1 00:00:01,560 --> 00:00:05,720 Speaker 1: Atlanta is yesterday and tomorrow at the same down time. 2 00:00:07,080 --> 00:00:08,280 Speaker 1: Now these nineties. 3 00:00:07,960 --> 00:00:09,240 Speaker 2: Babies are the adults. 4 00:00:09,920 --> 00:00:13,159 Speaker 1: So nostalgia that I've been expanded to include reminiscence of 5 00:00:13,200 --> 00:00:17,599 Speaker 1: the early two thousands, from Edward J to DJ Drama 6 00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:21,560 Speaker 1: making mixtapes to Grady Babies making matchups on the Internet. 7 00:00:22,560 --> 00:00:27,320 Speaker 1: What once was never dies, It lives on in the present. 8 00:00:27,880 --> 00:00:30,880 Speaker 1: Atlanta has no future without the past that makes it possible. 9 00:00:32,120 --> 00:00:37,320 Speaker 1: A big rule, and Atlanta is futuristic nostalgia. 10 00:00:44,520 --> 00:00:48,440 Speaker 3: For the last five years, Atlanta's music scene has carried 11 00:00:48,479 --> 00:00:50,840 Speaker 3: an unshakable weight take off. 12 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:54,040 Speaker 4: A beloved entertainer shot dead early Tuesday morning after a 13 00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:54,880 Speaker 4: party in Houston. 14 00:00:54,960 --> 00:00:56,640 Speaker 5: Early a month after his passing. 15 00:00:56,680 --> 00:00:59,080 Speaker 2: A cause of death has now been released for Atlanta 16 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:01,160 Speaker 2: rapper rich hokwon. 17 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:02,440 Speaker 5: All right and at rest in peace to Little Kid. 18 00:01:02,480 --> 00:01:04,839 Speaker 5: He has died at the age of twenty four. 19 00:01:04,959 --> 00:01:05,560 Speaker 2: A reptive. 20 00:01:06,240 --> 00:01:10,560 Speaker 3: A scene once defined by its consistency and brilliance was 21 00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:14,919 Speaker 3: suddenly in the spotlight for horrific losses promising artists taken 22 00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:15,959 Speaker 3: before their time. 23 00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:18,319 Speaker 5: Legends gone too soon, but. 24 00:01:18,400 --> 00:01:21,199 Speaker 6: The city of Atlanta is mourning the loss of local 25 00:01:21,280 --> 00:01:24,679 Speaker 6: hip hop pioneer Rico Wade tonight with ten. Atlanta hip 26 00:01:24,720 --> 00:01:27,480 Speaker 6: hop icon dj Unk has died at forty two. 27 00:01:27,720 --> 00:01:29,160 Speaker 2: Timsy reports The Round. 28 00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:31,479 Speaker 3: I was covering Atlanta's music scene through all of this, 29 00:01:31,720 --> 00:01:35,360 Speaker 3: and I won't lie. The energy felt heavy, like the 30 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:38,200 Speaker 3: whole city was in mourning, trying to figure out what 31 00:01:38,280 --> 00:01:39,480 Speaker 3: to do with its grief. 32 00:01:39,959 --> 00:01:41,800 Speaker 7: It really felt like, you know, the last couple of 33 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:43,759 Speaker 7: years had been a dark cloud over the city. 34 00:01:44,120 --> 00:01:45,640 Speaker 5: DJ Drama was feeling it too. 35 00:01:46,120 --> 00:01:48,560 Speaker 2: It placed the city in a space that we weren't 36 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:50,600 Speaker 2: used to. You know, it didn't feel like home. 37 00:01:50,960 --> 00:01:53,560 Speaker 3: That's a big statement from someone whose home has been 38 00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:57,120 Speaker 3: Atlanta for the last thirty years, who's played a huge 39 00:01:57,200 --> 00:02:00,840 Speaker 3: role in platforming local artists through mixtapes like its infamous 40 00:02:00,840 --> 00:02:01,880 Speaker 3: Gangster Girl series. 41 00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:06,800 Speaker 2: To the world, we looked unified and you know that changed. 42 00:02:07,440 --> 00:02:10,840 Speaker 3: But the way Drama sees it, this dark cloud, this 43 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:14,880 Speaker 3: moment of uncertainty, it's just another opportunity for a rebirth, 44 00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:19,440 Speaker 3: a chance for Atlanta, a city once symbolized by the phoenix, 45 00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:22,840 Speaker 3: to burn itself down and rebuild from the rubble. 46 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:27,360 Speaker 7: Every two years, Atlanta literally like blows itself up and 47 00:02:27,400 --> 00:02:31,440 Speaker 7: creates this new sound from Damn Near Dungeon Family on 48 00:02:31,880 --> 00:02:35,440 Speaker 7: from Bluda to Tip to Jiezi to Gucci to Chains 49 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:40,840 Speaker 7: to Future the Negos to Thug to Yadi to Kardi 50 00:02:41,080 --> 00:02:42,040 Speaker 7: and got it Like. 51 00:02:42,080 --> 00:02:43,280 Speaker 2: It's just there's. 52 00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:46,960 Speaker 7: Always these new breed of artists that takes the world 53 00:02:47,040 --> 00:02:50,560 Speaker 7: by storm. 54 00:02:50,600 --> 00:02:54,480 Speaker 3: So who's next? After so much loss? What could make 55 00:02:54,520 --> 00:02:58,280 Speaker 3: the city feel like itself again? What sound could cut 56 00:02:58,320 --> 00:03:01,560 Speaker 3: through the heaviness and bring joy? In the summer of 57 00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:06,080 Speaker 3: twenty twenty five, two mixtapes stood out as answers Grady 58 00:03:06,120 --> 00:03:09,520 Speaker 3: Baby from the rising star Anisia and the first woman 59 00:03:09,560 --> 00:03:12,160 Speaker 3: from Atlanta to have our own gangster girls. 60 00:03:11,880 --> 00:03:14,600 Speaker 5: Mixtape, Baby Go Get Some Money. 61 00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:19,720 Speaker 3: And a futuristic Summer from the city's legendary producer Metro. 62 00:03:19,520 --> 00:03:21,440 Speaker 5: Bobek Save Me That. 63 00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:23,160 Speaker 1: You. 64 00:03:24,320 --> 00:03:27,160 Speaker 3: Both projects lean into the city's nostalgic sound from the 65 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:30,760 Speaker 3: two thousands and twenty tens, before the dark cloud crept 66 00:03:30,800 --> 00:03:35,080 Speaker 3: in from party music like crunkin Bee Snap, then rockstar 67 00:03:35,200 --> 00:03:38,840 Speaker 3: rap poured through car speakers skating rinks in the clubs. 68 00:03:39,600 --> 00:03:42,560 Speaker 3: Mixtapes have always been something special in the South. Not 69 00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:45,120 Speaker 3: only were they pivotal in getting our music heard across 70 00:03:45,120 --> 00:03:48,520 Speaker 3: the country in the world, they've given artists room to 71 00:03:48,600 --> 00:03:53,800 Speaker 3: experiment been the rules musically and build momentum catching major 72 00:03:53,880 --> 00:03:57,480 Speaker 3: label's attention. So for our final episode of the series, 73 00:03:57,560 --> 00:04:00,760 Speaker 3: we're looking back at the rise of mixtape culture in Atlanta, 74 00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:05,240 Speaker 3: how DJ Drama's iconic Gangster Grill series was born, and 75 00:04:05,280 --> 00:04:08,680 Speaker 3: how that blueprint created a path for newcomers like Anicia 76 00:04:08,920 --> 00:04:10,280 Speaker 3: to carry the city's. 77 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:11,280 Speaker 5: Sound into a new era. 78 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:14,320 Speaker 3: And we'll dive into the party sounds that Metro Boomin 79 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:17,760 Speaker 3: taps into to bring joy back to the city. For 80 00:04:17,839 --> 00:04:21,760 Speaker 3: black folks, a period of morning is usually followed by celebration. 81 00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:26,240 Speaker 3: This story is no different. I'm Jewel Wicker. This is 82 00:04:26,279 --> 00:04:34,680 Speaker 3: episode eight of Atlanta Is. Our story begins, like so 83 00:04:34,839 --> 00:04:39,000 Speaker 3: many of Atlanta's great stories do, at the Atlanta University Center. 84 00:04:39,760 --> 00:04:44,080 Speaker 3: It's the mid nineties. Outcasts Southern playlistic Cadillac Music has 85 00:04:44,320 --> 00:04:45,200 Speaker 3: just dropped. 