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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Like the city itself, the music scene in Atlanta often seems fragmented, in search of its identity. And like the city, it is made up of a host of players, and it can sometimes be difficult to find consistency in its frenzied output. That ain’t all bad; smaller, more insular scenes tend to yield a homogeneous result, and the A is nothing if not all over the place. Below, five reasons to hold out hope for music in our fair metropolis.

1. Over in the trendier-by-the-second East Atlanta Village, the newish 529 has been hosting some of the best local and non-local shows in town for several months now with a decided focus on indie rock’s grittier subgenres. The space is nice, too: it’s tiny, but thanks to the outdoor patio, not claustrophobic, and the band area feels more like a house show basement than a rock club. Down the street, the Earl is still the de facto club in the Village, but 529 is quickly becoming a go-to spot.

2. In Grant Park, Eyedrum has brilliantly bridged the gap between D.I.Y. show space and legit music venue for years now. It has long been known as the place to go for experimental and noise; this past year has seen performances from Chicago avant-jazz hotshot Ken Vandermark and sample-driven duo the Books, among others. Earlier this year, they reportedly faced closure due to the high cost of maintaining the space, but it seems they’ve managed to remain solvent enough to continue for now. In addition to live music, the gallery exhibits some interesting stuff from local artists. (more…)

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via NahRight.com

See additional parts after the jump.

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“You see a AK-47 before you see a high school diploma.”

Sounds like trappin’ and rappin’, both, came second-nature for the future king of the South.

T.I.’s “Behind the Music” episode airs 8 p.m. Thurs., Oct. 8 on VH1. See another preview after the jump.

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SEE THE GOODIE MOB PHOTO GALLERY

In the last several years, the state of Georgia underwent a drought so severe it led Governor Sonny Perdue to pray for rain on the steps of the state Capitol in 2007.

Meanwhile, the city of Atlanta continued to suffer from a drought of another kind: It seemed the Dirty South was all wet.

So the torrential rains that fell almost nonstop upon Atlanta in the week leading up to Goodie Mob’s reunion concert seemed like a supernatural sign that the group’s return might wash away the bullshit and bring back the real South — if only for one night.

By the time Khujo, Big Gipp, T-Mo and Cee-Lo stepped to the front of the stage around 9:06 p.m. — after an old-school set by Atlanta DJ Kizzy Rock, performances from Pastor Troy and Youngbloodz, and an intro that spoke to the occasion (”We are Success-N-Effect, some A-Town Playas”) from former Def Jam poet Georgia M.E. — the rains had calmed to barely a drizzle.

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When T.I.’s long-time friend and personal assistant Philant Johnson was killed in 2006, the Atlanta rapper was distraught to say the least.

T.I. — now serving a 366 day sentence in Arkansas — and his entourage, including Johnson, were involved in a shooting after leaving a nightclub in Cincinnati in early May 2006.

Padron Thomas, the man who drove the vehicle from which the deadly shots were fired, has been sentenced to 17 years in prison.

From the Associated Press:

Forty-one-year-old Padron Thomas told a judge he’s a “knucklehead” and wishes he could take back what he did. He was sentenced Wednesday on gun charges and unrelated federal drug charges.

He testified in December against his younger brother, who was sentenced to 66 years in prison for shooting Philant Johnson in May 2006 after a T.I. concert in Cincinnati.

Three others were injured in the shooting. The Grammy-winning Atlanta rapper wasn’t hurt.

In exchange for his testimony, Thomas received a reduced sentence for his involvement in a drug ring that shipped marijuana from California to Cincinnati.

(Photo by Crickontour/Flickr)

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Many hip hop beefs — 50 Cent vs. Rick Ross, say, or T.I. vs. Shawty Lo — are all bluster. But when Young Jeezy and Gucci Mane beef, people die. That’s why it is troubling that the two are at it again.

As reported on Miss Info’s blog, Jeezy apparently took issue with a recent Gucci song and fired off a diss track, “24 23,” which take aim at Gucci and associate OJ da Juiceman. “Tell him this ain’t what he want, not the boy Snow,” Jeezy raps of Gucci. “But between me and you, I think the boy slow.”

It’s not entirely clear what Gucci song Jeezy takes issue with. Sure, his recent Big Cat Records album Murder Was The Case contains plenty of Jeezy disses, but most of that material was recorded years ago. If there’s a shot taken at Jeezy on Gucci’s latest Writing On The Wall mixtape, I can’t pick it out. Anyone?

