5/5 Peach Buzz: Lawyer turned rapper plans Atlanta appearance

Things were clicking along as planned after Eugene Ahn graduated from Emory Law School in 2007. He moved to Washington for a job at a law firm and began logging long hours. But while he'd enjoyed law school, he hated his job. After one particularly trying day, he decided to shuck it all and move on to Plan B: become a rapper. His parents "don't really understand it but they've been strangely supportive," said Ahn, 30. Using his stage name Adam WarRock, he took top honors at the recent Kollaboration Atlanta talent show at Center Stage, winning money, a trophy and a recording session. (Full disclosure: we were among the judges, but had never met Ahn or heard his music until the event). On Saturday, he'll be back for a 6 p.m. appearance at Criminal Records, 1154 Euclid Ave. "I love Atlanta. I miss it," said Ahn, who travels a lot these days but calls Memphis home. "When I was in D.C. my friends all got sick of me saying how much better the food was in Atlanta. Every time I go back there it feels like home." He grew up in a musical family and has long enjoyed performing, but his success at the talent show stunned him. "I was so in shock that I ran back and sat in the dressing room and felt like I stole something," he said. "My first instinct was to hide." On stage, though, with his clever lyrics and energetic performance style, he puts it all out there. "I had the chance to do music back in college but I'm glad I didn't," he said. "I would have lasted a year and I'd be a waiter now." Just in case Plan B doesn't work out, of course, there's always that law degree, although he mused, "I wonder how I can hide my name on Google searches if I decide to get a job as a lawyer again."

Arts at the heart of Atlanta Film Festival flick

Tuesday night's screening of "The Start of Dreams," a documentary by The Horne Brothers, packed the Landmark Midtown Theatre. Shown as part of the Atlanta Film Festival, the film centers around director Kenny Leon, who journeyed from bathing in a tin washtub at his grandmother's house in Tallahassee,  to studying at Clark Atlanta University (then Clark College) to directing Denzel Washington on Broadway. Attending were actress Jasmine Guy, who was among the people interviewed on-camera for the film, rapper Da Brat, "Real Housewives of Atlanta" personality Dwight Eubanks and former Mayor Bill Campbell. Current Mayor Kasim Reed introduced the piece, calling Leon "a national treasure" and vowing that before he leaves office, Atlanta will have a source of perpetual funding in place for the arts. "I fundamentally believe great cities have great art and great artists," Reed said, then added, "Thank you for letting me be your mayor. I'm glad to be here." (One of the Horne brothers is AJC audio/visual producer Ryon Horne.)