86 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:49,520 Speaker 5: DJ Drama. 87 00:04:49,760 --> 00:04:53,919 Speaker 3: Tyree Simmons back then is a teenager from Philly tagging 88 00:04:53,960 --> 00:04:58,039 Speaker 3: along with his dad, a noted civil rights activist, Michael Simmons, 89 00:04:58,320 --> 00:05:02,000 Speaker 3: who is in town for a convention. Here Drama discovers 90 00:05:02,040 --> 00:05:04,560 Speaker 3: Atlanta in the National Black Arts Festival. 91 00:05:04,880 --> 00:05:07,599 Speaker 2: I really just had never experienced anything like what was 92 00:05:07,640 --> 00:05:09,560 Speaker 2: going on in the city as far as you know, 93 00:05:09,640 --> 00:05:14,920 Speaker 2: seeing so many young, black, affluent creatives and all walks 94 00:05:14,920 --> 00:05:15,359 Speaker 2: of life. 95 00:05:15,760 --> 00:05:18,600 Speaker 3: That image impacted him so much that he returned a 96 00:05:18,640 --> 00:05:22,440 Speaker 3: few years later, this time as a Clark Atlanta University student. 97 00:05:22,760 --> 00:05:25,640 Speaker 2: Before I was known around the globe, I was known 98 00:05:25,800 --> 00:05:26,479 Speaker 2: in the AUC. 99 00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:30,800 Speaker 3: Relocating to Atlanta allowed Drama to connect with young creatives, 100 00:05:30,880 --> 00:05:32,920 Speaker 3: the types of people like the ones he first saw 101 00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:34,000 Speaker 3: at the Arts Festival. 102 00:05:34,320 --> 00:05:38,040 Speaker 2: The AUC is such a melting pot of people of 103 00:05:38,080 --> 00:05:43,080 Speaker 2: color from so many different places, with so many dreams 104 00:05:43,080 --> 00:05:47,200 Speaker 2: and aspirations and ideas and hustles and ambitions. 105 00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:50,359 Speaker 3: Drama wasted no time When he got to Atlanta. He 106 00:05:50,440 --> 00:05:52,960 Speaker 3: was into djaying, but within the first week he was 107 00:05:53,040 --> 00:05:57,159 Speaker 3: already battling other DJs around campus. In his sophomore year, 108 00:05:57,400 --> 00:06:00,599 Speaker 3: he met his current business partner in Generation Now founder 109 00:06:00,800 --> 00:06:01,440 Speaker 3: Don Cannon. 110 00:06:01,800 --> 00:06:04,560 Speaker 2: He was literally running around his freshman year my sophomore 111 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:07,359 Speaker 2: year trying to befirm me, and I kind of was like, 112 00:06:07,360 --> 00:06:09,560 Speaker 2: come on, young boy, like I'm busy, you know what 113 00:06:09,560 --> 00:06:11,680 Speaker 2: I'm saying. And he was like, yo, I make beats 114 00:06:11,920 --> 00:06:14,440 Speaker 2: on DJ too. I'm from Philly, And I was like, Yeah, 115 00:06:14,480 --> 00:06:15,679 Speaker 2: that's cool, that's cool. 116 00:06:15,960 --> 00:06:19,440 Speaker 3: Drama ended up listening to some of Cannon's beats reluctantly 117 00:06:19,760 --> 00:06:20,640 Speaker 3: that shit was fire. 118 00:06:20,760 --> 00:06:22,720 Speaker 2: He was like baby DJ Premire at the time. 119 00:06:23,160 --> 00:06:25,280 Speaker 5: The pair quickly became inseparable. 120 00:06:25,720 --> 00:06:29,000 Speaker 3: But while other DJs were busy battling or crafting beats, 121 00:06:29,360 --> 00:06:34,520 Speaker 3: Drama was laser focused on one thing, making mixtapes. Mixtapes 122 00:06:34,520 --> 00:06:36,719 Speaker 3: have evolved a lot since they were first created in 123 00:06:36,760 --> 00:06:40,240 Speaker 3: the nineteen seventies, just like hip hop itself. By the 124 00:06:40,240 --> 00:06:43,040 Speaker 3: mid nineties, they were almost like what playlists are today, 125 00:06:43,680 --> 00:06:44,720 Speaker 3: just a lot more analog. 126 00:06:45,160 --> 00:06:50,119 Speaker 7: The original first mixtapes that were created were literally live 127 00:06:50,200 --> 00:06:53,960 Speaker 7: recordings of DJs in the clubs that were then put 128 00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:57,440 Speaker 7: on the cassettes that dope boys and hustlers would cop 129 00:06:57,480 --> 00:07:01,599 Speaker 7: off the DJ to ride around New York City. 130 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:05,760 Speaker 5: Mixtape shifted over time. 131 00:07:06,240 --> 00:07:09,520 Speaker 3: In the early two thousands, artists like fifty Cent used 132 00:07:09,560 --> 00:07:12,160 Speaker 3: them as demos to get the attention of the music industry, 133 00:07:13,200 --> 00:07:21,880 Speaker 3: and it works. In the streaming era, a mixtape is 134 00:07:21,920 --> 00:07:25,200 Speaker 3: almost a marketing term, a nod to the freedom and 135 00:07:25,320 --> 00:07:30,480 Speaker 3: experimentation of old mixtape culture. Today, once a project hits 136 00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:33,520 Speaker 3: streaming platforms, you can't even tell the difference between a 137 00:07:33,560 --> 00:07:37,000 Speaker 3: mixtape and an album. But back when Drama was coming up, 138 00:07:37,320 --> 00:07:40,760 Speaker 3: he'd hand picked songs and create different playlists or, as 139 00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:44,320 Speaker 3: he says, tapes and sell them on the AUC campus. 140 00:07:44,600 --> 00:07:46,440 Speaker 2: I would have an up North hip hop tape. I 141 00:07:46,440 --> 00:07:48,800 Speaker 2: would have a down South hip hop tape. I would 142 00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:52,080 Speaker 2: have a reggae tape. I would have a neo soul tape. 143 00:07:52,120 --> 00:07:55,040 Speaker 2: Even before the term neo soul existed. 144 00:07:54,920 --> 00:07:58,120 Speaker 3: Drama was now living down South, but carried the culture 145 00:07:58,160 --> 00:07:59,440 Speaker 3: from up North with him. 146 00:07:59,640 --> 00:08:03,520 Speaker 2: With the due respect, I wasn't listening to what was 147 00:08:03,520 --> 00:08:05,600 Speaker 2: coming out of Atlanta when it came to mixtapes. I 148 00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:09,360 Speaker 2: was listening to who Kid and Green Lantern and Clue 149 00:08:09,440 --> 00:08:13,240 Speaker 2: and those guys and watching what they were doing how 150 00:08:13,280 --> 00:08:14,160 Speaker 2: they were doing it. 151 00:08:19,160 --> 00:08:22,120 Speaker 3: But Atlanta did have its own mixtape history that started 152 00:08:22,320 --> 00:08:25,920 Speaker 3: long before Drama settled into his clerk Atlanta dorm, and 153 00:08:26,040 --> 00:08:30,239 Speaker 3: soon he'd become a part of this lineage. Before gangster grills, 154 00:08:30,480 --> 00:08:35,000 Speaker 3: before Drama's drops echoed through clubs and car speakers, Atlanta's 155 00:08:35,040 --> 00:08:38,600 Speaker 3: mixtape foundation was being built by two crews who practically 156 00:08:38,679 --> 00:08:41,760 Speaker 3: split the city in half, Oom Camp on the west 157 00:08:41,760 --> 00:08:45,560 Speaker 3: side and the J Team on the east side. 158 00:08:45,720 --> 00:08:48,680 Speaker 2: I mean, when I got here, Edward J Was running 159 00:08:48,720 --> 00:08:49,120 Speaker 2: the game. 160 00:08:49,600 --> 00:08:51,079 Speaker 5: DJ Jelly is from oom Camp. 161 00:08:51,360 --> 00:08:55,000 Speaker 3: He's a Saint Louis transplant turned Atlanta legend who worked 162 00:08:55,040 --> 00:08:58,160 Speaker 3: everywhere from teen clubs to Magic City and Hot ninety 163 00:08:58,200 --> 00:09:01,120 Speaker 3: seven point five. His tape were full of eight oo 164 00:09:01,160 --> 00:09:04,520 Speaker 3: eight's and the sounds of Atlanta based music. Jelly moved 165 00:09:04,520 --> 00:09:07,640 Speaker 3: to Atlanta in nineteen eighty nine. He'd stumbled across an 166 00:09:07,760 --> 00:09:10,920 Speaker 3: article about Bobby Brown's recording studio in his mother's copy 167 00:09:10,920 --> 00:09:13,920 Speaker 3: of Essence magazine. When he touched down here, he got 168 00:09:13,920 --> 00:09:17,520 Speaker 3: a short lived internship at the studio and eventually linked 169 00:09:17,559 --> 00:09:20,080 Speaker 3: up with MC Assault, a guy with a dream of 170 00:09:20,120 --> 00:09:22,079 Speaker 3: making a name for himself through mixtapes. 171 00:09:25,080 --> 00:09:27,679 Speaker 8: Salt sublimely when they hear the tapes, say Cake, you're 172 00:09:27,679 --> 00:09:30,480 Speaker 8: hearing my name Jelly, The MC is Salt, so people 173 00:09:30,480 --> 00:09:31,880 Speaker 8: would know us. 174 00:09:32,160 --> 00:09:35,800 Speaker 3: Together, the pair wanted to build an empire. They crossed 175 00:09:35,840 --> 00:09:39,520 Speaker 3: paths with Big Oom and Atlanta hustler and real estate entrepreneur. 