Atlanta in 50 Objects
A pink pig and a renegade cow. A movie prop and a Coke bottle. A Pulitzer Prize–winning book and a Nobel Prize–winning icon.
How do you tell the story of Atlanta in 50 objects? We decided the best experts were Atlantans themselves—residents who cheer the Braves and rue I–285 rush-hour traffic, who understand how Civil War losses and Civil Rights victories together helped forge the city’s unique identity. Atlanta History Center asked the public to submit what objects they think best represent their town. The parameters were broad: an object could also be a person, a place, an institution, or an idea. After receiving hundreds of submissions, History Center staff assembled a collection of fifty pieces that represent the themes identified by the public. In addition to items from our own collections, we have partnered with many local institutions and individuals to gather artifacts from around the city to tell this community–driven story.
Hip Hop
In 2009, an article in the New York Times referred to Atlanta as “hip-hop’s center of gravity.” Although Atlanta’s music scene is diverse, it is perhaps the city’s hip-hop scene that has garnered the most national attention and commercial success.
Local multi-platinum-selling artists include Ludacris, Ciara, TLC, B.o.B., Young Jeezy, T.I., and OutKast, who won the Album of the Year Grammy Award in 2004 for Speakerboxxx / The Love Below.
The scene has been advanced by the development of local record labels, including LaFace Records founded by L.A. Reid and Babyface in 1989; So So Def Records founded by Jermaine Dupri in the mid-1990s; and Quality Control Music founded by Kevin “Coach” Lee and Pierre “Pee” Thomas in 2013.
As the number of local artists continues to multiply, Atlanta remains a center for hip-hop innovation. In 2014, Billboard magazine called the Atlanta scene “a powder keg of talent waiting to blow.” The growth of the hip-hop music scene in Atlanta also led to the development of the VH-1 reality television show, Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta.
Outkast’s André 3000 at Wax ‘n’ Facts Records, Little Five Points, 2014. Courtesy Zach Wolfe, photographer