The City Of Atlanta Has Inspired Countless Musicians, Here’s Why They Love The Musical Hotspot
While it might now be known as a musical hotspot, the city of Atlanta has a history of trying to prove its worth. The city struggled to book rock acts during the seventies until The Sex Pistols had their first US gig there.
Local music, such as homegrown trap, has since helped the Peach State earn musical recognition. But how has Atlanta grown from its humble roots to the epicenter of modern music?
Atlanta Played A Major Role In Launching Country's Earliest Artists
The city launched country music's earliest artists in the twenties. People like Fiddlin' John Carson had to come to work in cotton mills and he brought his music with him. He would remain a recording icon for two decades, eventually recording what's considered to be the first country music song featuring vocals and lyrics.
Today, Alan Jackson, Jason Aldean, and the Zach Brown Band have emerged as the faces of country music.
Rock N' Roll
The early history of Atlanta's rock n' roll scene goes back to the sixties. Bubblegum pop star Tommy Roe and The Night Shadows were some of the notable acts of soft Southern rockers.
In the seventies it was Atlanta Rhythm Section, and the eighties brought acts like The Brains, Georgia Satellites, and Indigo Girls. But, it was rock producer Brendan O'Brien who cut his teeth in Atlanta. He's worked with a ton of acts, from Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen to The Killers and Gaslight Anthem.
It's Been The Home To An Incredible Blues Scene
Despite not being a blues capital like Memphis, notable blues artists have come through the city. The oldest representative of Atlanta blues was Peg Legh Howell, making his first recordings in 1926. He would be followed by Blind Willie McTell, Barbecue Bob, and Curly Weaver.
Many of these musicians banded together into groups, most notably the Georgia Cotton Pickers. More modern blues performers, including The Black Crowes, have come out of the city.
Gospel Is Another Music Scene
Atlanta is the center of gospel music in many genres, but especially in urban contemporary gospel, while Southern Gospel is another favorite too. Interestingly enough, since 2011, the GMA Dove Awards of the Gospel Music Association has taken place at Atlanta's Fox Theater.
The Atlanta Gospel Music Awards are given out yearly. Gospel groups based from the city include The Statesmen Quartet, LaShun Pace, William Murphy, and Tasha Cobb Leonard.
Atlanta Had A Punk Rock Scene
In the eighties, the city was the epicenter of the genre. And, it centered around two of the city's music venues, 688 Club and Metroplex. Even The Sex Pistols played their first U.S. show at the Great Southeastern Music Hall.
The subculture continued throughout the early nineties with Masquerade and Tyranny, which featured industrial and dark wave. Little Five Points would be the band that found itself at the center of the culture.
There's Also A Large Metal Scene
Sludge metal band Mastodon, metalcore band Woe, Is Me, Issues, and Attila all emerged from the city. Essentially, this genre is almost like the Sunset Strip of the south.
While they might not have mainstream appeal, Mastodon is considered as "one of the preeminent metal acts of the early 21st century" according to Allmusic. Rolling Stone stated, "Mastodon are a bunch of doom-haunted, myth-obsessed, meat-and-potatoes who has become the most important new band in metal."
The City Is Well-Known For Its Active Live Music Scene
In the early eighties, the city was the home of a thriving new wave music scene. Bands such as The Brains and The Producers were linked to new wave scenes in Athens, Georgia. Historically, there's been a variety of live music traditions which date back to Fiddlin' John Carson.
Live music enjoyed a thriving scene when it entered the nineties, but it was the founding of Video Concert Hall in Atlanta that would really change everything.
Classical Music And Opera
Metro Atlanta is the home to the Grammy Award-winning Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. There are two renowned historical chamber groups, the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra, and the New Trinity Baroque.
The Atlanta Music Club was instrumental in establishing the Orchestra. Meanwhile, the city is the home to the Atlanta Oprea and many others. Early venues for opera were DeGive's Oprea House, but these days, they play at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center.
Magic City Can Make Or Break A Career
Atlanta's premier strip club launched artists like Future and Gucci Mane. It's a place where aspiring rappers get their records played at the club. That can serve as a springboard for their music career.
Nevertheless, the role of strippers isn't to sway customers into giving them more money. Instead, the girls pick what record is hot on the streets, and they pick what rapper is doing well that could use a boost in their platform.