176 00:09:39,920 --> 00:09:43,640 Speaker 3: With his financial backing, they formed oom Camp, a collective 177 00:09:43,720 --> 00:09:46,640 Speaker 3: that would eventually turn into a label and promote artists 178 00:09:46,679 --> 00:09:50,080 Speaker 3: like dj Unk, who died earlier this year, but in 179 00:09:50,080 --> 00:09:52,320 Speaker 3: two thousand and six, with the help of Andre three 180 00:09:52,320 --> 00:09:55,240 Speaker 3: thousand in t Payne. He had the whole world walking 181 00:09:55,280 --> 00:09:59,640 Speaker 3: it out, but Boom Camp's rise in the early nineties 182 00:09:59,679 --> 00:10:01,160 Speaker 3: hidden an immediate. 183 00:10:00,679 --> 00:10:05,800 Speaker 8: Obstacle with j was like this east Side mix tape Kingpin. 184 00:10:05,920 --> 00:10:09,240 Speaker 8: He had like Smurf Yeah, Kizzie Rock, had a bunch 185 00:10:09,280 --> 00:10:12,520 Speaker 8: of DJs up under him and they would basically run. 186 00:10:12,240 --> 00:10:14,840 Speaker 3: In the Atlanta King Edward J, as he was known 187 00:10:14,880 --> 00:10:17,080 Speaker 3: back then, ran the East Side. 188 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:20,520 Speaker 5: Gonnack. 189 00:10:21,080 --> 00:10:23,240 Speaker 3: He started with the record store in the eighties, but 190 00:10:23,280 --> 00:10:25,880 Speaker 3: when sales weren't cutting it, he began making his own 191 00:10:25,960 --> 00:10:29,360 Speaker 3: mixes and selling them at his store. His crew, the 192 00:10:29,440 --> 00:10:33,040 Speaker 3: J Team, dominated with tapes like Bedroom Boom, Take a 193 00:10:33,080 --> 00:10:34,440 Speaker 3: guest to what that sounded like? 194 00:10:36,080 --> 00:10:40,599 Speaker 5: Slow Jam blends that the crew would talk over Boom 195 00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:44,760 Speaker 5: Come on Girl with J saying. 196 00:10:49,200 --> 00:10:52,960 Speaker 3: By the nineties, Edward J was a mixtape legend and 197 00:10:53,040 --> 00:10:55,720 Speaker 3: oot Camp was ready to challenge him. But instead of 198 00:10:55,760 --> 00:10:59,600 Speaker 3: copying the J Team, Jelly built on their blueprint, flipping 199 00:10:59,720 --> 00:11:02,560 Speaker 3: slow O, R and B vocals over fast paced beats, 200 00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:05,880 Speaker 3: creating a distinctly Atlanta sound that would eventually become the 201 00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:18,400 Speaker 3: DNA behind songs like ghost Town DJs My Boo. A rivalry, 202 00:11:18,760 --> 00:11:23,320 Speaker 3: or call it healthy competition was brewing, two crews fighting 203 00:11:23,360 --> 00:11:26,400 Speaker 3: for the sound of the city. Jelly says oot Camp 204 00:11:26,480 --> 00:11:28,839 Speaker 3: came to the west side of Atlanta, but Edward j 205 00:11:29,200 --> 00:11:30,200 Speaker 3: was to the East side. 206 00:11:30,240 --> 00:11:33,000 Speaker 8: We would be on the streets Sunday through Sunday, like 207 00:11:33,040 --> 00:11:35,320 Speaker 8: we would sell the dope on the West side and 208 00:11:35,360 --> 00:11:37,760 Speaker 8: we would just hand the foot We'd take our book 209 00:11:37,800 --> 00:11:40,439 Speaker 8: bags and we go sell it. Say hey, we got 210 00:11:40,440 --> 00:11:43,040 Speaker 8: this tape we got ed with j looking like a bitch. 211 00:11:43,559 --> 00:11:45,439 Speaker 2: You know, that'd be something that was our pits. 212 00:11:46,040 --> 00:11:48,679 Speaker 5: They sold a lot of mixtapes this way, and. 213 00:11:48,679 --> 00:11:52,000 Speaker 8: We would sell thousands and thousands of mixtapes and cassettes. 214 00:11:52,040 --> 00:11:55,240 Speaker 8: We were literally supporting all of our families off of 215 00:11:55,280 --> 00:11:56,120 Speaker 8: those mixtapes. 216 00:11:56,600 --> 00:11:59,480 Speaker 3: The East Side to J team had some incredible DJs, 217 00:11:59,559 --> 00:12:06,319 Speaker 3: including He's he Goes Why Mister Collie Park These Days. 218 00:12:06,440 --> 00:12:09,640 Speaker 3: When Smurf returned from college, oom Camp was revving up 219 00:12:09,800 --> 00:12:10,440 Speaker 3: a mixtape. 220 00:12:10,440 --> 00:12:11,160 Speaker 5: War broke out. 221 00:12:11,400 --> 00:12:14,480 Speaker 8: Smurf made a tape called Jelly Going Fishing and it 222 00:12:14,600 --> 00:12:16,280 Speaker 8: was basically a light diss on me. 223 00:12:16,679 --> 00:12:19,439 Speaker 5: Bum Camp responded with their mixtape one seven. 224 00:12:19,920 --> 00:12:23,200 Speaker 8: We basically had all our rappers rap and talk about 225 00:12:23,200 --> 00:12:24,640 Speaker 8: them bad and you. 226 00:12:24,600 --> 00:12:26,760 Speaker 5: Know, played the Duzen and then we dissed them. We 227 00:12:26,800 --> 00:12:28,079 Speaker 5: just the whole jt. 228 00:12:28,240 --> 00:12:31,760 Speaker 3: This rivalry kept Atlanta fresh with mixtapes, and oom Camp 229 00:12:31,840 --> 00:12:35,400 Speaker 3: expanded to physical stores on the West Side and eventually beyond. 230 00:12:36,280 --> 00:12:38,560 Speaker 5: They were selling their tapes at the flea market on Old. 231 00:12:38,480 --> 00:12:42,240 Speaker 3: National at Greenbrier Mall, then throughout the South, and when 232 00:12:42,240 --> 00:12:45,240 Speaker 3: college students from the AUC went back home, they take 233 00:12:45,280 --> 00:12:51,440 Speaker 3: those tapes back with them, spreading Atlanta's sound. By the 234 00:12:51,520 --> 00:12:55,199 Speaker 3: time DJ Drama arrived at the AUC, the mixtape war 235 00:12:55,280 --> 00:12:58,200 Speaker 3: had cooled. Edward Jay's Rain was winding down. 236 00:12:58,520 --> 00:13:02,240 Speaker 7: I kind of missed their era of domination, but when 237 00:13:02,240 --> 00:13:05,079 Speaker 7: I got to Atlanta, it was pretty much oom Camp 238 00:13:05,360 --> 00:13:10,400 Speaker 7: like on the streets. Jelly Amante had the mixtape game on. 239 00:13:10,679 --> 00:13:14,480 Speaker 3: Smash, and now a kid from Philly with a love 240 00:13:14,559 --> 00:13:17,000 Speaker 3: for blends and a hunger to make his mark was 241 00:13:17,040 --> 00:13:19,680 Speaker 3: about to take the mixtape to a whole new level. 242 00:13:20,400 --> 00:13:23,680 Speaker 3: Gangster Grills didn't start as a grand plan. It started 243 00:13:23,720 --> 00:13:26,280 Speaker 3: because Drama needed a Southern mixtape to sell it Hot 244 00:13:26,360 --> 00:13:29,440 Speaker 3: ninety seven point five's Birthday Bash one year in the 245 00:13:29,480 --> 00:13:31,080 Speaker 3: early two thousands. 246 00:13:30,559 --> 00:13:33,000 Speaker 7: And Jelly and them were probably like four or five 247 00:13:33,600 --> 00:13:35,199 Speaker 7: boosts down from US. 248 00:13:35,120 --> 00:13:38,000 Speaker 3: Drama was with his business partner Don Cannon, that made 249 00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:40,199 Speaker 3: just enough money to pay off their own booths. 250 00:13:40,200 --> 00:13:43,600 Speaker 7: But Oom Camp, I'm watching literally in front of my 251 00:13:43,679 --> 00:13:47,600 Speaker 7: eyes these guys like make tens of thousands of dollars. 252 00:13:48,040 --> 00:13:52,600 Speaker 3: Drama had always loved mixtapes. Now he was seeing firsthand 253 00:13:52,679 --> 00:13:56,200 Speaker 3: how they could be a serious business. Around this time, 254 00:13:56,640 --> 00:13:59,520 Speaker 3: he and Don Cannon were part of super Friends, a 255 00:13:59,520 --> 00:14:02,360 Speaker 3: collective of auc DJs who would go on to have 256 00:14:02,640 --> 00:14:07,040 Speaker 3: huge careers. DJ Mars, the group's founder, is currently Usher's 257 00:14:07,080 --> 00:14:11,440 Speaker 3: tour DJ. DJ Trauma does shows with Dave Chappelle. Back then, 258 00:14:11,920 --> 00:14:14,800 Speaker 3: Drama says the collective's focus was on dominating. 259 00:14:14,320 --> 00:14:16,040 Speaker 5: The clubs, not mixtapes. 260 00:14:16,320 --> 00:14:18,800 Speaker 3: He recalls a time when he attempted to get sponsorship 261 00:14:18,800 --> 00:14:19,640 Speaker 3: money for his tapes. 