Q&A with Scotty ATL

Atlanta up-and-comer, Scotty ATL, was all over the map at A3C this month, hitting up the BET Music Matters, Leaders Of The New Cool showcase and Five Points showcase to perform, along with shooting some hoops at the A3C celebrity basketball game. This Southern spitter has grown a lot in the past year, and says that he has seen his hometown hip-hop festival do the same.
HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE SO INVOLVED IN THIS YEAR’S A3C FESTIVAL? It feels great. I’ve been working hard this year. Last year, I really wasn’t as involved; I was just here and there. But this year, it’s good to feel like you’re recognized in your own city.
WHAT IS IT LIKE FOR YOU AS AN ARTIST TO HAVE SO MUCH LOVE FROM YOUR OWN CITY? It’s dope. That’s one of my goals and that’s why, when I dropped the project, FAITH, forever Atlanta in the heart, the whole concept behind it was, ‘I want to have my city behind me before I go anywhere else.’ In Atlanta sometimes, we are known for gimmicks and that type of music, so people that have lyrics go out and get other cities behind them before they conquer their own home or before the city behind them. So for me, it means everything to have your city. When you go out and you’re a star, and you come home, you want to be able to perform and have everybody come out.
SINCE YOU’RE FROM ATLANTA, HAVE YOU SEEN THE FESTIVAL GROW WITH YOUR CAREER? My first time going to A3C, was in 2011 and I was in a cypher. And since then, I’ve seen it go from the Masquerade to a little bit bigger and now we are all over the city of Atlanta. It’s definitely a good change. I was talking to one of the guys from A3C and asking him about it and he said it was really just about them trying to give people who come to the city more of the city so they can see the different clubs and venues and make you feel like you are a part of Atlanta, instead of just being in one location. So, that’s dope.
WE’RE AT BET MUSIC MATTERS, WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO HAVE SOMETHING LIKE BET POWER A SHOWCASE AT A3C? This is powerful. A lot of artists strive to be on a level of BET or MTV and this is a platform that is one of the biggest in the world. To have them staff an event like this, just makes it all the way official.
WHAT IS NEXT FOR YOU? I’m about to drop a project with DJ BurnOne called Spaghetti Junction, so it’s been a lot of craziness and business since my last project and this is like a representation of that. Spaghetti Junction is a spot in Atlanta, it’s a highway, it’s crazy. When you get through it, you’re on your way to where you want to go and that’s what this project represents for me. I’ve got that coming. I just dropped a video with Lecrae earlier this week called “Fuss N’ Fight” so we’re working.

Hefna Qwap interview on shrooms

If you plan on hitting up The Smoker’s Club Tour, get ready for one of the most hectic years yet, as the lineup proves that it’s bound to be one heck of a show. While in Atlanta for A3C, Urbanology Magazine linked up with one of the up-coming acts, who promises to show each city how he gets down and rather than tell us, he showed us. Hefna Gwap and his mob, along with Elegant Caviar’s Sleepy Jeanson and DyMe-A-DuZin were found taking over the fourth floor pool and cabana of the Meliá Hotel while on shrooms on the third day of the five-day hip-hop festival.
HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE IN ATLANTA FOR A3C? We feel good, if they could see me right now, they would see me in my drawers on the fourth floor, swimming, smoking weed and doing shrooms and that’s how it feels.
WHAT CAN PEOPLE EXPECT FROM YOUR LIVE SHOW? A lot of gymnastics, but I can’t right now, because my foot is sprained.
HOW DID YOU MANAGE THAT? Actually, with DyMe-A-DuZin himself at Rap Genius. I was playing basketball without a basketball, because I was so drunk. I went up for a layup and I came down and I was in the middle of Brooklyn on the ground screaming…
OUCH… SOO… WHAT INSPIRES YOUR MUSIC AND WHAT DO YOU WANT PEOPLE TO TAKE AWAY FROM IT? Life really, and everybody around me. Life is beautiful so you should enjoy it. I want everybody to take that away from me. I come from the streets so I just want people to find the best in their life and try and do whatever you need to do, no matter who is talking down on you.
WHAT DOES A DAY IN THE LIFE OF HEFNA GWAP CONSIST OF? A day in the life of me is… At the [Meliá] Hotel in Atlanta with a sprained ankle on shrooms with Spaceman, Jona Grizz and Vinny Cha$e over there. We’re doing backflips in the pool with Roleys on. And DyMe-A-DuZin in the background screaming that we’re going to do a music video for “Lick”.

