Crib Notes

Which came first, the BET Hip-Hop Awards or Atlanta’s steady flow of garbage-ass rap music?

The chicken-or-the-egg question occurred to me as I watched last night’s broadcast of the awards show, which should’ve been renamed the Gucci Mane Awards for the number of performances (3?) featuring the East Atlanta-bred MC.

It typified a night in which the show took every possible opportunity to reference Atlanta — which is odd considering the crowd is made up entirely of industry fucks (artists, publicists, label reps, promoters, radio heads, etc.) and almost zero fans. (more…)

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Goodie Mob appeared on Fox Atlanta’s morning show today to hype this Saturday’s reunion show, and they gave the Creative Loafing cover story, A dirty job for Goodie Mob, some love in the process.

They also dispelled rumors that Saturday’s show is sold-out. Hopefully, Mom Nature gets the rain out of her system by then. $40. 7 p.m. Sat., Sept. 19. Masquerade Music Park, 695 North Ave. 404-577-8178. masq.com.

For those either fiending for or unfamiliar with Goodie Mob, peep the video retrospective after the jump:

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ALL FOUR ONE: Cee-Lo (clockwise from front), Khujo, T-Mo and Big Gipp put the city on their backs.

By Maurice Garland

Once known as “the city too busy to hate,” Atlanta has seemingly turned into “the city too busy to remember.” In its desire to become a hybrid of New York’s grind and Los Angeles’ shine, many of the cultural landmarks that made the city what it once was have disappeared. Remember the Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium where Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s home run record? It’s now a parking lot. Such streets of infamy as Stewart Avenue and Bankhead Highway have been renamed. Earwax Records got squeezed out by the iPod. Even the sports memorabilia shop Distant Replays is a distant memory. Compound that with the Atlanta Housing Authority’s nearly completed plan to erase every last trace of housing projects from the landscape, and it seems the city’s becoming a soul-less shell of its former self.

But on a recent August afternoon so humid and hazy it would leave local TV weathermen Glenn Burns and Ken Cook speechless, four recognizable brothers donned in throwback red Adidas jumpsuits stand outside the West End soul food restaurant Chanterelle’s. They resemble a blast from the not-too-distant past.

Continue reading “A dirty job for Goodie Mob”

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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In an era in which blogs have become the breaking — though not altogether credible — source for hip-hop related news, gossip and interviews, Vibe magazine announced today that it’s shutting its doors after 16 years in the business.

Gawker posted the following note from editor-in-chief Danyel Smith:

On behalf the VIBE CONTENT staff (the best in this business), it is with great sadness, and with heads held high, that we leave the building today. We were assigning and editing a Michael Jackson tribute issue when we got the news. It’s a tragic week in overall, but as the doors of VIBE Media Group close, on the eve of the magazine’s sixteenth anniversary, it’s a sad day for music, for hip hop in particular, and for the millions of readers and users who have loved and who continue to love the VIBE brand. We thank you, we have served you with joy, pride and excellence, and we will miss you.

Danyel Smith
the former Chief Content Officer VIBE Media Group
& Editor in Chief, VIBE

Ironically, I just interviewed Smith two weeks ago, following the announcement that Vibe’s new quarterly urban lifestyle pub The Most was due to hit newsstands with divorced couple Nas and Kelis covering the first issue.

When we talked by phone, Smith was excited because she’d just finished editing Vibe’s upcoming story on the Dungeon Family which was scheduled to run as the August cover story. The photo shoot — which took place in Atlanta about a month ago and brought together the core members of OutKast, Goodie Mob and Organized Noize — had already stirred up blog buzz and anticipation. Even Smith seemed excited, suggesting at the time that the story, written by Linda Hobbs, might need to be stretched out over two consecutive issues. Hopefully, it will still see the light of day in some form or fashion.

In 1993, Quincy Jones and Time Warner gave birth to the general interest music magazine with a focus on hip-hop and R&B. The first issue featured an edgy, emerging artist then known as Snoop Doggy Dogg on the cover.

Stay tuned for my interview with Danyel Smith in which we discuss her two-term tenure as head editor at Vibe, the magazine’s credibility within hip-hop, and some of her favorite interviews over the years.

Gawker also posted a note addressed to staff from Vibe Media CEO Steve Aaron outlining the challenges that took the magazine under: (more…)

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Man … the scene was so thick
Low riders, ’77 Sevilles, El Dawgs
Nuttin but them ‘Lacs
All the players, all the hustlers
I’m talking ’bout a black man’s heaven here, yknahmsayin? Yeah.
— Intro to “Player’s Ball,” OutKast (1994)

DRE AND BIG

Once again, Maurice Garland delivers exclusive coverage with a behind-the-scenes peek at last Monday’s gathering of the primary members of Atlanta’s Dungeon Family at Stankonia Studios. From the photos posted, members on-hand included Goodie Mob’s Cee-Lo, Big Gipp, T-Mo and Khujo, Dre, Big Boi and Mr. DJ of OutKast, producer Ray Murray, Sleepy Brown, Witchdoctor, and plenty more. Also on hand were DJ Toomp and Spree Wilson.