262 00:14:20,200 --> 00:14:23,440 Speaker 7: This particular woman who had a lot of corporate sponsors 263 00:14:23,480 --> 00:14:26,760 Speaker 7: at the time, and then we get sponsorships to promote 264 00:14:26,800 --> 00:14:30,120 Speaker 7: parties and do things, and we went to her trying 265 00:14:30,120 --> 00:14:34,440 Speaker 7: to get her to sponsor our mixtapes. And I remember 266 00:14:35,040 --> 00:14:38,360 Speaker 7: literally Mars saying to me, Yo, don't go to her 267 00:14:38,520 --> 00:14:43,000 Speaker 7: to waste sponsorship money on mixtapes. Like oom Camp has 268 00:14:43,040 --> 00:14:45,600 Speaker 7: that shit on smash, Like there's no competition like let. 269 00:14:45,560 --> 00:14:46,120 Speaker 2: Them have that. 270 00:14:47,080 --> 00:14:49,480 Speaker 3: They didn't see eye to eye on this, Drama says 271 00:14:49,480 --> 00:14:52,400 Speaker 3: he and Cannon eventually got kicked out of super Friends, but. 272 00:14:52,400 --> 00:14:53,120 Speaker 5: He kept going. 273 00:14:53,440 --> 00:14:56,000 Speaker 3: But in a matter of years, Gangster Grills became the 274 00:14:56,200 --> 00:15:00,360 Speaker 3: Southern mixtape the one artist fought to be on. Drama 275 00:15:00,360 --> 00:15:03,280 Speaker 3: graduated from Clark, Atlanta. He moved into a duplex in 276 00:15:03,320 --> 00:15:05,680 Speaker 3: the old fourth Board on Glenn Irish Drive. 277 00:15:05,960 --> 00:15:08,240 Speaker 2: I mean it's this dingy old crib. 278 00:15:08,480 --> 00:15:11,320 Speaker 3: That dingy crib was where Gangster Grills was born. In 279 00:15:11,360 --> 00:15:12,920 Speaker 3: the studio, it was in a. 280 00:15:12,920 --> 00:15:15,680 Speaker 2: Room where people keep their. 281 00:15:15,800 --> 00:15:20,000 Speaker 3: Washer and dryer inside that cramped laundry room. Drama brought 282 00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:22,560 Speaker 3: the style of the up North tapes he loved, but 283 00:15:22,640 --> 00:15:25,520 Speaker 3: paired it with a reverence for Southern MC's on the Rise. 284 00:15:25,960 --> 00:15:30,520 Speaker 2: I was also a very very very huge fan obviously 285 00:15:30,720 --> 00:15:33,160 Speaker 2: of what was coming out of Atlanta and what was 286 00:15:33,200 --> 00:15:35,920 Speaker 2: coming out of the South musically, because I had now 287 00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:41,560 Speaker 2: been down here for five, six, seven years, and you know, 288 00:15:41,640 --> 00:15:43,480 Speaker 2: I wanted to put the South on my back in 289 00:15:43,520 --> 00:15:46,120 Speaker 2: a sense and to show like yo, the South guy 290 00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:46,920 Speaker 2: spinners too. 291 00:15:47,240 --> 00:15:48,600 Speaker 5: People were taking notice. 292 00:15:48,760 --> 00:15:51,160 Speaker 3: One day, Drama says he got a call from a 293 00:15:51,200 --> 00:15:54,000 Speaker 3: guy named Jason Jeter, who'd come across one of his 294 00:15:54,040 --> 00:15:56,880 Speaker 3: mixtapes in a barber shop and jotted his phone number 295 00:15:56,920 --> 00:15:59,440 Speaker 3: down from the back of the CD case. He was 296 00:15:59,480 --> 00:16:02,000 Speaker 3: working with a young rapper that he really thought Drama 297 00:16:02,040 --> 00:16:04,480 Speaker 3: needed to hear. This was the first time someone had 298 00:16:04,520 --> 00:16:07,720 Speaker 3: actually pitched an artist in him. He invited Jeter in. 299 00:16:07,760 --> 00:16:10,360 Speaker 3: The rapper, a man who was going by tip to 300 00:16:10,440 --> 00:16:12,000 Speaker 3: his duplex on Glen Iris. 301 00:16:12,280 --> 00:16:15,280 Speaker 2: It was very quiet. I remember we had these bi. 302 00:16:15,280 --> 00:16:19,160 Speaker 3: Vocals on inside his makeshift studio. The young MC spit 303 00:16:19,160 --> 00:16:19,840 Speaker 3: a freestyle. 304 00:16:20,120 --> 00:16:23,280 Speaker 2: He picked this Jay z Rockefeller for the fan beat, 305 00:16:24,160 --> 00:16:27,080 Speaker 2: and he wrapped eight or sixteen. 306 00:16:26,640 --> 00:16:30,280 Speaker 3: Bars, despite not having a single hit record yet. He 307 00:16:30,400 --> 00:16:33,800 Speaker 3: ended the rap with a bold statement. He called himself 308 00:16:33,840 --> 00:16:37,080 Speaker 3: the King of the South. At this point, Gangster Grills 309 00:16:37,080 --> 00:16:40,040 Speaker 3: was more of a compilation tape. It didn't have freestyles, 310 00:16:40,280 --> 00:16:43,400 Speaker 3: but Drama kept working with the Young MC would eventually 311 00:16:43,480 --> 00:16:47,560 Speaker 3: become known as TI. Soon a Gangster Grills tape would 312 00:16:47,600 --> 00:16:51,640 Speaker 3: raise TI's profile. The mixtape included bone Crushers Never Scared 313 00:16:51,920 --> 00:16:54,840 Speaker 3: featuring Killer Mike, and a breakout first from the self 314 00:16:54,840 --> 00:16:58,040 Speaker 3: proclaimed King of the South kiss. 315 00:16:57,920 --> 00:17:01,920 Speaker 6: No Way to Take Own Man by your supplied. 316 00:17:03,400 --> 00:17:03,960 Speaker 5: It was a hit. 317 00:17:04,640 --> 00:17:07,960 Speaker 3: Still, it would be years before others started calling t 318 00:17:08,119 --> 00:17:09,240 Speaker 3: I the King of the South. 319 00:17:10,560 --> 00:17:11,280 Speaker 5: By two thousand and. 320 00:17:11,280 --> 00:17:14,720 Speaker 3: Four, Gangster Grills had come a long way. Drama had 321 00:17:14,800 --> 00:17:17,160 Speaker 3: enlisted Little John to make his iconic. 322 00:17:16,920 --> 00:17:20,920 Speaker 5: Stamps Great Zeals, and. 323 00:17:20,880 --> 00:17:23,400 Speaker 3: The mixtape was proving to be a vehicle for breaking 324 00:17:23,480 --> 00:17:28,320 Speaker 3: and celebrating Southern rappers like Young Giz, who approached Drama 325 00:17:28,359 --> 00:17:30,960 Speaker 3: about having a Gangster Grills tape of his own, But 326 00:17:31,040 --> 00:17:34,280 Speaker 3: Drama had no idea who he was back then, and 327 00:17:34,320 --> 00:17:36,800 Speaker 3: he didn't think the rapper was ready for his own tape. 328 00:17:37,480 --> 00:17:42,199 Speaker 3: Jes persisted and offered to pay and well when he talks. 329 00:17:42,680 --> 00:17:46,040 Speaker 3: Their first tape, Streets Is Watching, was released in two 330 00:17:46,040 --> 00:17:48,960 Speaker 3: thousand and four, and the next year they released Chopper 331 00:17:49,040 --> 00:17:55,679 Speaker 3: Die Holding a GZ said he couldn't go to a 332 00:17:55,720 --> 00:17:58,040 Speaker 3: gas station without seeing his tapes being sold. 333 00:17:58,400 --> 00:17:59,560 Speaker 5: They were everywhere. 334 00:18:00,080 --> 00:18:02,560 Speaker 3: The tapes helped build hype for Jez's two thousand and 335 00:18:02,560 --> 00:18:05,959 Speaker 3: five major label debut Let's Get It Doug Motivation one 336 00:18:06,040 --> 00:18:09,680 Speaker 3: oh one, which landed at number two on Billboard's Album Chart. 337 00:18:10,080 --> 00:18:12,560 Speaker 3: Then in two thousand and six, they released the Can't 338 00:18:12,560 --> 00:18:20,040 Speaker 3: Ban the Snowman mixtape. By this point, GZ was a 339 00:18:20,040 --> 00:18:23,960 Speaker 3: bona fide star, expanding the reach of Gangster Grills, but 340 00:18:24,040 --> 00:18:27,200 Speaker 3: also using the tapes as an alternative path to showcase 341 00:18:27,200 --> 00:18:30,439 Speaker 3: his talents to the industry. But there's one more artist 342 00:18:30,600 --> 00:18:34,679 Speaker 3: Gangster Grills turned into a superstar. Lowayne had hits as 343 00:18:34,720 --> 00:18:37,080 Speaker 3: a member of the Hot Boys with songs like I 344 00:18:37,119 --> 00:18:38,200 Speaker 3: Need a Hot Girl. 345 00:18:39,160 --> 00:18:42,960 Speaker 6: Ya Said a Hot draw bands scoted, but. 346 00:18:42,960 --> 00:18:46,400 Speaker 3: The group disbanded, leaving Wayne and his career in limbo. 347 00:18:47,280 --> 00:18:51,959 Speaker 3: Through Wayne's dedication series with Drama, he reinvented himself. Drama 348 00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:59,880 Speaker 3: served his host yelling and hyping listeners up Bill Wayne 349 00:19:00,080 --> 00:19:02,040 Speaker 3: freestyled over a popular. 350 00:19:01,640 --> 00:19:03,119 Speaker 2: People how did you motherfuck? 351 00:19:03,200 --> 00:19:03,399 Speaker 4: Does this? 352 00:19:03,440 --> 00:19:05,600 Speaker 2: Weezza be Niggaspichen. 353 00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:09,720 Speaker 3: And Wayne's dedication series under the Gangster Grills brand the 354 00:19:09,840 --> 00:19:14,320 Speaker 3: fine mixtape culture in the mid odds, mixtape Wheezy, as 355 00:19:14,320 --> 00:19:17,960 Speaker 3: he was known, was a force. Other artists were either 356 00:19:18,080 --> 00:19:21,880 Speaker 3: upset that he hopped on their records, effectively making it his, 357 00:19:22,520 --> 00:19:26,000 Speaker 3: or they were tapped into his marketing powers. Sometimes a 358 00:19:26,119 --> 00:19:29,520 Speaker 3: Wayne freestyle would end up on an official remix of 359 00:19:29,560 --> 00:19:33,679 Speaker 3: the original song. By this time, Drama wasn't just a 360 00:19:33,760 --> 00:19:37,439 Speaker 3: staple for the rap underground. The music industry was starting 361 00:19:37,480 --> 00:19:40,240 Speaker 3: to see gangster grills as a legitimate marketing tool. 362 00:19:40,600 --> 00:19:44,520 Speaker 7: When record labels are planning an artist's rollout, it was like, 363 00:19:44,520 --> 00:19:46,880 Speaker 7: all right, you gotta go on one of six a park, 364 00:19:46,920 --> 00:19:49,199 Speaker 7: you gotta be on double XL, and you gotta have 365 00:19:49,240 --> 00:19:50,040 Speaker 7: a gangster grills. 