Atlanta’s A3C Hip Hop Festival 2012
A lifetime experience…for $60
Three days and three nights of Hip Hop!
Review by J. Writer, photos by Ian Frank
Three days and nights filled with music, fashion, film, business and networking opportunities, all in the name of Hip Hop.
In its 8th year, the A3C Hip Hop Festival has become one of the largest festivals in the southeastern region of the United States, and probably one of the largest Hip Hop festivals in the United States.
Thousands of artist, producers, disc jockeys, fashion designers, photographers, videographers, dancers, street teams, vendors, graphic designers, b-boys and girls and, most importantly, fans all ages, came together from every part of the world to share the atmosphere.
In the past, Masquerade has been the sole location for the festival, however due to the increase number of attendees, the festival was held at various venues throughout Atlanta, using Masquerade as the main location. Venues included: Terminal West, Wonder Roots, Star Bar, The Five Spot, The Plaza Theatre, Criminal Records, Sound Table, Highland Ballroom and New Era Flag Ship.
Mixing business with pleasure is one way to describe the festival:
During the day, panel discussions gave attendees valuable, life changing information that will only advance those who are involved in Hip Hop from a business perspective. Panels such as “Where’s My Check,” moderated by Wendy Day, gave artists insight on the importance of publishing and how to obtain revenue from writing and creating music. The panel “Legal Necessities” gave basic information on legal steps that should be taken when entering the entertainment industry.
While some received knowledge on the legalities of the music industry, others were given information on how to present themselves as artists, how to present their music to DJs and social media, in panels such as “What’s The Hook,” DJ panel “What’s Your Spin On It” and “The Formula: Blending Genres, Breaking Barriers, & Building Value.” Artists were able to ask questions and receive feedback from other artists, DJs and producers who have made a living through Hip Hop.
One statement that was made can summarize the panel: “Make your NetWork your Net Worth.” Panel moderators and speakers were very insightful and generous with giving contact information to anyone who wanted their information.
Pleasure:
The performances at the festival were overwhelming and didn’t fall short of success. On one side of town you had Atlanta’s own legendary Big Boi rocking the mic, and on the other side of town you had Kanye West label G.O.O.D. Music artist and Atlanta’s own up and coming artist Cyhi The Prynce perform. Both veterans and amateurs graced the stages together, all learning from one another.
The A3C featured legends such as DJ RED ALERT, GZA, Raekwon, 9th Wonder, and Devin The Dude to name a few as well as new artist such as ADD 2 The MC, AB-Soul, and Appollo Brown.
A couple of highlight performances included Shady Aftermath artist Yelawolf and artist Tech N9ne. The fusion of Hip Hop and rock was evident as these artist brought high energy and ”crowd diving.” Wu-Tang artist Raekwon brought out fellow Wu-Tang Artist GZA on the I-Hip Hop stage (located at Masquerade) moments before GZA performed his “Liquid Swords” to a sold out crowd at Terminal West.
If you love the culture of Hip Hop, you will not want to miss this event in 2013, it only gets bigger and better.
In the famous words of host Fort Knox, this event was “Heavy, Heavy, Heavy!!!!!!”
And that’s what $60 will get you. Get tickets and info for next year’s A3C Hip Hop Festival in Atlanta at http://www.a3cfestival.com/
Photos by Ian Frank