As for the reason behind the reunion-of-sorts, Garland is keeping it under wraps for now. But it shall be revealed in time. Meanwhile, here’s what he had to say about how the meeting might affect DF’s musical future:

No, I don’t think a lick of music got recorded on this day. What I do know is that they had a closed-door meeting where issues were resolved and plans for the future were discussed.

I spoke with Big Boi a couple days ago and said that over the next two years we will be getting a barrage of Dungeon Family music. His solo album (expect some big news on that soon), Dre3000 solo album, a Goodie Mob album and another Outkast album are all included in that. Backbone is working right now and Witchdoctor is still dropping projects so please go out and support those.

At the end of the day, there is music recorded and ready to go from everybody for the most part, they’re all just trying to find homes (labels) for it to be put out on.

More photos below…

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On Sunday, in recognition of BET Hip-Hop Awards weekend, Ryan Cameron and DJ Hershey will count down the “Dirty 30″ — Atlanta’s top rap songs of all time — starting at noon on V-103 (WVEE-FM).

So we decided to make our own list to take you back.

Back to the days of MC Shy D and DJ Toomp. Back to the days of Atlanta’s first FM radio rap show “The Fresh Party” (aired every Friday night on V-103 in the mid-’80s). Back to the days of Arnell Starr’s “American Rap Makers” video show on Channel 69.

The compiled list is strictly old-school, meaning nothing released after 1999 is included. Other criteria: All songs were either regional or national radio singles and/or videos that got heavy rotation.

We linked to YouTube videos or streaming mp3s where possible. Let us know what you think we missed.

30) “Jump,” Kris Kross
29) “Cocaine (America Has a Problem)” Kilo
28) “Raheem the Dream,” Raheem
27) “The HItman,” Sammy Sam the Hitman
26) “Can’t Stop No Playa,” Da Organization
25) “Bankhead Bounce,” Diamond feat. D-Roc
24) “Shake It,” MC Shy D
23) “True Players,” A-Town Players
22) “Funkdafied,” Da Brat
21) “Nasty Dancer,” Kilo
20) “Shorty Swing My Way,” KP & Envyi
19) “Watch for the Hook,” Cool Breeze feat. Dungeon Family
18) “Fly Away,” Goodie MOB
17) “Show Me Love,” Kilo
16) “Soul Food,” Goodie MOB
15) “People Everyday,” Arrested Development
14) “Rosa Parks,” OutKast
13) “Tennessee,” Arrested Development
12) “Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik,” OutKast
11) “They Don’t Dance No Mo’,” Goodie MOB
10) “Scrub Da Ground” Splack Pack
9) “Gotta Be Tough,” MC Shy D
8) “Roll It Up,” Success N Effect
7) “Cell Therapy,” Goodie MOB
6) “Player’s Ball,” OutKast
5) “Who You Wit,” Lil Jon and the Eastside Boys
4) “Get Up, Git Out,” OutKast feat. Goodie MOB
3) “Straight From the Dec,” Ghetto Mafia
2) “The Dirty South,” Goodie MOB feat. Cool Breeze, Big Boi
1) “Elevators (Me & You),” OutKast

Honorable mentions: “Iesha,” Another Bad Creation; “Baby Baby,” Kilo; “Van Full of Pakistans,” Y’all So Stupid, “Holiday,” Witchdoctor

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These days, with an ascendant progressive hip-hop scene on the horizon, everyone’s talking about Dungeon Family and OutKast again. (Like we ever stopped.) It’s important to remember, though, that while OutKast, Goodie Mob and Organized Noize blew up, most of the crew never really had much success, at least from a sales standpoint. Some will argue that classic yet underperforming singles such as Cool Breeze’s “Watch for the Hook” are all the success you need. Yes, they may be godhead in Atlanta, but to the rest of the world they’re almost famous.

Tonight, prodigal son Killer Mike has a big show at Django, and he’ll perform with Gripplyaz, one of those hotly tipped leaders of the new school. Both will be backed by Atlanta go-go group the X.O. Band. To mark the occasion, here’s a quote from a recent Killer Mike interview with HipHopDx.com that addresses Dungeon Family’s complicated legacy.

Dungeon Family fans got the shit end of the stick for over 10 years. They’ve seen their heroes like Witchdoctor, like Cool Breeze, like Backbone, like Slimm Calhoun, slip into the abyss. They have seen factionalization, they’ve seen disenfranchisement, they’ve seen everything except a glorious comeback. And the fans deserve that.

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Witchdoctor’s alliance with Adult Swim-certified imprint Williams Street Records was an unlikely one. Accordingly, the two have come up with some wacky promotions for his recently released album, Diary of an American Witchdoctor. Below you’ll find a TV ad that pairs the rapper’s Dungeon Family funk with “Soul Train”-like visuals. For more on Witchdoctor, check out my Nov. 1 CL story here.

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