Crib Notes

While rap industry bigwigs were busy partying all weekend in honor of the BET Hip Hop Awards, Atlanta’s other rap scene was putting in work.

Here’s some low-budget, behind-the-scenes footage from this weekend’s filming of Novel’s video for “I Am” feat. Talib Kweli and Spree Wilson — whom CL featured in May.

Director Phillip Sportel filmed the video at Dallas Austin’s Rowdy Records. The label will release the single (which was featured on the 21 soundtrack earlier this year) near the end of October in conjunction with Capitol Records.

Sportel also shot a video for Spree Wilson’s No I.D.-produced “Word” this weekend. Look for Wilson in the raw footage above. He’s the one wearing the funny hat and cracking jokes.

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I’m going to flip the script and put the moral of this story right at the top. Hopefully, every “undiscovered” artist gets it: Sometimes it’s not how many people come to see you perform, but who, that really matters.

Last night at Smith’s Olde Bar, there couldn’t have been more than 25 people sparsely scattered throughout the room to catch a performance by Radiant Kids. The local, rag-tag crew of emerging artists — including solo MCs L-Marr the Great, Small Eyez, Spree Wilson and punk band Tendaberry — originally joined forces to lend mutual support among Atlanta’s disparate, clique-heavy underground scene.

They’re finally starting to get some of the attention that evaded them early on. Several key tastemakers, promoters and artists (Fadia Kader of Come Up Kids, Thomas of Proton, Jessica Tonder, Seven of Chocolate Industries, Ree de la Vega of Bang Bang, Arjan of ArjanWrites.com) came out last night to show suppport and/or see what the growing buzz was about.

(Click here to listen: “Word!”)

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