366 00:19:50,359 --> 00:19:53,520 Speaker 3: Drama wasn't just breaking stars, he was becoming one himself. 367 00:19:53,800 --> 00:19:56,080 Speaker 3: He was getting calls from the biggest and best in 368 00:19:56,119 --> 00:19:59,639 Speaker 3: the business and got a record deal at Atlantic. Things 369 00:19:59,680 --> 00:20:04,360 Speaker 3: could been going better. The morning of January sixteenth, two 370 00:20:04,359 --> 00:20:06,840 Speaker 3: thousand and seven, promised to be more of the same 371 00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:09,520 Speaker 3: for the DJ. He was at his Walker Street studio 372 00:20:09,560 --> 00:20:12,240 Speaker 3: with his business partner Don Cannon, plus a few of 373 00:20:12,280 --> 00:20:15,160 Speaker 3: the college students stayed hired as interns from the AUC 374 00:20:15,560 --> 00:20:16,399 Speaker 3: and some other folks. 375 00:20:16,640 --> 00:20:18,920 Speaker 7: We were working on my album at the time, trying 376 00:20:18,960 --> 00:20:21,000 Speaker 7: to make sure all the records for the album were 377 00:20:21,119 --> 00:20:21,800 Speaker 7: coming together. 378 00:20:22,119 --> 00:20:24,280 Speaker 3: But then Drama got a call from someone at Grand 379 00:20:24,359 --> 00:20:28,160 Speaker 3: Hustle TI's company. The callers said they'd gotten a tip 380 00:20:28,240 --> 00:20:30,720 Speaker 3: from a family member who'd worked with local police. 381 00:20:31,080 --> 00:20:32,920 Speaker 7: They told me, like, yo, it just got word that 382 00:20:32,920 --> 00:20:37,159 Speaker 7: they're about to come rage on. I still didn't fathom it. 383 00:20:37,240 --> 00:20:39,160 Speaker 7: I come raid us, Like for what. 384 00:20:40,119 --> 00:20:42,800 Speaker 3: Raid why would police want to raid the office of 385 00:20:42,840 --> 00:20:46,760 Speaker 3: a DJ? The tip was right. Drama says he stepped 386 00:20:46,760 --> 00:20:53,280 Speaker 3: outside and immediately heard helicopters swirling overhead. Police cars surrounded him, 387 00:20:53,480 --> 00:20:58,280 Speaker 3: and officers approached, guns drawn. Drum and Cannon were arrested 388 00:20:58,320 --> 00:21:04,159 Speaker 3: for selling quote unquote illegal The Recording Industry Association of America, 389 00:21:04,600 --> 00:21:08,560 Speaker 3: a trade group representing Drama's colleagues at labels and music. 390 00:21:08,320 --> 00:21:10,160 Speaker 5: Companies, were somehow involved. 391 00:21:10,720 --> 00:21:12,960 Speaker 3: Drama says he was out on bond before he even 392 00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:15,560 Speaker 3: began to realize the gravity of what was happening. 393 00:21:15,800 --> 00:21:17,960 Speaker 7: Tip was one of the first calls I made when 394 00:21:17,960 --> 00:21:20,760 Speaker 7: I got back to my house. He asked me if 395 00:21:20,760 --> 00:21:23,160 Speaker 7: I checked my bank account and I was like, what 396 00:21:23,280 --> 00:21:26,240 Speaker 7: you mean? And he was like, bro, they hit you 397 00:21:26,280 --> 00:21:29,159 Speaker 7: with the RICO. You know, at the time, I didn't 398 00:21:29,160 --> 00:21:32,919 Speaker 7: know shit about what RICO was, and he was like, 399 00:21:32,960 --> 00:21:34,160 Speaker 7: go check your bank account. 400 00:21:34,720 --> 00:21:35,119 Speaker 2: That was what. 401 00:21:35,200 --> 00:21:38,720 Speaker 7: I logged on the back of america dot com and saw. 402 00:21:38,800 --> 00:21:41,040 Speaker 2: My shit said zero point zero zero. 403 00:21:41,760 --> 00:21:45,359 Speaker 3: Drama and Cannon were being charged under Georgia's Racketeer, Influence 404 00:21:45,440 --> 00:21:49,080 Speaker 3: and Corrupt Organizations law. This was a charge usually reserved 405 00:21:49,080 --> 00:21:54,120 Speaker 3: her mobsters, not DJs. Sure these quote unquote illegal CDs 406 00:21:54,119 --> 00:21:58,520 Speaker 3: had been unauthorized compilation tapes, and they featured copyrighted material 407 00:21:58,640 --> 00:22:01,200 Speaker 3: when an artist what freestyle over an existing song? 408 00:22:01,920 --> 00:22:02,840 Speaker 5: But rico. 409 00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:06,760 Speaker 3: It turns out not everyone in the music industry saw 410 00:22:06,840 --> 00:22:09,639 Speaker 3: Drama as a marketing genius. Being hit with that kind 411 00:22:09,680 --> 00:22:11,879 Speaker 3: of charge is usually the worst thing that can happen 412 00:22:11,880 --> 00:22:14,720 Speaker 3: to a person, but this is show biz, and all 413 00:22:14,760 --> 00:22:16,600 Speaker 3: publicity is good publicity. 414 00:22:17,000 --> 00:22:19,000 Speaker 7: Maybe a day or two later, I got a phone 415 00:22:19,040 --> 00:22:24,080 Speaker 7: call from Atlantic and they were damn there, like head 416 00:22:24,080 --> 00:22:26,760 Speaker 7: over heels with excitement, like yo, you can't pay for 417 00:22:26,800 --> 00:22:29,400 Speaker 7: this type of publicity, Like how soon can you get 418 00:22:29,400 --> 00:22:30,120 Speaker 7: the album out? 419 00:22:30,600 --> 00:22:33,879 Speaker 3: Drama was widely known before he'd been arrested, but he 420 00:22:33,960 --> 00:22:36,600 Speaker 3: set the raid to get celebrity status to new heights. 421 00:22:36,840 --> 00:22:39,480 Speaker 2: I was like, oh, yeah, this shit is the best 422 00:22:39,520 --> 00:22:40,959 Speaker 2: thing that ever happened in my career. 423 00:22:41,960 --> 00:22:46,040 Speaker 3: Gangster Grills survived, Drama survived, and the legacy of Atlanta 424 00:22:46,119 --> 00:22:49,000 Speaker 3: mixtapes didn't just continue, it expanded. 425 00:22:49,480 --> 00:22:51,520 Speaker 5: It's incredible to think about today, but. 426 00:22:51,480 --> 00:22:54,359 Speaker 3: In the chaotic aftermath of the two thousand and seven raid, 427 00:22:54,600 --> 00:22:58,400 Speaker 3: Drama probably couldn't imagine Gangster Grills extending into twenty twenty five. 428 00:22:59,240 --> 00:23:00,719 Speaker 5: Nothing came of the rico charges. 429 00:23:01,119 --> 00:23:04,840 Speaker 3: Authorities never officially dismissed the case, but they stopped pursuing it. 430 00:23:05,480 --> 00:23:08,879 Speaker 3: In the irony, the attention only made Gangster Grills bigger. 431 00:23:09,480 --> 00:23:12,960 Speaker 3: Suddenly the brand wasn't just influential, it was now infamous, 432 00:23:13,280 --> 00:23:16,920 Speaker 3: a symbol of how the music industry the establishment benefited 433 00:23:16,960 --> 00:23:20,399 Speaker 3: from what the underground created, but never fully embraced or 434 00:23:20,440 --> 00:23:21,120 Speaker 3: respected it. 435 00:23:21,960 --> 00:23:22,879 Speaker 5: Requests kept coming. 436 00:23:23,280 --> 00:23:26,280 Speaker 3: The twenty tens brought artists like two Chains, Meek Mill, 437 00:23:26,600 --> 00:23:29,639 Speaker 3: Chris Brown, and Kevin Gates all lining up for a 438 00:23:29,640 --> 00:23:32,880 Speaker 3: Gangster Grill's tape, and Drama and Cannon launched their own 439 00:23:32,920 --> 00:23:36,800 Speaker 3: record label, Generation Now, signing rappers like lul luzi Vert 440 00:23:36,880 --> 00:23:40,159 Speaker 3: and Jack Carlow. And then in twenty twenty La rappers 441 00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:43,280 Speaker 3: Tyler the Creator enlisted Drama and paid homage to Gangster 442 00:23:43,320 --> 00:23:46,800 Speaker 3: Grills with the album call Me If You Get Lost, Welcome. 443 00:23:46,520 --> 00:23:49,440 Speaker 2: To the Disc, Golf and Willie's and Shit if You 444 00:23:49,760 --> 00:23:51,320 Speaker 2: Lost per feew Moments Again. 445 00:23:51,560 --> 00:23:53,920 Speaker 3: It won Tyler a Grammy for Best Rap Album. 446 00:23:54,080 --> 00:23:55,199 Speaker 2: First off, I'm hyped. 447 00:23:55,760 --> 00:23:57,680 Speaker 5: Thank you to J Drama. 448 00:23:58,440 --> 00:24:00,760 Speaker 2: You are fucking so important rap music. 