On Saturday, April 27, Doctor Dot and Olu of Atlanta-based rap duo Earthgang are hosting a 5K race on the Atlanta Beltline’s Eastside trail.
The free event is organized through their namesake non-profit foundation, which focuses on sustainability and environmental conservation. Starting at the Habitat for Humanity building on Memorial Drive, the route will go north up the Atlanta Beltline and end at Park Tavern near Piedmont Park.
If the race is anything like their live shows, participants should expect a high energy affair. Both Dot and Olu, who has never ran a 5K, will be participating, giving every runner a chance to scratch “run a 5K with a Grammy-nominated rap group” off their bucket list.
“We try to do stuff that’s like activations for our fans, supporters and [the] community that we’re building up,” said Doctur Dot.
“It was kind of a no-brainer to [do] something to get people out and about, in the same place, and with the same goals of being healthy and strong together,” he said.
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
Health and wellness are themes the duo have promoted for some time now.
According to Dot, both southwest Atlanta natives grew up playing outside and engaging in typical “Georgia boy stuff” such as youth sports, from their adolescent years through graduating from Mays High School. While attending Hampton University in Virginia, they adopted working out as a way to enhance their stage presence.
Later in 2020, during the peak of the pandemic quarantine, Olu, a.k.a. Johnny Venus, began encouraging members of their Spillage Village musical crew to join workout sessions with his personal trainer Joshua Grindz while working on their collective Spilligion album.
From there they started sharing workout videos on social media and eventually took their efforts outside for socially distanced workouts at Piedmont Park.
Four years later, those impromptu workouts with just a handful of people are now an official event where they hope to host nearly 200 participants.
“It’s just been really amazing to create the space for people to come outside and be active,” says Olu, who recently returned from Bali, Indonesia where he earned his yoga instructor certification. “Health and wellness is key because it’s not just for the body, it’s not just for the mind. It allows people to see value in themselves, not necessarily by how much money they make.”
The event is one of Earthgang’s latest efforts to make health-conscious investments in their hometown. In 2021, with guidance from Dr. Jazz Nicholson, executive director of Earthgang’s charitable foundation, they donated $10,000 as seed funding to Young Middle School so that students could build a community garden.
It officially opened two years later, is now exclusively funded by the group and includes a curriculum that is taught inside the school.
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
In 2022 they partnered with Peace in the Wild, an organization promoting community among outdoor enthusiasts, for a neighborhood cleanup day in the West End. Proceeds from Saturday’s 5K will benefit the Atlanta Community Food Bank, SWEEAC and Westside Future Fund to assist in delivering healthy food options to those in need.
“We come from Black people that have high blood pressure and diabetes, and things like that. You don’t wanna keep that going,” said Dot, emphasizing that he’s become an avid runner because he wants to add years to his life to spend more time with his children. “Now I’m seeing people that want to live longer.”
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
With the goal simply being getting as many people active as possible, all fitness levels are invited. The 5K will not feature time-chip race bibs, however there will be individual and team first place awards.
“My mom and the ladies from her church do 5Ks all the time and they don’t run them, they just walk them,” says Dot, encouraging anyone having second thoughts about joining the festivities to come as they are. “We just want to tell people to get up, get active and get moving, and take advantage of this good Georgia weather.”
There is no cost to register for the race, but participants who made a $25 donation at time of registration will receive a commemorative water bottle and t-shirt.
The conclusion of the race will include Olu hosting a post-race cool down yoga session. Ending ceremonies will also feature Atlanta City Councilmember Marci Collier Overstreet giving the duo a proclamation, officially making April 27 “Earthgang Day.”
Olu said merging healthier habits with those who feel a cultural connection with Earthgang and hip-hop in Atlanta is a great feeling.
“Moving into the space where not only being a participant but being a facilitator and conduit for bringing these experiences to people, where they don’t have to feel like they have to be a world class athlete in order to move their bodies, in order to engage in something that’s healthy, and coupling it with your fanbase, is amazing,” says Olu.
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