Atlanta’s A3C Hip-Hop Festival is the Randy Moss of festivals (and for the record, Austin’s South by Southwest is the Jerry Rice). That is to say, it cannot be covered. Or in the words of Kenny Mayne, you may only hope to contain it.
Dubbed A3C for “All 3 Coasts,” the festival convenes in Atlanta this Wednesday-Sunday for five days of music, film, art, and fashion, and brings in artists from across the country to play in one dive bar or small venue or another across this sprawling mess of a city. There are film screenings and fashion shows, recording sessions and lectures, and of course, rap shows. And none of them are in the same place…
Don’t get me wrong, this is in fact, all kinds of awesome, as it means that ?uestlove is curating a block party in Old 4th Ward on Sunday, Too $hort is destroying downtown ATL into the early hours on Wednesday, Ghostface is headlining a bill in L5P on Thursday, etc., etc., etc. It does mean however, that seeing everything and going everywhere, will be impossible…
Thanks to the generosity of those responsible for putting A3C together for its 9th run this year, Dead Curious has been blessed with the all-access treatment, meaning I’ll be running myself into the higher ground trying to bring y’all back a story or two. Goals include: 1) making a joke of sufficient Kwelity to get a rise out of Talib (probably not that one…), 2) becoming best friends with Quest, and 3) politely declining Too $hort’s invitation to join him at Magic City.
But in the almost certain event that I fail at those endeavors, keep checking back with us at Dead Curious throughout the week and weekend for coverage on the shows, after-parties, and recording sessions that make A3C one of the most unique festivals in the country. Regardless of other summarily formed and thus dismissed opinions held by, oh, I don’t know, Pitchfork… ATL is still the rap capital of the world, and A3C is both the proof and the pudding (point of clarification on that: Drake’s not on the bill).
Stay tuned, and check out the A3C lineup, schedule, and homepage for tickets!