449 00:24:01,200 --> 00:24:03,960 Speaker 3: Back in two thousand and seven, while Drama was navigating 450 00:24:04,040 --> 00:24:07,040 Speaker 3: raids and Rico charges. A nine year old girl in 451 00:24:07,080 --> 00:24:10,240 Speaker 3: South Atlanta was attending a Christian school. She wasn't thinking 452 00:24:10,280 --> 00:24:14,000 Speaker 3: about mixtapes, but one day she'd become an artist who 453 00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:16,600 Speaker 3: played a role in pushing gangster grills to a new, 454 00:24:17,080 --> 00:24:17,920 Speaker 3: younger generation. 455 00:24:18,520 --> 00:24:19,840 Speaker 5: Her name is Ansia. 456 00:24:20,480 --> 00:24:22,680 Speaker 6: The other day I was actually scrat y'all talking to 457 00:24:22,760 --> 00:24:25,440 Speaker 6: chat GBT, and you know it's bad when that bitch 458 00:24:25,520 --> 00:24:29,640 Speaker 6: tell you she like, I don't think basically, in my words, 459 00:24:30,119 --> 00:24:30,520 Speaker 6: I don't. 460 00:24:30,400 --> 00:24:31,760 Speaker 5: Think you take that shit serious. 461 00:24:31,840 --> 00:24:34,399 Speaker 6: Like you really the first lady to have a Gangster 462 00:24:34,400 --> 00:24:37,280 Speaker 6: Girls take in Atlanta, George, you have a whole guess girl, 463 00:24:37,280 --> 00:24:38,680 Speaker 6: so like that is a part of history, Like that's 464 00:24:38,720 --> 00:24:40,040 Speaker 6: what separates you from a lot of people. 465 00:24:40,080 --> 00:24:41,440 Speaker 2: And I was like, oh, what bitch you wright. 466 00:24:43,920 --> 00:24:47,479 Speaker 3: Anitia is the latest braggadocious rapper out of Atlanta, and 467 00:24:47,520 --> 00:24:51,680 Speaker 3: she's hilarious from the moment you meet her. Her aura 468 00:24:51,920 --> 00:24:56,280 Speaker 3: is luminous, her voice booms, filling up any space she 469 00:24:56,400 --> 00:24:58,919 Speaker 3: occupies or is drama puts it. 470 00:24:59,040 --> 00:25:01,399 Speaker 2: Her energy becomes the energy of the room in a 471 00:25:01,400 --> 00:25:02,120 Speaker 2: lot of ways. 472 00:25:02,480 --> 00:25:06,320 Speaker 3: Her twenty twenty five Gangster Girls project Grady Baby isn't 473 00:25:06,359 --> 00:25:09,400 Speaker 3: just a mixtape but a portal back to a bygone 474 00:25:09,520 --> 00:25:12,720 Speaker 3: era before the grief of the last few years settled over. 475 00:25:12,760 --> 00:25:18,399 Speaker 6: Atlanta, get your money, it's your Daminds are our flawless niggas. 476 00:25:18,400 --> 00:25:20,520 Speaker 3: I called her up to talk about the mixtape and 477 00:25:20,520 --> 00:25:23,840 Speaker 3: what she represents in this era of Atlanta music. When 478 00:25:23,840 --> 00:25:27,359 Speaker 3: we speak virtually, she's lounging in her living room wearing 479 00:25:27,359 --> 00:25:31,280 Speaker 3: a baggy T shirt with her face on it. She 480 00:25:31,359 --> 00:25:32,600 Speaker 3: I said she can smoke a blunt. 481 00:25:32,720 --> 00:25:35,119 Speaker 5: I certainly if you smoke, your blink. 482 00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:37,159 Speaker 3: And then motions as if she's handing it to me 483 00:25:37,240 --> 00:25:40,520 Speaker 3: through the screen. I don't smoke, but I'm not about 484 00:25:40,560 --> 00:25:43,280 Speaker 3: to admit that out loud and blow this bonding moment. 485 00:25:43,359 --> 00:25:44,560 Speaker 3: I want us to have a good time. 486 00:25:44,600 --> 00:25:46,600 Speaker 5: I want us to talk. We had a great time. 487 00:25:47,520 --> 00:25:51,520 Speaker 3: Anisia grew up around strong, opinionated women. Her mom was 488 00:25:51,560 --> 00:25:54,520 Speaker 3: a hairstylist, which gave her a ton of access to 489 00:25:54,640 --> 00:25:57,919 Speaker 3: listen and learn from adults about what fascinated them but 490 00:25:57,960 --> 00:26:00,680 Speaker 3: also what gave them stress and next time with. 491 00:26:00,640 --> 00:26:02,480 Speaker 6: My Barbie Dolls all business. 492 00:26:02,880 --> 00:26:05,159 Speaker 3: She wasn't just at work with her mom, she was 493 00:26:05,200 --> 00:26:06,800 Speaker 3: outside with her aunties too. 494 00:26:07,240 --> 00:26:09,080 Speaker 6: That's how it started with Shirley Temples because it made 495 00:26:09,119 --> 00:26:11,880 Speaker 6: me feel like I had a drink, so like I've been. 496 00:26:12,240 --> 00:26:13,960 Speaker 6: When I think about it, I really think about like 497 00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:16,920 Speaker 6: the fact that I was, really I've been outside. 498 00:26:17,280 --> 00:26:20,280 Speaker 3: She remembers her mom getting bootleg mixes they called them 499 00:26:20,280 --> 00:26:23,520 Speaker 3: mixtapes back then at the gas station with a full 500 00:26:23,600 --> 00:26:26,080 Speaker 3: tank and a new soundtrack full of two thousands R 501 00:26:26,080 --> 00:26:28,920 Speaker 3: and B. They'd ride around town with a top down 502 00:26:28,920 --> 00:26:33,280 Speaker 3: and they're white convertible. This feeling, this era is the 503 00:26:33,400 --> 00:26:35,760 Speaker 3: inspiration behind her mixtape, Grady Baby. 504 00:26:36,560 --> 00:26:38,119 Speaker 5: Even the title was her mom's idea. 505 00:26:38,760 --> 00:26:41,480 Speaker 3: Grady Baby is a popular phrase here and a nod 506 00:26:41,560 --> 00:26:45,160 Speaker 3: to the hospital where Anisia was born. Having Grady Memorial 507 00:26:45,200 --> 00:26:48,120 Speaker 3: Hospital on your birth certificate is like having a stamp 508 00:26:48,200 --> 00:26:50,760 Speaker 3: that cements just how Atlanta you are. 509 00:26:50,760 --> 00:26:52,560 Speaker 6: And that's like how you know, like, Okay, oh you're 510 00:26:52,560 --> 00:26:54,880 Speaker 6: from Atlanta. For I ain't gotta say too much. I'm 511 00:26:54,840 --> 00:26:56,040 Speaker 6: a Grady Baby, shut up. 512 00:26:56,200 --> 00:26:59,440 Speaker 3: Grady is located in the center of downtown Atlanta. Big 513 00:26:59,520 --> 00:27:02,200 Speaker 3: names like Spike Lee and Killer Mike were born there, 514 00:27:02,560 --> 00:27:04,760 Speaker 3: so we're a bunch of regular folks like my mom 515 00:27:04,920 --> 00:27:07,800 Speaker 3: and grandma. My granny used to call it the Gradys. 516 00:27:07,920 --> 00:27:10,959 Speaker 3: Because when she was born in the twenties, there were 517 00:27:10,960 --> 00:27:14,080 Speaker 3: two wings, one for black residents and one for whites. 518 00:27:14,560 --> 00:27:18,000 Speaker 3: Over the years, as newer hospitals open, Grady picked up 519 00:27:18,040 --> 00:27:22,200 Speaker 3: the reputation that many public downtown hospitals often curate this 520 00:27:22,359 --> 00:27:24,840 Speaker 3: stigma that is the place you go if you're low 521 00:27:24,880 --> 00:27:26,440 Speaker 3: income or don't have insurance. 522 00:27:26,680 --> 00:27:29,159 Speaker 6: But one thing they cannot ever play with Gretdy about 523 00:27:29,280 --> 00:27:32,320 Speaker 6: Gretty is number one for trauma response. Baby. They would 524 00:27:32,359 --> 00:27:33,480 Speaker 6: save your mother's fucking life. 525 00:27:33,480 --> 00:27:35,720 Speaker 3: Anisia wanted to wear the badge of being a Grady 526 00:27:35,760 --> 00:27:38,960 Speaker 3: baby with the honor and pride so many folks here feel. 527 00:27:39,640 --> 00:27:42,720 Speaker 3: The mixtape is built around popular samples from the two thousands, 528 00:27:42,960 --> 00:27:46,600 Speaker 3: most of them from Atlanta artists, where some samples transformed 529 00:27:46,640 --> 00:27:50,920 Speaker 3: the original sound into something completely new and unrecognizable. An 530 00:27:50,920 --> 00:27:54,000 Speaker 3: easiest version of sampling says true to its source material. 531 00:27:54,400 --> 00:27:56,680 Speaker 3: She wants you to hear the direct link between her 532 00:27:56,800 --> 00:27:59,800 Speaker 3: and the local artists who have inspired her work. Like Nivea, 533 00:28:00,040 --> 00:28:02,280 Speaker 3: you can hear her two thousand and four songs Okay 534 00:28:02,720 --> 00:28:12,000 Speaker 3: Slipped into Peekaboo, Cute Cute, and Little John and the 535 00:28:12,040 --> 00:28:15,040 Speaker 3: East Side Boys two thousand and one song Nothing's free. 536 00:28:15,520 --> 00:28:17,080 Speaker 5: It's turned into so fine. 537 00:28:16,920 --> 00:28:17,560 Speaker 1: Really fine. 538 00:28:19,520 --> 00:28:21,680 Speaker 5: I ain't worry about a nigga. I'm Chris about she. 539 00:28:22,880 --> 00:28:25,400 Speaker 3: These simples have one thing in common. They come from 540 00:28:25,440 --> 00:28:28,400 Speaker 3: the era when Atlanta was making R and B crunk. 