Finally, as Miss Info notes:

Mind you, this Friday, Gucci Mane, OJ da Juiceman and Young Jeezy are booked to perform at the 102 Jamz SuperJam in Greenboro, NC.

And then on Saturday…again…Gucci Mane, OJ da Juiceman and Young Jeezy are booked to perform at the Hot 107.9 Birthday Bash in Atlanta, GA.

hmmm…let’s hope both sides respect their radio sponsors and keep the peace.

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From hiphopDX.com:

After reports earlier this week that Atlanta-based Rap star T.I. [click to read] would be serving his 366-day sentence at Forrest City Federal Correctional Complex in Arkansas, T.I. is reportedly appealing this location. The minimum security prison reportedly has alternatives, closer to the rapper’s home and family.

Within the appeal, the rapper’s defense council is also arguing the sentencing that claimed T.I. had a history of violence.

The rapper, who is serving time for a 2007 firearms violation, has had previous felonies for assault and gun possession.

Fans will have their last chance to see him perform this Sunday at T.I.’s Final Goodbye Bash. $10. $20. $36.70. 7 p.m. Sun., May 24. Philips Arena, 1 Philips Dr. 404-878-3000. Tickets available at Ticketmaster.

UPDATE: Contrary to the erroneous report made by the Associated Press on May 17, T.I.’s 366-day prison sentence will not be reduced to two months. The report was based on a miscalculation in which the 305 days he’s already served in home confinement was subtracted from his prison sentence. But one has nothing to do with the other, according to a statement reported on MTV.com from Charysse Alexander, spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia.

Even if T.I. gets released early for good behavior, he’ll still serve at least 311 days in prison. Upon release, he will then serve out the remaining two months of home confinement.

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Be sure to check out my story on Bobby Ray this week, in which he discusses his transition from gat-rapping persona B.o.B to existential genre-hopping rocker/crooner/MC.

He was very forthcoming in the interview, and I ran out of space for all the great anecdotes and info he shared. Here are the best cutting-room floor bits.

Why he won’t visit his Grand Hustle label head T.I. in prison

“He doesn’t want anyone to see him in prison. I thought about it, I was definitely going to come by a lot. But he doesn’t even want his kids to see him there. He doesn’t want that image implanted in their heads, of him being in jail. I can kind of understand that.”

Janelle Monae

“She is probably my sister from another planet or something. She reminds me a lot of me. Everything that she says and does, her music and her show, kind of rubs off on me. She has a lot of good energy, and I take what I like from it and put my spin on it.”

His future goals

“I’m trying to outdo myself. I’m going to take all the best elements from all the music I know. I don’t even want to say some of the stuff I’m thinking about, because it’s stuff that’s never been done before, like recording a song on an airplane. Or maybe even recording a song outside.”

On the Outkast-sized expectations people have for him

“It’s what you make of it. Sometimes it used to intimidate me, but now, it’s like, you gotta go with it, you have to use the energy to your advantage. If people are excited to see me, I’m like, ‘Fuck yeah, I’m excited too. Let’s do it.’”

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Talk about an ironic turn of events.

Earlier this week, Atlanta-based rapper Cedric “Alfamega” Zellars was outed as a former federal informant “who snitched out criminal cohorts and testified as a government witness at the trial of an Atlanta heroin trafficker,” according to TheSmokingGun.com:

Court records show that Zellars began working with law enforcement officials after he was sentenced in September 1995 to 110 months in a federal gun case (Zellars, who had a prior felony robbery conviction, was collared for selling weapons to an undercover federal agent). Zellars “agreed to cooperate with authorities and was debriefed” about the criminal activity of several individuals. “In particular he was debriefed concerning the drug trafficking activities of a Mr. Ali Baaqar,” according to a government court filing, a copy of which you’ll find below. During his cooperation against Baaqar, Zellars met with a DEA agent and a federal prosecutor, and subsequently testified at trial.

No big surprise there. In many ways, trap rap has become little more than a sub-genre made up of dry snitches who boast of illicit activities on wax. Whether real or imagined, you’re bound to draw heat.

But Alfamega’s federal informant past drew particular interest because he happens to be signed to T.I.’s Grand Hustle label. And, as you know, T.I. is set to begin his year-long prison sentence resulting from a firearms conviction he received at the hands of a bodyguard-turned-informant who snitched him out to the feds two years ago.

