Sometimes young and gritty has to grow up. So this year, Atlanta-based Arts, Beats & Lyrics — a national hip-hop inspired art exhibition — gets a makeover with a new venue and sponsor.
“We just want appreciation of art from a younger generation. With music being at the forefront, art had been pushed to the back,” event co-founder Jabari Graham said.
Since 2004, the traveling show has hit cities such as St. Louis, Baltimore and Birmingham, bringing audiences a combination of live musical performances and underground artwork.
“We wanted to highlight a lot of urban artists who never had the kind of platform that galleries gave to other artists,” Graham said. That includes graffiti artists, urban-oriented photographers, sculptors and more. “Most of the art was inspired by hip-hop ... the art and the music go hand in hand,” he said.
The Atlanta event has a new venue at the W Atlanta Midtown and a new sponsor in Gentleman Jack (a Jack Daniel’s brand). Musical performances will feature Jaspect, a group of hip-hop and jazz musicians from Morehouse College, and art by iRI5 of Orlando and Chicago’s Wak.
A series of DJs are part of the lineup, as are complimentary beverages from Gentleman Jack.
There will also be a special presentation to Ma Dukes, mother of the late hip-hop artist and producer J. Dilla, who died from lupus in 2006.
Event preview
Gentleman Jack Arts, Beats & Lyrics art exhibition
7 p.m.-midnight Friday. Free (21 and over). W Atlanta Midtown, 188 14th St. N.E. www.jackdaniels.com/abl
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