541 00:28:29,160 --> 00:28:31,280 Speaker 3: The idea was simple, what if we could take the 542 00:28:31,480 --> 00:28:34,000 Speaker 3: energy of the music folks for throwing bowse to in 543 00:28:34,040 --> 00:28:36,760 Speaker 3: the clubs like the five five nine in Southwest Atlanta 544 00:28:36,800 --> 00:28:39,960 Speaker 3: in the mid nineties, and blended with the emotions and 545 00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:43,360 Speaker 3: melodies of contemporary soul for the new millennium. That's how 546 00:28:43,360 --> 00:28:46,480 Speaker 3: you get a song like Sierra's Goodies, which launched crunk 547 00:28:46,480 --> 00:28:51,960 Speaker 3: and be to the masses. Anisia wasn't even born when 548 00:28:52,040 --> 00:28:54,760 Speaker 3: DJs first started mixing the smooth voices of R and 549 00:28:54,800 --> 00:28:58,480 Speaker 3: B singers with high energy Atlanta bass and crunk music, 550 00:28:58,760 --> 00:29:01,080 Speaker 3: and she was still in elementary school during the peak 551 00:29:01,120 --> 00:29:04,480 Speaker 3: of frunk and B, the subgenre that upgraded the nineties 552 00:29:04,520 --> 00:29:08,080 Speaker 3: mixtape sound. But these eras clearly made a lasting impression. 553 00:29:08,840 --> 00:29:11,920 Speaker 3: When Anisia first approached Drama to host Grady Baby and 554 00:29:11,960 --> 00:29:14,680 Speaker 3: bring it under his brand, he saw the connection to 555 00:29:15,240 --> 00:29:17,719 Speaker 3: He says, the project embodies what hip hop has always 556 00:29:17,760 --> 00:29:18,240 Speaker 3: meant to him. 557 00:29:18,520 --> 00:29:19,320 Speaker 2: She words to me. 558 00:29:19,400 --> 00:29:23,400 Speaker 7: When I think about hip hop and culture are nostalgia, evolution, 559 00:29:24,080 --> 00:29:27,520 Speaker 7: and reinvention, and in a lot of ways, it's almost 560 00:29:27,560 --> 00:29:30,040 Speaker 7: like bringing those three things together. 561 00:29:30,480 --> 00:29:33,640 Speaker 3: By the time Drama signed on for Grady Baby, Anisia 562 00:29:33,760 --> 00:29:37,160 Speaker 3: only had one request, talk your shit and make it 563 00:29:37,240 --> 00:29:45,120 Speaker 3: as Atlanta as possible. He does exactly that on those scrubs, 564 00:29:45,520 --> 00:29:48,680 Speaker 3: weaving in nods to old clubs like Figure eight and 565 00:29:48,720 --> 00:29:50,200 Speaker 3: then nearly abandoned. 566 00:29:49,720 --> 00:29:50,680 Speaker 5: Greenbrier Mark. 567 00:29:53,480 --> 00:29:55,560 Speaker 2: Somebody Tacos. 568 00:30:00,680 --> 00:30:01,240 Speaker 5: For Drama. 569 00:30:01,520 --> 00:30:05,040 Speaker 3: Anisia doesn't just represent nostalgia for past hip hop eras 570 00:30:05,280 --> 00:30:06,680 Speaker 3: she represents the future too. 571 00:30:06,960 --> 00:30:10,160 Speaker 7: She's a part of the Atlanta legacy where I'm talking 572 00:30:10,200 --> 00:30:13,680 Speaker 7: about how every couple of years, like this new breed 573 00:30:13,760 --> 00:30:17,560 Speaker 7: of MC of artists bursts onto the scene and creates 574 00:30:17,600 --> 00:30:20,040 Speaker 7: this whole new cultural dominance for the city. 575 00:30:21,160 --> 00:30:24,080 Speaker 3: After years of darkness in Atlanta, he says, folks are 576 00:30:24,120 --> 00:30:29,480 Speaker 3: finally recognizing the city's successors. Anisia's Grady Baby reminded Atlanta 577 00:30:29,560 --> 00:30:32,360 Speaker 3: that our past is worth holding on to and building on. 578 00:30:33,120 --> 00:30:35,560 Speaker 3: Her mixtape brought back the joy of the two thousands 579 00:30:35,880 --> 00:30:38,720 Speaker 3: and the intimacy of those bootleg CDs you burn with 580 00:30:38,760 --> 00:30:43,240 Speaker 3: your friends. It proved but drama has always known mixtapes 581 00:30:43,560 --> 00:30:47,840 Speaker 3: or where Atlanta discovers who it is, and Ansia isn't 582 00:30:47,880 --> 00:30:50,760 Speaker 3: the only one reaching back to move the city forward. 583 00:30:51,320 --> 00:30:55,040 Speaker 3: Because while Grady Baby reintroduced Crankinbee to a new generation, 584 00:30:55,800 --> 00:30:58,760 Speaker 3: another mixtape was bubbling up when that tapped into a 585 00:30:58,840 --> 00:31:02,000 Speaker 3: different era of Atlanta, into nostalgia, a reminder of the 586 00:31:02,080 --> 00:31:06,280 Speaker 3: years when the city felt light, loud, and unshakeably fun. 587 00:31:07,080 --> 00:31:10,000 Speaker 3: That mixtape was metro Boomin's A Futuristic Summer. 588 00:31:12,720 --> 00:31:21,760 Speaker 6: So I loved it so much, I was like, why 589 00:31:21,800 --> 00:31:23,960 Speaker 6: the fuck am I out on this? Like, what the 590 00:31:24,040 --> 00:31:27,040 Speaker 6: hell did we mean? What is wrong with y'all? 591 00:31:27,320 --> 00:31:31,600 Speaker 3: Anisi is talking about a futuristic summer? Another mixtape released 592 00:31:31,640 --> 00:31:34,520 Speaker 3: this year, when that has been taking over clubs and 593 00:31:34,560 --> 00:31:35,880 Speaker 3: strip clubs for months. 594 00:31:36,120 --> 00:31:37,600 Speaker 6: I told him if they could put it on a 595 00:31:37,680 --> 00:31:40,600 Speaker 6: tip and get that motherfucker punctured inside of my brain 596 00:31:40,880 --> 00:31:42,760 Speaker 6: and I could just play them or about had. 597 00:31:42,600 --> 00:31:43,440 Speaker 2: Some theme music. 598 00:31:43,880 --> 00:31:46,880 Speaker 3: But metro Booman announced the project, it rang out like 599 00:31:46,920 --> 00:31:50,200 Speaker 3: a bad signal for my people, and by my people, 600 00:31:50,720 --> 00:31:53,120 Speaker 3: I mean anyone who was a teenager or young adult 601 00:31:53,120 --> 00:31:55,840 Speaker 3: in Atlanta during the late two thousands and early twenty 602 00:31:55,880 --> 00:31:59,520 Speaker 3: tens the title alone, nods to the local futuristic era 603 00:32:00,040 --> 00:32:02,840 Speaker 3: were swagged out artists like Rich Kids and Roscoe Dash. 604 00:32:03,160 --> 00:32:07,160 Speaker 3: Sported polos and delivered melodic rhymes that blended the legacies 605 00:32:07,200 --> 00:32:08,280 Speaker 3: of Atlanta rap. 606 00:32:08,320 --> 00:32:09,760 Speaker 5: And white Boy prepe. 607 00:32:12,880 --> 00:32:15,120 Speaker 3: Before I ever heard a single song, I had an 608 00:32:15,120 --> 00:32:18,320 Speaker 3: expectation of what it should sound like. The trackless promised 609 00:32:18,360 --> 00:32:24,480 Speaker 3: collaborations with Rosco Dash, Schooly of Ridge Kid, Travis Porter, 610 00:32:24,640 --> 00:32:30,920 Speaker 3: and Young Drug Waenside. Thank you Yeah, sign me up immediately. 611 00:32:32,400 --> 00:32:33,920 Speaker 5: Anisia's yelling is appropriate. 612 00:32:33,960 --> 00:32:38,479 Speaker 3: In my opinion, Metro absolutely nailed the concept, even if 613 00:32:38,520 --> 00:32:41,200 Speaker 3: folks who aren't familiar with Atlanta culture from this era 614 00:32:41,400 --> 00:32:45,400 Speaker 3: didn't immediately understand it. Metro didn't rely on samples for 615 00:32:45,440 --> 00:32:49,600 Speaker 3: this one. The beats are brand new, but he explicitly 616 00:32:49,640 --> 00:32:54,400 Speaker 3: tapped into the late two thousands of Atlanta. This is 617 00:32:54,400 --> 00:32:56,760 Speaker 3: for the folks who partied in Atlanta during that time, 618 00:32:57,120 --> 00:33:00,000 Speaker 3: and by partying, I don't mean sitting in a second 619 00:33:00,280 --> 00:33:06,320 Speaker 3: looking cute, I mean full body dancing. Hosted by DJ Spins, 620 00:33:06,680 --> 00:33:09,600 Speaker 3: a futuristic Samma plays like a love letter to locals 621 00:33:09,600 --> 00:33:13,000 Speaker 3: who feel like the city has morphed into something unrecognizable 622 00:33:13,560 --> 00:33:15,880 Speaker 3: and maybe that's why Metro released it as a mixtape 623 00:33:15,920 --> 00:33:19,720 Speaker 3: and not a traditional album. It's playful and intentionally communal. 624 00:33:20,240 --> 00:33:23,280 Speaker 3: Metro was having fun making music with his friends, like 625 00:33:23,280 --> 00:33:25,120 Speaker 3: the legacy trap producer is Atoven. 626 00:33:25,320 --> 00:33:27,560 Speaker 4: I knew it was something special as soon as I've 627 00:33:27,640 --> 00:33:30,080 Speaker 4: seen all the familiar faces that was in the room. 628 00:33:30,360 --> 00:33:32,640 Speaker 5: The process felt nostalgic for Zetoven too. 629 00:33:32,920 --> 00:33:35,719 Speaker 4: It's similar how I used to have my mama's basement, 630 00:33:35,760 --> 00:33:37,800 Speaker 4: which is all the artists just over all the time, 631 00:33:38,080 --> 00:33:40,920 Speaker 4: just that it was that fun party energy. 632 00:33:41,200 --> 00:33:42,040 Speaker 5: In that basement. 