From signed vinyl records and cassette tapes to iconic tour merchandise, music memorabilia from many of Atlanta’s greatest hip hop stars will soon be buried underground.
Dozens of historic items that represent the South’s role in the evolution of the genre were gathered by the city of Atlanta and loaded into a time capsule. The event marked the grand finale of a year’s worth of events to celebrate the 50th anniversary of hip hop.
While hip hop was born at a block party in the Bronx, New York in the summer of 1973, musicians and historians say Atlanta has taken over as the place to be for budding artists and aspiring producers.
“They thought it was just a fad right?” Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said of critics who initially turned up their nose at the new sounds. “Well, look at it now 50 years later and still just as strong as the day it started — actually stronger.
“Hip hop has a significant staying power to it and has actually changed the world,” he said.
Credit: Riley Bunch/riley.bunch@ajc.com
Credit: Riley Bunch/riley.bunch@ajc.com
The first-term mayor has spent the entire year celebrating Atlanta’s vibrant hip hop community that some consider the cultural epicenter of the movement. Events ranged from parties at the legendary Cascade Skating Rink to a series of concerts at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, too, released its first ever documentary movie “The South Got Something To Say,” that explores Atlanta’s undeniable impact on hip hop.
Artists who gathered at the Atlanta History Center for the time capsule ceremony lamented the city’s hip hop artists — especially in the early years of the genre — weren’t always so appreciated.
“We broke records,” said Rapper D’Juan Montrel Hart, also known by his stage name Young Dro. “We made history.”
Renowned hip hop historian Joycelyn Wilson also pointed out the fact that while hip hop sparked a new social movement in the city, Atlanta was also on the precipice of historic political change.
Just months after hip hop was created, voters took to the polls to elect Atlanta’s first ever Black mayor, Maynard Jackson.
“On that day, August 11th, what was happening down here was something really special,” she said.
Credit: Riley Bunch/riley.bunch@ajc.com
Credit: Riley Bunch/riley.bunch@ajc.com
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