By shelz. My overriding thought after leaving the Counterpoint festival a couple of weeks ago wasn’t about the music. It was about the crowd and how caught up they were in the happy awesomeness of the whole experience. Random cries of COUNTERPOINT! Filled the air regularly while the shouters pumped their fists and smiled at anyone around. Girls giggled at the boys, people danced in unison, they hugged held hands and brushed off any errant hands to the face during the mosh pit moments without as much as a frown. I hoped to myself that the same spirit find its way to Atlanta’s upcoming indie Hip-Hop festival, A3C, but after the BET Awards, I wasn’t sure if Hip-Hop could pull it off.
I was wrong. The All Three Coasts Festival, in its 8th year, has never posed anything more than a small traffic problem for Atlanta that I can recall, but you know rap fans in their infinite hardness can sometimes make the mood uninviting. It was the exact opposite. Rap proselytizing at its most passionate was in full effect in all corners of the north east (NE Atlanta that is. Yes, I’m pretty handy with a compass). Folks showed up from all over the planet to spread their word and absorb some wisdom from the successful. The panels were packed. The audiences were attentive and the daps from new friend to new friend piled up during the three day event. And the shows? Man. The damn shows…
I saw a lot of sets this weekend, plenty of which I enjoyed. But the vibe during the Detroit show was like no other. It was hot as hell in there, b and folks were on top of folks and honestly I hadn’t heard of most of the performers. But these youngsters, as far away from the Jigga big box venue as one could be, compelled their crowd into sweat drenched, hand waving, neck snapping response that I haven’t seen in a long time. This type of performance, this type of energy, was the genesis of the culture. You couldn’t help but be sucked in, even if it wasn’t your particular type of sound. In this small corner of the monstrous festival, Michigan represented all that is well with Hip-Hop today.
You couldn’t see everything. At times, there may have been five or six events running concurrently. Picking your poison was part of the fun, but you always wonder what you missed. I’d suggest Hip Hop fans check out as much coverage as they can find (even if it’s not your friends at Planet Ill) to get a full scope of how extensive A3C really was. Everyone will have something a little different, but start here because we have as much as we could muster and it’s a shit ton, B. Yards of footage, yeah nuccas, yards. Mountains of photos and Odeisel getting his guerilla interview game up so you can get the latest from your fav underground (and some overground) artists.
This is not a one piece hit it and quit it scenario.We have tons of stuff to share. So pack a lunch and put on your comfortable shoes. We was outchea! Umm…or inchea …or whatever. Planet Ill and A3C; the shit was crucial baby. Enjoy.