Q&A with Cortez

“Besides the fact that we get paid, it’s fun again. I’m taking it all on,” Brooklyn battle rapper Cortez from Murder Ave. says before his match-up against John John Da Don in Atlanta, at the A3C hip-hop festival’s first ever battle rap event, presented by URL.
HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE A PART OF A3C’S FIRST EVER BATTLE EVENT? I feel honoured by it. They picked certain artists, because they see what we’re doing beyond the battles. Beasely called me and said, ‘I see what you’re doing. I like what you’re doing. You need to be here and I’ll set you up with a battle here too.’ And when I realized how big A3C was, I was like, ‘I gotta be here.’ I’m appreciative and I’m not a greedy person. I’m happy.
DID YOU TAKE A DIFFERENT APPROACH PREPARING FOR THE BATTLE SINCE IT IS AT A FESTIVAL? Nah, because it is URL. At the end of the day, URL is the top of the line. You’ve got to come with your bars there and respect the rap league for a reason so I couldn’t play with him. I came here really focused.
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE MATH HOFFA/SERIOUS JONES INCIDENT AT THE PREVIOUS URL EVENT? Everybody knows Math is my boy, like my right hand man. You see the footage; I was there with him. I’m holding him down. It was an unfortunate incident, but like I tell people, I don’t think the punch was a serious thing, because Serious Jones and Math are from the street corner era, where a lot worse things can happen. It was just the fact of where it happened and the timing. There were investors in the building, but at the end of the day, Math knew he was wrong and it was unfortunate, but it is what it is.
DO YOU THINK IT WAS A STEP BACK FOR BATTLE RAP? I think it could have been, but I don’t think it has. It came and it went.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR THE SCENE TO NOW HAVE EVENTS AT FESTIVALS SUCH AS A3C? The crazy thing about battle rap is, it came from nothing and I think that we created our own lane of hip-hop, we generate our own revenue, we sell out our own crowds; we’re like an independent movement and we’re cashing out. So, for us to get selected for venues and events like this, it just [shows] that people are taking notes, not just the fans, even the execs now, are taking notes and the people that are in power and make changes are realizing that this is here to stay. I’m just glad to be a part of it.

Schoolboy Q Panel at A3C

The BQE 718’s Jayson Rodriguez and Shaheem Reid presented a Q&A panel with Schoolboy Q at Atlanta’s Melia Hotel during A3C, the day of the Black Hippy’s headlining Revolt TV performance. The ballroom filled up quickly with fans and upcoming artists interested in hearing about the intriguing rapper, who always has a lot to say. The “Yay Yay” rapper spoke candidly regarding his upcoming album, his TDE comrades, especially regarding the BET cyphers and of course, the infamous “Control” verse.
After stating that his upcoming freshman album, Oxymoron, is officially completed and that he was able to work with many people that were on his bucket list, such as Pharrell, who reached out to him, Schoolboy dove headfirst into the topics on everyone’s minds – Kendrick and “Control”.
“Kendrick is my competition. I don’t go out and f*ck with somebody just because they’re hot right now. You’ve never heard Q put out a song with somebody just because of who they are. I’m focused on music. My homies are my competition. I’m trying to be better than Ab Soul, Kendrick and Jay Rock. I tell them that all the time. They’re my favourite artists, but at the same time, I’m trying to take pride in my shit,” he says.
When asked about where he found out about the infamous “Control” verse for the first time, Q admitted that it was on Twitter like everyone else and how exactly he reacted.
“I don’t really tweet so much anymore, I just scroll and see what’s up. And that was all I saw, people talking about, “are you mad that he didn’t say you name” and shit like that, but whatever, I don’t care about that verse. F*ck that verse, I’m hating. F*ck Kendrick Lamar,” Schoolboy joked. The ballroom laughed along, eating up every word of the comedic emcee.
After talking sports with the two radio broadcasters, Q wrapped up the interview and took a moment to take photos with fans, before exiting the room.

A3C's First Ever Rap Battle

A3C brought URL to ATL last week and created history. The battle rap league, URL, presented two anticipated battles at the five-day festival, which included Rich Dolarz vs. JC and Cortez vs. John John Da Don. Rap fans packed themselves into Atlanta’s Quad, anticipating a body bag match, and that’s exactly what they got.
After some lighting issues, the event began as Rich Dolarz faced JC, in what was one of the biggest chokes many have seen in the battle rap world. After choking in the first two rounds, Rich couldn’t take the “boos” and took his mic off, before there could be a third round. JC, who had taken a loss at World Domination 4 in Toronto against 100 Bulletz, came back with a vengeance at A3C and made the win look simple.
“I’m not going to lie, that was probably the easiest battle I’ve ever done in my life. He didn’t have anything and he didn’t bring anything,” JC says, following the battle. Rich has been known for choking, but he brought it to a whole new level by refusing to continue until the end.
Up next, Brooklyn’s Cortez faced the hometown hero John John Da Don. The two friends only had a week and a half to prepare, but brought an entertaining and intricate battle that ended with no real concrete winner. They each brought stage presence, serious bars and personal information that could only be provided by real comrades, but they made sure not to get too personal or to overstep their boundaries, which some rappers choose to ignore just for a win.
“I respect all these battle rappers for what they do. Especially if I’m willing to battle you, I already respect your craft; no matter how much shit I may talk. I respect everybody, but Cortez, he always shows love and has always been real honest, so you’ve got to respect that,” John John Da Don says after all three rounds, which both rappers had delivered perfectly.
In the end, fans were happy, witnessing a body bag first hand, as well as a competitive battle between friends at A3C’s first ever battle rap event. The event taking place shows how much the movement has grown and that battle rap is now gaining the respect it deserves.
According to John John, he and the other battle rappers are just happy to be a part of the history. “Battle rap is the purest form of hip-hop. You’ve got to appreciate battle rap if you appreciate hip-hop,” he says.

