Atlanta’s Musical Royalty The Dungeon Family were definitely in the house as they headlined for One Music Fest 2016 at Aarons Lakewood Amphitheater. Fans from all across the city of Atlanta and beyond came out to enjoy the dope music of Atl’s greatest stars.
The legendary show united Andre 3000, Big Boi, Ceelo Green, Big Gipp, Backbone, Public Announcement, Big Rube, Cool Breeze, Killer Mike, Bone Crusher, Sleepy Brown, Rico Wade, Organized Noize, Witchdoctor, Lil Will, TI and Kilo Ali. As a real ATLIEN it was a dream come true to see my favorite stars all on one stage and playing some of the best music to ever grace the airwaves and what helped put my city: ATLANTA on the map.
Check out the details after the break.
Thanking the GOD OF HIP HOP and ALL THINGS MAJESTICALLY DOPE for finally hearing our prayers and reuniting the Dungeon Family for the 2016 One Music Festival where the entire organization came together to perform their greatest hits, travel down memory lane, and put on one of the best concerts to ever hit the City of Atlanta. The concert was more like a family reunion for the ATL. I got a chance to see so many artists that have turned into friends and family.
As a product of SWATS I might be a little impartial when it comes to my partiality when for Atlanta music particularly the variety that started in the 90’s and shifted the nation’s taste to southern fried hip hop, help elevate consciousness of the masses, and most importantly sit ATL on the throne as the mecca for HIP HOP.
I can remember hearing the distinctive sound of Atlanta’s hip hop for the first time blaring on V-103 and knowing that I have truly fallen in love. Being able to hear stories that reflect your experience, that resonates with you as a person living in the south. The Dungeon Family through their creativity and artistry help elevate and celebrate the aspects of being a southern who enjoys HIP HOP. Those memories cascaded over me like waves as I stood under the stage and watched the Dungeon Family kick off their reunion concert to the beat of “Dirty South“.
Atlanta has been waiting to see it’s superstars reunite even for one night for a very long time. The 2016 One Music Fest had the largest attendance of over 20,000 people to see the Dungeon Family and experience the feeling of real southern hip hop. Cynthia Charles, Festival Director and Lead Talent Buyer had the following to say about the Dungeon Family reunion,
“It was an honor to present a reunion show with musical legends the Dungeon Family!”
Lakewood Amphitheater exploded with enthuasim and was LIT as the Dungeon Family shined through with act after act of iconic flavors that ranged from dynamic poet Big Rube spitting streams of eloquent words to cause you think think, reflect, and promise to make a change even if it’s just for that moment to the biggest stars of our time including Outkast‘s Big Boi, Andre 3000, and Goodie’s Mobb‘s Big Gipp bum rushing the stage to “Sky High“.
We bobbed our heads to the beat of Backbone‘s “5 Duce 4 Tre” as the backgrounded showed iconic landmarks that represents the ATL. That song always remind me of cruising down I-20 for some reason heading to the club or maybe to class.
It was so dope to see the members of Goodie Mob: Ceelo Green, Big Gipp, and T-Mo reunite on stage; the only missing link was Khujo Goodie; the group paid homage to him by performing “Cell Therapy” in honor of their absent brother. Goodie Mob helped tell the story of being an ATLIEN with sheer eloquence from our thoughts on politics to where to grab the best fried chicken and mac and cheese, and collard greens plate.
The crowd went wild when Bone Crusher and TI joined Killer Mike for the ATL classic “Never Scared”. We can go from chill to 100 if need be and the crowd went WILD as the trio brought that message and story to life through the lyrics.
The evening was truly a who’s who of Atlanta’s HIP HOP as Rico Wade and Sleepy Brown of Organized Noize, Witchdoctor, Lil Will and Kilo Ali rocked the stage; keeping the crowd HYPE.
The finale involved Erykah Badu joining Outkast and Goodie Mob for “Liberation“. This is one of my favorite songs of all times. Sometimes I will get in a mood and just let it play because you have to remind yourself that you have to stay true to yourself and keep it 100.
As we all know seeing the legendary duo Big Boi and Andre 3000 reunite as OUTKAST even for just one night leaves us all hoping and wishing we could go back to the early days of SOUTHERN HIP HOP where the stories were poignant and the messages of positivity, truth telling, and being fly resonated ever so clearly. I believe that people love and appreciate this era of music and the Dungeon Family specifically because they helped us find our southern voices. It’s ok for ATLANTA to be ATLANTA! It’s ok to have a voice of your own and be unapolegitic about it. It’s ok for you to be you. It’s ok for me to be me!
I had a great time grabbing shots of the concert, connecting with the Dungeon Family who have become like family for me backstage and most importantly being able to tell you my story via these words and these dope ass pictures that I invite you to check out below.
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