many times, especially recently for concerts and Pride. I did just visit Memphis for a concert last week at Graceland, and had a fantastic time! Definitely want to go back to check out the civil rights museum. Thanks for giving my home state some love, Mr. Beat!

Sticking with TN, you should do Knoxville vs Chattanooga. East TN never gets the love it deserves.

I have a friend who recently moved to Memphis. Thank you for making this video, now I know something about where my friend lives!

As a born and raised Nashvillean, it's always fun to hear you talk about Tennessee. Hope you got to enjoy Nashville a bit outside of Broadway as well! (Also just graduated from Belmont haha)

I am so glad you had a good time in Memphis and Nashville. It showed in the great video you produced. I am a Tennessean, but I even learned some stuff. Never heard of Little Kurdistan before. Thanks for some great and informative lessons on my state.

Nashville and Memphis....such a great comparison

I lived in Memphis for 12 years and I love Memphis.

I've never been to Memphis but last year got to see Nashville. I was heading towards Indiana that time. Tennesee is a very fascinating state I'd love to visit again in the future.

As a Memphian I feel this videos sums up the cities and the states well and honestly, but Memphis is in the shade while as Nashville is doing much better for itself.

Can you compare Savannah, Ga and Charleston, Sc?

The "which city is bigger" is a hard question. Nashville and Davidson county have a consolidated govt. Memphis and Shelby county don't. Shelby county has a much larger population than Davidson.

I was waiting on a "Walking in Memphis" joke and you didn't disappoint!

I’m from Memphis and Nashville feels like the favored child. :{ Nothing ticks us off more than Nashville people making jokes at our expense

I think it would be super cool to do DC and Baltimore and/or Milwaukee and Chicago! As always, great video Matt!

Memphis citizen here 🥰

Do Louisville and Cincinnati next

Knoxville vs Chattanooga; Richmond vs Norfolk; Orlando vs Tampa Bay; New Haven vs Hartford; Buffalo vs Rochester vs Syracuse vs Albany; St. Catharines vs Niagara Falls; Ontario vs Quebec; Saskatchewan vs Manitoba; Cleveland vs Pittsburgh; Columbus vs Indianapolis; Cincinnati vs Louisville; Oklahoma city vs Tulsa; Phoenix vs Tucson; Navajo vs Cherokee; Carson vs Reno; Sacramento vs San Diego; Ireland vs Scotland; Wales vs Brittany; Nantes vs Rennes; Glasgow vs Edinburgh; Liverpool vs Manchester; Leeds vs Sheffield; Leicester vs Nottingham; Birmingham, Eng vs Birmingham, AL; Cardiff vs Bristol; Cambridge vs Oxford; Madrid vs Barcelona; Lisbon vs Porto; Madeira vs Azores; Gran Canary vs Tenerife; Bordeaux vs Toulouse; Marseille vs Nice; Montpellier vs Tolon; Limoges vs Clermont-Ferrand; Caen vs Rouen; Nancy vs Metz; Strassburg vs Stuttgart; Cologne vs Dusseldorf; Dortmund vs Hanover; Frankfurt vs Hamborg; Kiel vs Lubeck; Leipzig vs Dresden; Warsaw vs Krakow; Wroclaw vs Gdansk; Prague vs Brno; Bohemia vs Moravia; Innsbruck vs Bolzano; Milan vs Rome; Turin vs Naples; Venice vs Genoa; Bologna vs Florence; Palermo vs Catania; Zurich vs Geneva; Basel vs Lausanne; Luzern vs St. Gallen; Amsterdam vs Brussels; Rotterdam vs Anterwep; Albania vs Kosovo; Istanbul vs Ankara; Bursa vs Izmir; Damascus vs Aleppo; Tel Aviv vs Jerusalem; Lebanon vs Tunisia; Algeria vs Morocco; Jeddah vs Mecca; Dubai vs Abu Dhabi; Qatar vs UAE; Yazidism vs Zoroastrianism; Karachi vs Islamabad; Mumbai vs Delhi vs Kolkata; Chennai vs Bangalore vs Hyderabad; Sikhism vs Jainism vs Buddhism; Thailand vs Laos; Hanoi vs Saigon; Hong Kong vs Singapore; Osaka vs Kyoto; Kobe vs Yokohama; Nagoya vs Fukuoka; Hiroshima vs Nagasaki; Ryukyu vs Hokkaido; Sakhalin vs Kamchatka; Vladivostok vs Khabarovsk; Irkutsk vs Krasnoyarsk; Novosibirsk vs Yekaterinburg; Omsk vs Chelyabinsk; Kazan vs Ufa; Perm vs Samara; Nizhny Novgorod vs Veliky Novgorod; Volgograd vs Voronezh; Rostov vs Krasnodar; Sevastopol vs Simferopol; Astana vs Almaty; Bukhara vs Samarkand; Tashkent vs Urumqi; Guam vs Saipan; Samoa vs American Samoa; New Caledonia vs French Polynesia; Reunion vs Mauritius; Guadeloupe vs Martinique; Barbados vs Grenada; Aruba vs Curacao; Medellin vs Cali; Quito vs Guayaquil; Iquitos vs Manaus; La Paz vs Santa Cruz; Santiago vs Buenos Aires; Rosario vs Cordoba; Mr. Beat vs Me.

