The Rise & Reign Of Atlanta’s Hip-Hop Empire Detailed In New Book

Описание: The dominance of Atlanta’s hip-hop scene has been discussed often, but not in the way Joe Coscarelli covered it in his new book, Rap Capital. Joe, a New York Times music reporter since 2015, spent four years and interviewed over 100 sources to get the contemporary story about Atlanta’s culture-defining music scene.

Characters are what move the story forward in Joe’s book, not discography, record sales, or cultural relevance. Lil Baby is featured prominently, as is his mom. Joe’s relationship with the hit rapper dates back to 2017 when Lil Baby was still a mixtape artist. Another recurring character is Quality Control Music’s Kevin “Coach K” Lee, who has deep-rooted ties with the city’s most well-known artists across eras.

Joe came onto the show to take us through the book’s journey — both for him to write it and the characters themselves. Here’s what we covered:

0:51 How the book came together and finally clicked
5:46 Role of Quality Control’s Coach K in Atlanta story
9:27 Lasting effects of pandemic on music industry
12:18 Which era of Atlanta hip-hop to focus on?
14:02 How streaming helped launch Atlanta rap into the mainstream
16:07 Building trust with his sources despite racial differences
19:01 Did Joe receive any pushback while reporting?
21:06 Evolution key to Atlanta rap’s longevity
26:45 Adapting Rap Capital into a movie
32:08 The crumbling of mainstream culture