The Dungeon Family took to the P&G stage on Saturday night, the first day of the annual two-day musical smorgasbord, One Music Fest. Atlanta’s premier concert brings artists from across all platforms and genres to the center of the city. But on many occasions, it also features the artists who made Atlanta one of America’s musical foundations. Enter: The Dungeon Family.
The Dungeon Family consists of artists that have sold millions of records during their careers. From the Goodie Mob, to OutKast, to Killer Mike, poet Big Rube, to the music collective’s founders: the late Rico Wade, Ray Muray, and singer/songwriter Sleepy Brown, the trio that made up Organized Noize.
Even for a fan of their music, one can be surprised by how much music that has come from the Dungeon Family. The collective has played a major part in how the world saw and continues to see Atlanta’s music.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens got the festivities started by introducing the Dungeon Family to a standing room only crowd that continued to grow as song after song blasted from the speakers on stage and the others positioned around the grounds.
“I looked up to these guys when I was in high school,” Dickens said.
Big Rube started the show with a poem, the same way he often started Dungeon Family projects. To Dungeon Family fans, his voice is as familiar as any member of the crew, including international superstars like Big Boi, Andre 3000, and CeeLo Green.
The musical selections began with Cool Breeze, one of the more unheralded members of the crew, rapping his verse off “Dirty South.” The song was one of the many hits off of Goodie Mob’s debut album, “Soul Food.”
Both Witch Doctor and Backbone, neither of which is a household name, also performed verses from their archives, and it was well received.
Big Gipp and CeeLo Green made appearances next, and performed their verses from the Goodie Mob sing, “They Don’t Dance No Mo.” CeeLo Green would spend a lot of time on stage on this night, having contributed to nearly all of the biggest and most popular songs. From “Git Up, Git Out” to “Cell Therapy”, CeeLo’s fingerprints are all over the music.
Photo by Tabius McCoy/The Atlanta Voice
Sleepy Brown sang both verses of the song, “I Can’t Wait” and that performance was accompanied by Big Boi, who had a rap verse on the song. Andre 3000 has a verse on the song as well, but alas, he wasn’t there.
3000’s absence was palpable, but it did not ruin what was a perfect performance if there is such a thing. Killer Mike, a local businessman and social activist, has played a major part in some big hits in his own right. His verse on Big Boi’s “Kill Jill” got everyone on their feet, and his verse on Bone Crusher’s “Never Scared” might have stolen the show if not for Goodie Mob performing “Soul Food” and CeeLo’s performance of “Crazy.”
Shante’ Byron came to the park on day one with plans to enjoy as many performances as she could, but she did have a game plan for the two days.
“I want to see all of the shows, but Jazmine Sullivan is my highlight,” she said.
Byron was wearing a black “Cowboy Carter” tour hoodie.
“I also want to see Future, Wale, Ludacris, and OutKast. Everybody else is a plus,” she said.
The night included performances by Mary J. Blige, The Roots, Kehlani, and a closing set by Future, one of Atlanta’s most popular artists, but the evening belonged to the first family of Atlanta Hip-Hop, the Dungeon Family.
The surprise of day one would be the quality performance that was put on by the group, RSVP. The group is made up of R&B stars of yesteryear who somehow remain relevant: Bobby Valentino, Ray J, Pleasure P from the group Pretty Ricky, and Sammy, a former child star. The foursome interacted with the large crowd throughout their one-hour performance and was routinely applauded as each took over lead vocals when performing their respective songs. Ray J spent half of his performance off stage and inches from the crowd.