So last night, T.I. called into Atlanta’s HOT 107.9 to deliver the news that Alfamega is no longer part of the Grand Hustle family:

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This is pretty damn sweet. Apparently it’s a remnant from this year’s SXSW festival, where San Diego singer-songwriter Anya Marina covered T.I.’s “Whatever You Like.”

Check her out performing the song at Paste Magazine’s studios.

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How newsworthy is it that OutKast’s Andre 3000 got arrested in Henry County around 12:30 a.m. Saturday morning for driving his Porsche Carrera 109 mph on I-75?

Google “Andre 3000 arrested” and 403 relevant web results pop up.

With all the hoopla, you’d think the rapper got arrested trying to buy a cache of machine guns from a federal informant in front of Walgreen’s hours before he was scheduled to perform at the BET Awards or something. Sheesh.

A smattering of the corniest leads and headlines follows below the break.

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(SEE PHOTO GALLERY OF TODAY’S SENTENCING PRESS CONFERENCE)

A funny thing happened to Clifford “T.I.” Harris in the year leading up to the sentence hearing, held earlier today, on his federal firearms conviction: the 27-year-old Atlanta rapper turned his life around — and, apparently, a lot more lives in the process.

T.I. declared it so. His team of defense attorneys agreed. Even former Ambassador Andrew Young and Bishop Eddie Long said they recognized the change in him when they addressed the court on the defendant’s behalf.

But perhaps it was best acknowledged by U.S. District Judge Charles A. Pannell, Jr. when he told T.I., “I congratulate you on the work you’ve done so far. If you had failed I would’ve sent you to prison [and] I would’ve probably held Mr. Nahmias out the window of the 23rd floor.”

Everyone in the courtroom laughed at that, including David E. Nahmias, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia. Without his belief that society could be better served by sticking T.I. with 1,500 hours of community service rather than the four to six years of fed time warranted by the crime, the mood in that courtroom — located on the 23rd floor of the Richard B. Russell Federal Building — would’ve been quite different today.

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Wearing a three-piece suit, black shirt and tie today, Clifford “T.I.” Harris was sentenced to serve one year and one day in prison, as expected, after pleading guilty to federal firearms charges exactly one year ago.

See photos from the post-sentencing press conference, where T.I. was joined by his defense team and fiancé Tameka “Tiny” Cottle.

Stay tuned to CL for more updates about today’s hearing and the controversial nature of T.I.’s plea deal and reduced sentence.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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wesley what what’s response to T.I. tackles rumors in Vibe’s April issue:

i doubt TI snitched.

sounds more like he made the u.s. attorney his bitch.

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Spotted at NahRight.com.

The Vibe press release offers a sneak peak into the magazine’s upcoming cover story in which T.I. addresses speculation that he must’ve snitched to receive such a light sentence over his federal firearms conviction:

In an extensive report titled “Cell Therapy,” VIBE Senior Editor Benjamin Meadows-Ingram chronicles the superstar’s history-making legal battle and gut-wrenching journey since his 2007 arrest for attempting to collect three unregistered machine guns and two silencers following his BET Hip Hop Awards performance rehearsal.

After the announcement on March 27, 2008 of what many felt was a shockingly light slap on the wrist for the serious charges, many responded by screaming, “Snitch!” However, authorities agreed to a groundbreaking plea deal negotiated by heavyweight Criminal Defense Attorney, Steve Sadow, who cited the star’s ability to influence others by serving 1500 hours of community service.

US Attorney David Nahmias says, “What [the defense] proposed, and what I ultimately thought was reasonable, is that Mr. Harris has the ability to reach thousands, probably tens of thousands of people, particularly at-risk young people. And that out of the tens of thousands of people he could reach, he has the real possibility of getting at least a few of them not to commit the kinds of crimes we would prosecute.”

T.I. bites back at rumors about how he scored this largely unprecedented deal by saying, “Ain’t no such thing as a secret snitch…Pull up my agreement. It’s public record.”

His one year sentence begins at the end of March. Stay tuned for Creative Loafing’s upcoming feature on T.I.’s Grand Hustle label and how its roster of artists (Young Dro, Yung LA, B.O.B.) plans to hold down the fort while T.I. serves his time.

