When I came to Atlanta in 1999, I had no idea what to expect. Sure, I had heard that “The ATL,” black Mecca of the south, the “Promised Land,” was the place to which many African Americans were returning after fleeing the racism and legacies of slavery which remain in some southern locales to this day. It offered fabulous weather, opportunities for African American entrepreneurship, as well as corporate advancement, tree-lined streets, good food and southern charm.
What I found was all of those things, plus a sprawling metropolitan area with trees and patches of forest in the middle of a city, and a skyline that mimics the Georgia pines. When I look up at this skyline at night, I see festive skyscraper tops that look just like Christmas trees decorated in gold and glitz. These tops cap a lively entertainment center.
Everyone who is anyone comes to Atlanta to play, sing, dance, and perform. In fact in recent years, so many stars have come here to perform, record, write and live (or at least maintain a second home here) that Atlanta is one of the nation’s hottest and fastest growing music centers. Usher and Outkast, of course, are phenomenal Atlanta products; but P. Diddy and Snoop Dog frequent the city regularly, throw parties like the ones during NBA’s 2003 All Star Week, and collaborate with some of our up-and-coming stars, like Bone Crusher, Li’l Jon and the East Side Boyz. Queen Latifah, current Oscar nominee for her role in the movie Chicago, is also a frequent visitor to Atlanta, participating in a variety of music and entertainment events. In this issue, “R E S P E C T” talks about what’s going on in Atlanta’s world of Hip Hop and Atlanta rappers place in it. If you want to see today’s most popular music stars, Atlanta is the place to come.
What draws them here you ask? A trip down “The Dirtywoods,” another name for the famous Peachtree Street, shows some of the reasons-four star restaurants, opulent architecture, and fabulous night-life. Atlanta’s clubs might change names and ownership, or at times even close (The Gold Club being the most famous case in point), but they are usually reopened and better than ever. Club life is so important here that several of them are the sites for music videos and movies. Probably the most popular location for such activities is Club 112, immortalized in song “Welcome to Atlanta” by Atlanta’s Ludacris and Jermaine Dupri. This city is truly “where the playas play.”
Another thing that draws people here as if by spell is this simple fact-the Deep South is the birthplace of a feeling called “soul.” Yes, the term has been used so often and applied to so many different forms that it might have lost some of it’s meaning, that is until you listen to a vocalist like Charlene “Tweet“ Keys. The key of her musical compositions is coupled with a voice sometimes crystalline in quality, sometimes the essence of summer humidity, so sultry that it goes into your diaphragm and pulls the breath out in long, lush gasps. Add in a tribal beat and you have drum and song calling a people to dance. Tweet’s music will leave the hair on your body standing as she moans and cries, wails and sometimes sings like a bird, telling you all about your own personal troubles. A voice like hers, and voices of others who have a similar effect, like Outkast for instance, send out a homecoming call to so many artists, writer, musicians and anyone who knows that feeling you get in your gut when you hear that distinctive soulful sound; it calls-come home to a familiar root where your troubles and your dreams are inherently understood.
Of course, music is not all we have to offer. Some of African America’s most celebrated artists live and work in the city. Three among them, Louis Delsarte, Kevin Sipp and Kevin Cole are featured in the “Conversations” series. There are so many others, male and female, seasoned, mid-career and emerging. Atlanta is also the home of the National Black Arts Festival, held biennially. This year’s event will feature a number of artists using all types of media at venues throughout the city, most notably Clark Atlanta University. Nearby Hammonds House Galleries always offers complementary events that introduce visitors to the arts of the Historic West End Neighborhood, one of the city’s oldest. The West End houses the studios and homes of many artists and musicians alike.
What follows in this issue of Drylongso is a small introduction to the inviting wealth of Arts and Entertainment offerings. It captures some of what constitutes Atlanta style-sultry, driving, vibrant and bold. Read and enjoy. And don’t forget to pay us a visit!
Melissa Kemp is a College English Instructor at Bauder College in Atlanta GA. She is a freelance writer and poet. Originally from Roanoke, VA, she has resided in Atlanta for the last five years.