On the evening of October 3rd, the A3C Festival & Conference displayed a handful of budding musicians from various regions throughout the country. TEN ATL, located in the heart of Atlanta’s Eastern Village, was the venue for the annual This Is My Year showcase. In the months leading up to A3C, thousands of submissions from artists were voted on by over 25,000 hip-hop fans, and the ones selected were given the opportunity to perform at the Discovery Stage presented by Audiomack, during the first night of the festival.
The concert itself housed an eclectic group of artists. The fans of pure lyricism and the “traditional” hip-hop sound were more receptive to some of the performances, while others seemed to enjoy the musicians with catchy, more calculated hooks and production that was bass-heavy and contained lower BPMs. Each emcee held their own; with sets ranging from three to five minutes, they hoped to broaden their respective fan bases by excelling at A3C’s Discovery Stage. Hosted by TBO-Sosa, and sounds provided by DJ Fye Me Up, the This Is My Year showcase featured Foolish Ty, Krs, Equally Opposite, Roc Writah, James Lindsey & The Company Band, Reggie Pr1me, Konvo The Mutant, Chi Tashi, Davante Liv3, Dubby, Red Shades, LG, Intre and King Shaw.
Wednesday night’s environment was very intimate. With TEN ATL being a small venue, each performer held the audience’s undivided attention with every set. One of the standout performances was that of LG, a young rapper from New Orleans, LA whose style is reminiscent of those southern lyricists that emerged on a national level during the early-to-mid ‘90s.
The This Is My Year showcase has become a staple at the A3C Festival & Conference. For years they’ve broken plenty of artists on the indie and underground circuit, as well as allowing established musicians to rock the crowd at one of the largest hip-hop events in the world. Don’t forget to check out the other This Is My Year events for the duration of festival, where avid supporters of the culture can hear some of the best up-and-coming artists that the genre has to offer.
