It's a moment that will forever go down in hip-hop history; when Dre and Big Boi, aka Outkast, took the stage at the 1995 Source Awards to accept the Best New Artist Award. In the midst of boos and an East Coast vs. West Coast rift that would later prove deadly, Dre grabbed the mic and said
“… The South has something to say.” It was the spark that led to Atlanta’s eventual domination of hip hop.
The turning point at the Source Awards isn’t something many outside of Atlanta remember, but when Brad Bernstein, Rick Cikowski and Brandon Dumlao, founders of Corner of the Cave Media, wrapped up Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges Behind the Music documentary for VH1, they decided the story of Atlanta hip hop needed to be told. Together with Bridges as an executive producer and VH1 Rock Docs, the trio produced “ATL: The Untold Story of Atlanta’s Rise in the Rap Game,” a documentary chronicling the events and people who changed the game.
Actor Chris Tucker, Mayor Kasim Reed and rapper/actor Chris "Ludacris' Bridges
“This documentary is very important because people hear great things about Atlanta,” Bridges says. “It is important they know the real story behind what happened.”
The documentary follows Atlanta hip-hop from the beginning and how The Civil Rights Movement and Atlanta’s unique response to the fight for equal rights influenced the rap generation. When Ivan Allen Jr., the former Mayor of Atlanta, declared segregation bad for business and the city adopted the phrase “too busy to hate,” it opened the doors for an artistic movement that was authentically Black and American. Killer Mike says The Civil Rights Movement had a tremendous impact on how the Atlanta hip-hop scene evolved.
“We were raised by a lot of the Civil Rights leaders who came here and became professors and politicians,” Mike says. “Undocumented history is a myth and this makes it real.”
Dumlao says the trio learned there were more people involved in paving the way for the Atlanta rapper than previously known. After receiving the green light from VH1, Corner of the Cave Media began interviewing the forefathers of Atlanta hip hop such as Mojo, King Edward James, MC Shy D and Kilo Ali. Dumlao says many of the fans didn’t know people like DJ Toomp, known for producing T.I.’s album King, was a major part of Atlanta hip-hop in the 80’s.
“When you’re working on any sort of project a lot hits the cutting room floor,” Dumlao says. “A lot of stories don’t get told outside of the Ludacris bubble; like the child murders and how it impacted the hip-hop scene. We felt responsible for telling the story.”
Rico Wade, Ray Murray and Sleepy Brown of OrganizedNoize
It’s a story that’s been bubbling under the surface; the fight for Atlanta rappers to gain respect from their counter parts on the East Coast and West Coast. Despite the success of producers like Jermaine Dupri and rappers such as Kris Kross, Atlanta had yet to find a foothold in the hip-hop industry. MC Shy D was originally from New York City and many of the rappers emulated the NYC sound. It wasn’t until Organized Noize, a production company made up of Sleepy Brown, Rico Wade and Ray Murray, began producing for the entire Dungeon Family, that included Outkast, did a sound unique to Atlanta come up from the underground.
"Organized Noize, Goodie Mob and Outkast influenced me," Ludacris says. "They showed me what was poppin."
Shante Bacon, founder of 135th Agency and Shanti Das
The success of Outkast was followed by Ludacris, then the grittiness of T.I. and the club bangers of Young Jeezy and Future. Though mainstream radio finally included Atlanta hip-hop in the rotation, veterans like Shanti Das, who was the National Director of Promotions at LaFace Records in the 90s, says the documentary means a great deal to someone who grew up in the city. There are a lot of misconceptions about what happened in Atlanta, and Das says it's a story that's long overdue.
“People think Atlanta rap was started by Outkast and Goodie Mob, but we listened to it all through high school. I grew up listening to Kilo Ali, Mc Shy D, Raheem The Dream and DJ Toomp," Das says. "I worked on all four Outkast albums, and they just took it to the next level.”
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