By Shar Bates | For the Atlanta Voice
A3C (All 3 Coasts) Festival & Conference for Atlanta has become a yearly staple in the Entertainment and Music Industries.
In fact, there are a few things you can expect every year from #A3C: a heap of momentous career and leveraging opportunities; firsthand advice from music industry executives and innovative moguls and then there’s also the chance to simply hear dope music!
This year, though, the annual music festival and conference made a statement by bringing Queens lyricist and legend Nas for a headlining concert in the heart of downtown Atlanta.
Rocking shades and a black tee over blue jeans, he showcased just how polished he still is in front of a live crowd. From “Halftime” and “Street Dreams” to “Hate Me Now,” “One Mic” and “Thieves Theme,” Nas appeared to be in peak-form Sunday night.
“Where my day-one fans at?” Nas asked the audience. “What y’all wanna hear? ‘Doo Rags?’ Oh aiight.” He had gotten through a few bars and then, “Yeah, give that one the mic.” A guy from the crowd climbed up on stage and spit “Doo Rags” as if he’d written it himself. Festival-goers hollered as if it were Nas. But he stood on the side, beaming at this kid in amazement.
The festival not only closed out its weekend with an epic performance by the superstar, it also paid tribute to other Hip-Hop Kings, including DJ Drama, AZ, Project Pat and Just Blaze.
It also featured upcoming acts from every coast that are now killing the game, like Dave East, G Herbo, Derez Deshon, Sonny Digital, and Saba!
The speakers’ lineup and sessions were filled with ways for anyone in the Creative and Entertainment fields to dominate or at least stay ahead of the curve!
Noted speakers this year included: Celeb Activist Angela Rye, Janee Bolden (Bossip), DJ Toomp, Combat Jack, Lars Murray (Pandora, SVP Strategic Partnerships), Lauren Danzy (SoundExchange, Marketing Mgr), Serge Durand (Priority Records), Amber “Burr Cardi” Grimes (Spotify), Jason Reddick (ASCAP), Hurricane Dave (VP Programming, Radio One), Fadia Kader (Instagram), Rachie Babie (RESCUE, Fresh Empire, Shanti Das (Hip Hop Professional), Wendy Day (Rap Coalition), Karen Civil (Always Civil), to name a few. And wasn’t even half of the talent in the building.