Crazy coincidence this uploaded today. I’m deciding between Memphis and Nashville as my next vacation destination.

Never fails to disappoint!

I had Nashville Hot Chicken last year. It was "mild" I think. I had to drink almost a gallon of water and four slices of bread to cool my mouth down. Anyway, I think I've looked forward to this video more than any other you've done, and it did not disappoint! (Can you tell I love Nashville?)

Hey Mr. Beat. As a resident of the Memphis metro area (on the AR side) I was very excited to this video! Loved the video. Keep up the great work!

Nashville area resident here. Pretty good analysis of Nashville, if a little too positive. Can’t believe you didn’t touch on the hellish interstate 24 or the terrible gerrymandering of the Nashville US Congressional district. Thank you for pointing out how the population and cost of living are skyrocketing here, groceries are twice as expensive now as they were two years ago!

Fun fact: Memphis was intentionally named after the ancient Egyptian city. Many other towns along the Mississippi River are named after Egyptian cities, like Cairo, Illinois.

I lived in both cities, living in Memphis twice and I have to say Memphis feels more real. Plus the Rendezvous is in a dark alley near the Peabody and there my friends is the best BBQ in the world! I also met my wife and the mother of my children in Memphis.

Love being from Nashville and being a Tennesseean ❤

There's one other thing Memphis has that Nashville doesn't, a rich history of professional wrestling. Some of the greatest pro wrestlers in history came from Memphis and they still have a wrestling show there today. Because of the wrestling it was one of the first "if not the first" sports to end segregation, Sputnik Monroe lead the charge in that.

Been to both cities most definitely, Nashville was not just one favorite out of the two here, but also one of 3 favorite cities I’ve visited out of 42 states I’ve been to. I will definitely choose living in Nashville, or most parts of Tennessee over living in Florida any day. At least in Tennessee, your closer to a LOT of other states being that it borders the most in the whole country, no hurricanes, less sweaty, and more friendly and less wild in my opinion over Florida.

I'm from Chattanooga and have lived in Memphis for 3 years. It is a magical, musical city. I hope you went to Silky o Sullivan's while you were here!

We made the cut! - Thanks for the shoutout, Mr. Beat!

Memphis has a legendary hip hop scene too, which has kind of seen a resurgence in the past few years. NLE Choppa, Yo Gotti, Moneybagg Yo, Key Glock, and the late Young Dolph (RIP). It’s had an immense impact on the entire genre of hip hop.

I love Memphis- it’s city , yet southern.. full of history and opportunity if led in the right direction

Awesome vid! You should compare Chattanooga and Knoxville next.

If u haven’t seen the bridge across the Mississippi at night u should check it out. I was lucky enough to wake up on the City of New Orleans and catch the lights in the distance about an hour before we pulled into the station at dawn. It’s quite the light show. Glad I got to see it.

I really like Nashville, and I'm so looking forward to exploring Memphis one day. Memphis had an outsized influence on US culture -- so many things to see!

Strikingly similar as far as large US cities. They are even directly next to each other in the top 30 on the list of US cities by population

Video idea: Winston-Salem and Greensboro Comparison

Sucks that these two cities are not enough to turn Tennessee Democrat.

Thanks for this timely video, Mr. Beat. My wife and I are traveling to Memphis to say goodbye to my father-in-law. ☹️

I wonder if Geography King would do an interview with you. You both have great content.

I’d like to visit both, but I might be a bit more partial to Memphis as one of my favorite movies, Mystery Train by Jim Jarmusch is set there.

As a resident of the greater Nashville area and native of Chattanooga, this video was very informative!

Thank you for this treat. As someone who was born and has lived in Memphis all my life, it very nice here if you exclude the crime.

Been waiting for these two cities to get compared for a while, glad it's finally here!

Las Vegas and Phoenix should be next. Great video btw 🎉

I grew up not too far from these two in TN. Memphis might be a little more rough around the edges, but there's so much to do, the zoo is consistently ranked the best in the country, and the food is generally FAR better and more typical of what Tennesseans/Southerner's eat. If you're a history buff and want to check out the two cities, Jackson lies between em. It's a lot smaller and has a history with railways, Johnny Cash, and Carl Perkins. If you head east from Memphis, you can check out the Shiloh park and catch a fish fry in nearby Savannah. I will say, Nashville has way better landscapes and the construction isn't nearly as intrusive. The people seem a bit more progressive, which I'm a gigantic fan of... but between that and the immense wealth of the people there, it won't give you as good of a picture of the people in the state.

Memphis has so much history. Was there a few months ago and I had a blast exploring all the historical sites. And the food OMG. Nashville is great but i'll take Memphis.