A3C Press Junket

The ballroom of Atlanta’s Melia Hotel looked like the behind-the-scenes of a rap show during most days of the A3C hip-hop festival, but the floor was a platform for industry knowledge and networking as the panels, interviews and press junkets went down all week long. Fans were given an opportunity to learn about their favourite artists, artists were able to network with industry professionals and gain the right contacts with the right people, and members of the press were able to grab those interviews that they needed, all under one roof. Talk about a hip-hop one-stop shop.
Artists like Atlanta’s Forte Bowie, Heltah Skeltah’s Rock-Ness Monster and Da Coroner all took a turn on the mic to share their thoughts on A3C and what they’ve got in the works musically during the press junket, where media crowded around the table during the live stream.
Lyrical legend R.A The Rugged Man took a minute out of his day, the afternoon of his headlining A3C show to speak about the festival. Although, in his words, he thought the festival itself was unorganized, he was still looking forward to performing and sharing his craft.
“I come from that era where, f*ck just making a record, you got to obliterate the stage, so my stage show, like my flows are like my ego,” he says, chuckling into the microphone.
Up-and-coming stars, such as Ken Rebel, had a turn to talk to press as well. The upcoming Brooklyn emcee, who shared the stage with A$AP Ferg the previous night for his first ever A3C experience, was also featured on the official A3C Volume 3 mixtape. For upcoming rappers like himself, festivals such A3C are an important part in gaining a fan base, and he most certainly took advantage of the opportunity.
“Due to various artists all under one bill, different fan bases come out and support each artist so there’s a lot of new faces that you get to see and you can reach out to a new crowd that you don’t have. It’s like, I’ve never been in front of a crowd like this, so let me try and bring them in and make some new fans,” he says.
After five days of knowledge and networking for fans, artists, producers, DJs, managers and press, everyone won.

Meek Mill at BET Music Matters

There were levels to this show, as A3C and BET brought the Music Matters showcase to Atlanta featuring an all-star line up and headliner Meek Mill at Terminal West on day two of the hip-hop festival.
Buttah Man, the host of BET Music Matters, introduced the talented line-up to the Terminal West stage, which included artists like Problem, Lecrae, Young Dro, Scotty ATL and of course, Meek Mill.
“This line up is hot, I think it’s a good combination of new artists, people who are on the verge and then you have somebody like Meek Mill who is on top of the game right now so we also have representation from all over the country so it really represents what A3C is all about. It’s a lot going on,” Buttah says, taking a break between sets backstage. He was an entertaining host that involved the crowd by letting a few artists near the front spit a verse into the mic and made fun of some of their favourite artists, joking that Kanye needs a hug and Drake needs to stop crying, which made the wait between sets less painful.
Bennie Bates, a young artist who recently signed to MA$E took the opportunity to attend the event in order to network and check out the artists on the bill. “A lot of artists popped off from BET Music Matters so it’s a real event where you can get your shine on,” he says.
Highlights of the night included a surprise performance of “F.D.B,” by Young Dro, wild sets from Lecrae, female emcee Rapsody, who brought out Scotty ATL, and a hype set by Problem, who performed his verse of “Function”. The venue was completely full with festivalgoers, who wanted a part in the iconic event series and cheered on each act.
Meek Mill, who headlined the event, came out dressed in black with his chains glimmering off the stage lights as a sea of camera phones snapped the Philly rapper spitting “I’m A Boss”, “House Party” and ending off with “Lil N*gga Snupe” before he left the stage. The house DJ began to play “Levels” when Meek turned around and came right back on stage saying, “How could I forget this one?” The crowd screamed along and artists like Problem and Young Dro were spotted in the crowd getting just as turnt as the fans. Meek’s set was very short, but the talented bill from top to bottom made the A3C BET Music Matters event a smash.