Hip Hop Is The New Frontier
Atlanta's production of hip-hop music has been especially noteworthy. The New York Times called the city "hip-hop's center of gravity." In the eighties and nineties, Atlant's hip-hop scene was a variant of Miami's electro-driven bass music.
MC Shy-D is credited with bringing authentic Bronx-style-hip-hop to the city. The group Tag Team released "Whoomp! (There It Is) as an album and a single which would help spawn other hip-hop artists to come out of the city.
Arrested Development
The culturally focused music group found its voice when it was formed in 1988. The hip-hop collective of rappers, singers, and dancers have gone through numerous members. It was one of the first groups to bring alternative hip-hop to the mainstream.
The group combined jazz, rock, tribal, and soul as one cohesive and relevant sound. In 1993, the group took home two Grammy Awards, and influenced the Black Eyed Peas and Fugees.
Usher
He's a quadruple threat as a singer, dancer, songwriter, an actor. Growing up in Atlanta helped the musician sing his way to stardom with hits like "Yeah!," "Burn," and "U Remind Me."
He's sold millions of records worldwide and has taken home numerous Grammy Awards. Usher continues to reinvent himself in his music and other ways. Most notably, he signed a young Canadian artist, who ended up being Justin Bieber.
Ludacris
Move! Get out of the way! That what fans were introduced to when Chris Bridge's made his debut in 2001. He made himself into one of Atlanta's most preeminent voices in Southern hip-hop and putting the "Dirty South" at the forefront of the conversation.
Ludacris has found plenty of success over the course of his career. His music and lyrics represent his city to the fullest in tracks like "Roll Out," "Stand Up," and "Get Back."
T.I.
The city introduced people to Southern hip-hop and crunk music. Also, it paved the way for the sub-genre known as trap music. One of the most prolific rappers to bring it alive is Clifford Joseph Harris Jr., better known as T.I.
The "King of the South" went from growing up in Atlanta's Center Hill neighborhood to becoming a successful musician. Delivering hits like "Bring Em Out," and "Whatever You Like," T.I. has worked with Pharrell and Justin Timberlake to help him stand out from the pack.
Sugarland
Sometimes, it's hard to see that the city has more musical depth than just rap. While Atlanta has become the hip-hop capital of the south, another genre emerged. Take country music and blend it with folk and you get the Grammy Award-winning duo, Sugarland.
Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush have dominated the country and folk-rock scenes. They have high-octane, rabble-rousing riffs and heartfelt ballads that have garnered huge, multi-platinum record sales and numerous musical accolades.
Lil Jon
From the window!!! This Atlanta rapper has produced some incredible beats that really build to a drop. Essentially, Lil Jon created a whole new genre of hip-hop. He did so by meshing speaker-thumping bass hits into the clubs with hits like "Who U Wit" and "Get Low."
The rapper is considered to be a pioneer of crunk music and bass-heavy tunes. That gave a rise to the new musical genre, and helped launch the career of the Ying Yang Twins.
Migos
This trio is everywhere and you can't turn on your phone without seeing them on some kind of social media. Migos has become a cultural phenomenon. Quavo, Offset and Takeoff are continuing to crush the hip-hop scene with unmistakably catchy tracks like "Bad and Boujee."
Since forming in 2009, they have become the leading charge of "new hip-hop." Not only is the super trio not showing signs of slowing down, but they also continue to rack up millions of social views.
Jermaine Dupri
Dupri is a man of many wonders. He's an artist in his own right, but he's also a producer, songwriter, and a record executive. He stepped into the limelight with "Money Ain't a Thang."
Dupri was behind some of the city's most recognizable acts, from Usher to Bow Wow and more. Not only is he a musical genius, but he helped craft the sound of Atlanta with artists under his So So Def Recordings label.
Outkast
The dynamic duo of Andre 3000 and Big Boi was like a match made in heaven. OutKast formed in 1991, and were nurtured by the production gurus of Organized Noise. They would put the Dungeon Family on the map.
OutKast took the genre of Southern hip-hop to mainstream audiences. Albums such as ATLiens helped the duo reach a wider audience as they expressed the highs and soul-searching lows of growing up in Atlanta.
TLC
Baby, baby, baby! Don't go chasing waterfalls. The nineties belong to the female R&B super group. The trio of Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas, "T-Boz" Watkins, and the late Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes garnered tons of success. However, the trio who released "Creep," "Waterfalls," and "No Scrubs" did their part in the industry.
The singers promoted women's empowerment and safer conversations in the bedroom during a time when that was far from the norm.