Huge fan of your videos, so seeing my city (Nashville) be in the title of one of them really excited me! Really informative stuff, I didn't know much about Memphis' history outside of its musical stuff. Glad you had a good time in Tennessee!

I have family that lives near Nashville (Murfreesboro)!

I live in memphis. Nashville is a lot nicer and bigger. Nashville has more to offer. Crime in memphis is horrible

You should do Cincinnati vs Cleveland

Great video Me beat. I live in the suburbs of Memphis and travel to Nashville frequently. You included so much small details it was amazing! Only thing I would ad is the opryland hotel in Nashville. It is a truly amazing place

Memphis is my hometown and current residence. We stomp Nashville in terms of culture but Nashville is better in terms of crime, infrastructure, and jobs.

This video has made me appreciate Memphis more. It is definitely an underrated city.

I am not a blues enthusiast nor a country music fan. I am not from Tennessee nor do I plan on visiting it. I didn't really have an interest in the topic before clicking on this. That said, you have made this very interesting to me. Great job!

as a Canadian, my two favourite American cities are Memphis and Nashville, loved the video.

Amtrak's City of New Orleans train which runs through Memphis, TN on a daily basis. And I should be more familiar with that city than I really am. Look forward to seeing all that city has to offer in the near future. Sadly when I go down there I only pass through. Thanks for the comparison series Mr. Beat.

The one thing I'd push back on is that if you're a music *lover*, then Memphis is the place to be. The local music scene is much, MUCH more lively there. Nashville is actually not a very good place to go see a show outside of a couple of large, expensive venues. It's the industry city for sure and a lot of musicians have homes there for recording sessions but that's not the same as actually having a vibrant concert scene.

I live in STL and had a very short visit to Memphis in the spring. I was surprised how neighbkrhoods blended right into the heartnof the riverfront and the tourist area of Memphis. I thiught it quite surprising how easy it was to get around that river area. STL got so chopped up with interstates, we have to make a huge effort to get to our city center.

As a Nashville native 16 million people visited Nashville in 2023 more expected by the end of this summer if you don’t like a tourist city stay away! Little Richard is the architect of Rock&Roll!

Love it. I live in Nashville now but have lived in TN my entire life. You really did a good job focusing on music.

I am a Nashville native and I love my fellow Tennesseans. Hi Memphians.

You didn’t mention that the Memphis Zoo is one of the best Zoos in the country.

Ive visited Memphis, Nashville, and Chattanooga on various trips (i felt like Chattanooga deserved an honorable mention as an interesting Tennessee city). Nashville definitely had more new development and seemed like a "trendy" city. Bar tractor pulls, whole foods kind of vibe. Memphis' downtown definitely had a somewhat odd half gentrified aesthetic the last time i was there. There would be a newer, well kept looking building in between 2 or 3 that looked old and economically depressed. This includes the area around the Civil Rights Museum and the Mississippi riverfront. Great BBQ brisket in Memphis and Nashville hot chicken should almost be on the to do list if visiting either of these cities. Fun fact-Memphis Zoo is one of only 3 zoos with panda bears in North America.

Nashville resident (and musician) here, nice to see the comparison!

Love your videos! And they always inspire travel plans 🎉 need to visit both cities soon

Of the two just for a fun weekend I think Memphis wins. A room at the Peabody, a night on Beale, & some great barbecue is hard to beat. Not to mention Sun and Graceland. Nashville if you're after something more specific like a concert, sporting event, or guitar shopping.

Yes! I suggested this a couple of years ago, awesome! I grew up in Memphis, currently live in Nashville ❤️

As someone who lived in Nashville for many years, Nashville has become the Disneyland of music. It's cringe to say but if you want a more "authentic" music experience, go to Memphis.

LET’S GOOO!!! I can’t believe you did a video on Memphis (and Nashville I guess) 🙏🙏

Memphis and Nashville are like twin cities only difference is they’re far apart it reminds me of Minneapolis and St Paul

Do a video on Tampa, FL vs Miami, FL/Orlando, FL

Another great comparison video, thanks Mr Beat.

Well done. I'm originally from and grew up in Nashville. I graduated from Maplewood High School. You can add Knoxville as leaning relatively Democrat, too. When I was a kid we visited a civil war battlefield near Nashville and they shot off a cannon....with a round in it! They hit a dead tree and took it out with a deafening "CRACK!!". I'm not a country music fan, though. Rock n' Roll all the way for me. In grade school we visited The Hermitage and as a teen some of my friends and I, in the summer, would walk from our neighborhood and across the bridge over the Cumberland River into downtown and hang out in Centennial Park home of "The Parthenon"

I have an idea! You should draw 2 random presidents out of a hat and try to find as many similarities as possible. Thus proving the "lincoln kennedy debate" is just coincidence.

I was born & raised in southern california but I started going to TN regularly over the last few years and i’m really blown away. I’ve developed a real love for the state. As a visual artist & black man i’m almost overwhelmed by history & influences when im out there.

I just moved to Nashville, can't believe I just missed you!

Bruh, you were in Memphis and I didn’t know??! I would have loved to meet you. Now I’m sad.