Morning, y’all! We’ve got a lovely Monday on tap, with sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-80s.
- On a cloudier note: today’s also Tax Day. The IRS says it’s here to help.
- Scottie Scheffler ran away with the Masters on Sunday, finishing at 11-under to win his second green jacket in three years.
More on that in a bit. First, we discuss Donald Trump’s New York hush money trial and its potential impact on Fulton County’s case, what to expect when you’re expecting cicadas, and continued cuts from state Medicaid rolls.
We also mourn one of Atlanta’s most influential cultural contributors.
***
REMEMBERING A PIONEER
Credit: File photo
Credit: File photo
Rico Wade wasn’t a household name, exactly. Not in the same way André 3000 or Big Boi or other public-facing pioneers of Atlanta hip-hop became. But it was his behind-the-scenes work — his vision, his production, his eye for talent — that forged the funky, gritty sound that became a cultural sensation.
Wade died Saturday, just 52 years old. His unexpected death sent shockwaves through Atlanta and the music industry.
What we know: Wade is survived by a wife, two sons, his mother and a host of siblings. The family said his cause of death is unknown. No word yet on memorial services.
Who he was: Wade was one-third of the Atlanta production group Organized Noize, which produced for iconic groups like OutKast, Goodie Mobb and TLC. He helped found the Dungeon Family, the influential musical collective that started in his mother’s East Point basement (”the dungeon”) in the early ‘90s.
- Current hip-hop star Future is Wade’s cousin. “This life wouldn’t b possible if it wasn’t for my cousin,” he wrote on Instagram. “Love u forever.”
- Grammy-winning rapper Killer Mike, a Dungeon Family member, said he didn’t “have the words to express my deep and profound sense of loss.”
His influence: Regina N. Bradley, an author and professor at Kennesaw State University, told the AJC that Wade “dared to dream and he dreamed big.”
- “There would be no Atlanta hip-hop without him. We wouldn’t have an OutKast or a Goodie Mob without his production. He had the insight and the vision for what he wanted to see and hear. He was the sonic architect.”
It goes beyond that, too. Said Maurice Hobson, an author and historian at Georgia State University:
- “Everyone wants to make Atlanta about civil rights and the respectable notion of civil rights. But there is this other Atlanta that is connected to the ideal of civil rights. Hip-hop is a conversation on the ground about the experience of those who are vulnerable. Rico elevated that component.”
Learn more: Wade and his Organized Noize co-conspirators, Sleepy Brown and Ray Murray, were featured in the 2016 documentary “The Art of Organized Noize.” The group also appears in the AJC documentary “The South Got Something To Say,” which you can stream right here.
Sign up for our Unapologetically ATL newsletter for the latest in Black culture news.
Not signed up yet? What’re you waiting for? Get A.M. ATL in your inbox each weekday morning. And keep scrolling for more news.
***
TRUMP ON TRIAL
Credit: Spencer Platt / Getty Images
Credit: Spencer Platt / Getty Images
Jury selection is scheduled to start today in Donald Trump’s New York hush money case (the one involving porn star Stormy Daniels). The former president’s first criminal trial couldn’t differ more from his Fulton County election interference case.
- Legal experts are split. The fallout from a conviction could cause delays or make jurors in future cases more likely to convict, one said. Trump could also try to undermine future cases if he’s acquitted, another said — “but there’s only so much he can do.”
***
AFTER-PROM SHOOTING
Atlanta police say ski-masked car burglars shot an 18-year-old who confronted them at an after-prom party off Moreland Avenue. The suspects remain at large.
» Man killed in shootout between former couple, police say
***
CICADAS INCOMING?
The Great Southern Brood of cicadas emerges this spring after 13 years underground. But as the AJC’s Matt Kempner reports, we won’t see a ton of the chatty insects in metro Atlanta.
***
MORE MEDICAID CUTS
New data shows Georgia kicked nearly 600,000 people off state Medicaid rolls thus far — including more than 500,000 due to missing paperwork. In Georgia, most Medicaid patients are children.
***
THE MIDDLE EAST
Israel’s war cabinet expects to meet today to discuss its response to Iran’s unprecedented attack over the weekend. World leaders are urging restraint amid fears of an ever-widening regional conflict.
***
MASTER OF AUGUSTA
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Scottie Scheffler’s dominant Masters win “once more confirmed that he is the most certain thing in golf this side of overpriced cart fees,” Steve Hummer writes for the AJC.
Challengers like Ludvig Aberg, Max Homa and Collin Morikawa could only sit back and watch. Tiger Woods made the cut but otherwise struggled.
***
MORE SPORTS HIGHLIGHTS
- Marcell Ozuna’s two-out ninth-inning homer gave the Braves a 9-7 win over the Marlins. A road series with Houston starts tonight (8:10 p.m. on MLB Network).
- The Hawks wrapped up the regular season with an ugly 157-115 loss to the Pacers. They begin a postseason play-in series against the Bulls on Wednesday.
- Georgia and Georgia Tech football both held their annual spring scrimmages over the weekend. Next up: the spring transfer portal period, which starts today.
- Atlanta United settled for a 2-2 draw with Philadelphia.
***
SPRING PLANTING
Tax Day also means the unofficial start of spring planting season around these parts (because we’re unlikely to see another freeze). So get out there and get that garden growing!
***
RESTAURANT ROUND-UP
Our latest round-up of restaurant news includes a closing date for longtime Brookhaven spot Kaleidoscope Bistro & Pub, a new Spanish inspired hotel restaurant in Midtown and beignets coming to Peachtree City.
***
MORE TO EXPLORE
» ‘Civil War’ thriller shot largely in Atlanta tops box office
» Who is Will Moseley, Georgia’s chart-topping ‘American Idol’ star?
» ‘One in a million’ Glenn McCutchen, former editor of AJC, dies
» Fulton elections chair to step down
» Do Americans feel like they get enough sleep? Dream on
***
ON THIS DATE
April 15, 1912
The Atlanta Journal painted a pretty rosy (and wildly inaccurate) picture about the sinking of the Titanic.
“Latest reports indicate that the transfer of passengers [to other ships] is proceeding successfully and safely,” the paper read. “The sea is smooth and the weather is calm.”
About 1,500 people, of course, perished in the shipwreck. The Journal corrected the record the following day.
Credit: File photo
Credit: File photo
***
PHOTO OF THE DAY
Credit: Ben Gray for the AJC
Credit: Ben Gray for the AJC
AJC contributor Ben Gray captured artist Arthur Ruby working on a portrait of Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, the founder of Chicago, during the Atlanta Dogwood Festival at Piedmont Park. More photos here.
***
ONE MORE THING
Before we go: Check out this recent tribute to Captain Herb Emory, the iconic WSB Radio and Channel 2 Action News traffic reporter. Emory died 10 years ago after rescuing two drivers from a car crash near his house.
***
Thanks for reading to the very bottom of A.M. ATL. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact me at tyler.estep@ajc.com.
Until next time.