633 00:33:42,440 --> 00:33:46,200 Speaker 3: Setoven produced a series of projects, some of the mixtapes 634 00:33:46,840 --> 00:33:49,600 Speaker 3: as Drama worked to introduce the masses to artists like Jeez. 635 00:33:49,880 --> 00:33:52,680 Speaker 3: Stoven introduced us to Gucci Man, O j De, Juice 636 00:33:52,680 --> 00:33:56,280 Speaker 3: Man and Migos. They wrapped about the trap, yes, but 637 00:33:56,280 --> 00:34:00,240 Speaker 3: they were also playful and fun this time around. Along 638 00:34:00,320 --> 00:34:03,880 Speaker 3: with bringing back Gucci and Quavo, Zay and Metro brought 639 00:34:03,920 --> 00:34:09,719 Speaker 3: in two new female acts, Yknice and Bunnabe Hits Shit. 640 00:34:10,600 --> 00:34:13,200 Speaker 4: He liked the way y'all know, we're using the old 641 00:34:13,280 --> 00:34:16,400 Speaker 4: keyboards and old drum machines from back then, So I 642 00:34:16,480 --> 00:34:18,360 Speaker 4: was like, oh, this is right up my alley. I 643 00:34:18,440 --> 00:34:19,560 Speaker 4: Know It's gonna be something special. 644 00:34:19,880 --> 00:34:22,960 Speaker 3: It's a true mashup of old Atlanta, pulling from the 645 00:34:23,000 --> 00:34:26,880 Speaker 3: city's different party scenes, sometimes reaching back to the nineties 646 00:34:27,120 --> 00:34:30,440 Speaker 3: when Booty Shake bass and Call and Responds club music 647 00:34:30,480 --> 00:34:33,840 Speaker 3: set the tone. That energy comes through on the track Butterflies. 648 00:34:36,360 --> 00:34:38,640 Speaker 3: And then there's day Want to Have Fun, which brings 649 00:34:38,680 --> 00:34:43,560 Speaker 3: together a twenty tens Avenger style lineup Travis Porter, Young Droe, 650 00:34:43,680 --> 00:34:46,400 Speaker 3: and Gucci May. By the time the beat morphs from 651 00:34:46,400 --> 00:34:49,960 Speaker 3: a strip club opus to a trap anthem Saytoven's churchy 652 00:34:50,080 --> 00:34:54,160 Speaker 3: Organs are already nestled into the production, teasing what's to come. 653 00:34:54,440 --> 00:34:58,880 Speaker 6: Scootam Man World, shots to your earl, and girls having Fun, 654 00:34:59,360 --> 00:35:00,000 Speaker 6: Girls Kiss. 655 00:35:00,160 --> 00:35:03,799 Speaker 3: But a futuristic summa isn't just nostalgia. It's a reminder 656 00:35:04,120 --> 00:35:07,160 Speaker 3: of how Atlanta's veterans and newcomers have always been in 657 00:35:07,200 --> 00:35:10,799 Speaker 3: conversation with one another. My favorite track, take Me Through There, 658 00:35:11,760 --> 00:35:15,160 Speaker 3: feels like Quevo passing the baton to Yk Nice, both 659 00:35:15,200 --> 00:35:18,320 Speaker 3: of them determined to remind folks of the city's culture 660 00:35:18,480 --> 00:35:30,040 Speaker 3: and energy. It's crazy to see how one summer has 661 00:35:30,080 --> 00:35:33,480 Speaker 3: shifted the vibe here in Atlanta. It's reminded our legendary 662 00:35:33,560 --> 00:35:35,720 Speaker 3: artists of who they are and their impact. 663 00:35:36,640 --> 00:35:37,880 Speaker 5: And it's shown our new. 664 00:35:37,760 --> 00:35:40,280 Speaker 3: Acts how we always come together to push our culture 665 00:35:40,280 --> 00:35:44,040 Speaker 3: into the future. Because when Atlanta wins, we all win. 666 00:35:46,920 --> 00:35:49,400 Speaker 3: This summer Betoven didn't just get a boost from A 667 00:35:49,440 --> 00:35:55,000 Speaker 3: Futuristic Summa. Pluto and yk Nie is when Whemmy, a 668 00:35:55,040 --> 00:35:58,080 Speaker 3: true song of the Summer contender, revived a deep cut 669 00:35:58,120 --> 00:36:05,120 Speaker 3: he produced in twenty twelve for OJ Juice Man. This 670 00:36:05,239 --> 00:36:08,280 Speaker 3: revival has made him revisit his catalog because he knows 671 00:36:08,320 --> 00:36:09,400 Speaker 3: folks are still listening. 672 00:36:09,640 --> 00:36:11,880 Speaker 4: That's all I'm doing is going in, pulling up the 673 00:36:11,960 --> 00:36:16,239 Speaker 4: old beasts and maybe making the drumshit a little harder maybe, 674 00:36:16,440 --> 00:36:19,000 Speaker 4: and an organ riff in it that I didn't have 675 00:36:19,120 --> 00:36:22,680 Speaker 4: in it. Nothing a lot is just real minute stuff 676 00:36:22,719 --> 00:36:25,040 Speaker 4: that I feel like, okay now the beat is all 677 00:36:25,040 --> 00:36:26,240 Speaker 4: the way complete. 678 00:36:27,560 --> 00:36:30,680 Speaker 3: The way of Futuristic Summer helped Atlanta find itself again. 679 00:36:31,360 --> 00:36:35,040 Speaker 3: It's the same idea Anitia used on Grady Baby, and 680 00:36:35,080 --> 00:36:38,879 Speaker 3: it's the same philosophy behind Gangster Girls too. Drummas as 681 00:36:38,920 --> 00:36:41,840 Speaker 3: mixtapes like A Futuristic Summer are keeping the legacy of 682 00:36:41,880 --> 00:36:43,840 Speaker 3: mixtapes alive in Atlanta. 683 00:36:43,960 --> 00:36:48,799 Speaker 7: Mixtape as an art form could have been eradicated or 684 00:36:48,840 --> 00:36:52,200 Speaker 7: non existent if it wasn't for new artists embracing that 685 00:36:52,320 --> 00:36:55,560 Speaker 7: nostalgia or continuing to keep these legacies alive. 686 00:36:57,360 --> 00:37:02,120 Speaker 3: This process is keeping nostalgia. Ala reminds me a lot 687 00:37:02,120 --> 00:37:07,120 Speaker 3: of Atlanta, an imperfect city that's always influx and always 688 00:37:07,120 --> 00:37:09,480 Speaker 3: in conversation with its past and future. 689 00:37:12,280 --> 00:37:15,400 Speaker 1: Atlanta ain't just the city, It's a living embodiment of 690 00:37:15,480 --> 00:37:18,360 Speaker 1: rising to the occasion, from the church fuse to the 691 00:37:18,400 --> 00:37:22,239 Speaker 1: trap house, from the barbershop to the films that we 692 00:37:22,320 --> 00:37:25,840 Speaker 1: don't watch this city reinvent itself time and time again, 693 00:37:26,880 --> 00:37:32,520 Speaker 1: every block, every beat. We don'et seeing preachers become influences, 694 00:37:33,040 --> 00:37:37,600 Speaker 1: students turn heartbreaking the resurrection. We done see dreamers bring 695 00:37:37,640 --> 00:37:41,359 Speaker 1: Hollywood to the South. We've seen artists billed stages from 696 00:37:41,360 --> 00:37:44,760 Speaker 1: nothing but concrete and courage, and the next generation carry 697 00:37:44,800 --> 00:37:50,040 Speaker 1: that sound, that attitude, and that soul forward at Loanta 698 00:37:50,120 --> 00:37:54,440 Speaker 1: don't just change. It evolves with every rise, in every fall, 699 00:37:54,800 --> 00:37:58,680 Speaker 1: in every club that close. So wherever you find yourself 700 00:37:58,719 --> 00:38:02,799 Speaker 1: in the future, keep it Lona in yard, remember its 701 00:38:02,800 --> 00:38:06,960 Speaker 1: spirit of reinvention, that Southern shine, and that faith it 702 00:38:07,160 --> 00:38:10,880 Speaker 1: was to come next. Because Atlanta isn't done telling this story. 703 00:38:12,000 --> 00:38:14,680 Speaker 1: It's just writing the next verse. In the Song of 704 00:38:14,719 --> 00:38:23,080 Speaker 1: Its Legacy. This episode was written, reported, and produced by 705 00:38:23,160 --> 00:38:28,279 Speaker 1: Juel Wicker, with additional production from Maurice Garland and Christina Lee. 706 00:38:28,480 --> 00:38:28,640 Speaker 2: Our. 707 00:38:28,640 --> 00:38:33,160 Speaker 1: Supervising producer and editor is Shiva Bayatt. Our Managing producers 708 00:38:33,160 --> 00:38:37,200 Speaker 1: are Rose Through Liney bacon O, Mary Graham, and Shamara Rochester. 709 00:38:38,120 --> 00:38:42,960 Speaker 1: Editorial support from Sean Setero and Jack Irwin. Original theme 710 00:38:43,080 --> 00:38:47,759 Speaker 1: music by aman Soota. Sound designed by Siva Bayatt and 711 00:38:47,800 --> 00:38:52,640 Speaker 1: aman Soot, mixed and master by a mind Sohota. Fact 712 00:38:52,719 --> 00:38:57,440 Speaker 1: checking done by Sean Setero. Clearance counsel Donnison Khalif Perez, 713 00:38:58,239 --> 00:38:59,520 Speaker 1: Lisa Khalif. 714 00:38:59,360 --> 00:39:00,400 Speaker 2: And Jacqueline Sweat. 715 00:39:01,840 --> 00:39:05,239 Speaker 1: Executive producers for will Packer Media a Will Packer and 716 00:39:05,360 --> 00:39:08,960 Speaker 1: Alex Bowden. Co producer for will pack Of Media is 717 00:39:09,040 --> 00:39:14,080 Speaker 1: Nimmi Mohan. Executive producers for Complex are Jack Irwin and 718 00:39:14,160 --> 00:39:18,399 Speaker 1: Norah Callahan Beller, Head of talent relations for Complex. It's 719 00:39:18,480 --> 00:39:24,520 Speaker 1: Anthony Already Special thanks to Tyler Klan, Tyre Harrison, Chris Senator, 720 00:39:25,280 --> 00:39:27,520 Speaker 1: Noams Griffin, and Candice Howard. 721 00:39:28,200 --> 00:39:29,880 Speaker 2: I'm Big Rude peacet