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T.I. — whose real name is Clifford Harris — will allow MTV cameras to document as he attempts to help seven troubled kids find the silver lining in their lives — all a part of the 1000 hours of community service he must complete before heading to prison in March. As T.I. counts down the days until he is behind bars for weapons charges stemming from 2007, he invites the world into some of his most personal times and thoughts in hopes to redeem himself by helping others redeem themselves.

“T.I.’s Road to Redemption: 45 Days to Go” premieres tonight, Feb. 10 at 9 p.m. on MTV.

(Photo courtesy Patrick Hoelck)

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Seems like there was more action behind-the-scenes than onstage, despite the 20-plus performances at this year’s Grammy Awards.

Chris Brown reportedly got gangsta with his girlfriend Rihanna, causing them both to cancel their performances. The alleged reason behind the smackdown should bring a whole new meaning to their upcoming collabo, “Bad Girl,” produced by Atlantan Polow da Don for the Confessions of a Shopaholic soundtrack. Meanwhile the real “gangstas,” Lil Wayne and T.I., delivered upstanding, redemptive performances — neither of which required NARAS President Neil Portnow to excuse their inclusion in the program, the way he had to when Eminem performed to the chagrin of gay rights activists in 2001.

Of course, the Recording Academy continued this year with the ultra-lame generational mashup theme that made for some of the oddest pairings ever.

Surely, Stevie Wonder would’ve been insulted if only he could’ve seen how silly he looked on stage with the Jonas Brothers. The Al Green/Justin Timberlake pairing was quite a yawner, but perhaps we should be thankful that Timberlake didn’t attempt to rip Green’s shirt off for a grand finale. And did we really need to see B.B. King and John Mayer trade ugly guitar faces for the second year in a row?

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After being convicted by a Cincinnati jury for murdering Atlanta rapper T.I.’s friend and associate, Philant Johnson, Cincinnati’s Hosea Thomas was sentenced to 66 years in prison this morning.

The prosecution’s star witness was the brother of the convicted killer, Pardon Thomas, who took the stand to recount his version of the events that occurred one night in May 2006 when a shootout ensued between two vehicles on I-75. The incident happened after T.I. and his entourage got into an altercation after a performance at a Cincinnati night club.

According to the Associated Press:

The rap star, whose real name is Clifford Harris, took the stand during Thomas’ trial and said he believed the shots fired at his entourage were really meant for him. T.I. was not hurt.

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Janelle Monae is one of 19 Georgia-affiliated acts to get a Grammy nod

51st Annual Grammy Award Nominees Affiliated with Georgia (list courtesy The Recording Academy Atlanta Chapter)

Shaffer Smith/Ne-Yo (6)
Born in Arkansas, Raised in Las Vegas; Wikipedia

• Album of the Year: Year of the Gentleman
• Best Male Pop Vocal Performance: “Closer”
• Best Male R&B Vocal Performance: “Miss Independent”
• Best R&B Song: “Miss Independent”
• Best Contemporary R&B Album: Year of the Gentleman
• Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical: “Closer”

John Mayer (5)
From Connecticut, Resided in Atlanta; Wikipedia

• Best Male Pop Vocal Performance: “Say”
• Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals: “Lesson Learned”
• Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance: “Gravity”
• Best Song Written For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media: “Say” (From The Bucket List)
• Best Long Form Music Video: Where The Light Is — Live In Los Angeles

T.I./Clifford Harris (4)
Born/Raised in the Bankhead section of Atlanta; Wikipedia

• Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group: “Swagga Like Us”
• Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group: “Wish You Would”
• Best Rap Song: “Swagga Like Us”
• Best Rap Album: Paper Trail

Trisha Yearwood (3)
Born in Monticello, Ga.; Wikipedia

• Best Female Country Vocal Performance: “This Is Me You’re Talking To”
• Best Country Collaboration With Vocals: “Let The Wind Chase You”
• Best Country Album: Heaven, Heartache And The Power Of Love

T-Pain (3)
Born/Raised in Tallahassee, Fla., Resides in Atlanta; http://www.t-pain.net/biography

• Best Rap/Sung Collaboration: “Low”
• Best Rap/Sung Collaboration: “Got Money”
• Best Rap Song: “Low”

Gnarls Barkley (3)
Group’s origin is in Atlanta; Wikipedia

• Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals: “Going On”
• Best Alternative Music Album: The Odd Couple
• Best Short Form Music Video: “Who’s Gonna Save My Soul”

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