5 of Atlanta’s most hype hip-hop venues

The Atlanta hip-hop scene exists on three levels: the unsigned artists working to gain traction, the rising stars playing smaller clubs and venues around town, and the name-brand stars playing Atlanta’s top venues as they come home from national and global tours.

The last time Outkast returned (#ATLast) to Atlanta — in 2014 — they filled Centennial Park for three of the most lit nights that park has ever seen, and in 2016, when Gucci Mane played his first show in Atlanta since his release from prison (he was convicted on federal gun and state assault charges), he showed up a new man — sober and ripped — to play the Fox Theatre (and even trotted Drake out like it was nothing).

Hip-hop is headlines and big business in Atlanta!

In any event, those moments bring headlines, promotional stops, billboards and radio ads. Social media hums a respectable citywide buzz for our favorite trap stars. What might go a little less noticed is the second tier of performers still on the local (and regional) grind to stardom.

This story was originally published by Adam Kincaid in 2016 and has since been updated.