Welcome to Heat Check, a biweekly music column where AJC culture reporter DeAsia Paige explores the temperature of Georgia’s buzzing, expansive music scene. The column includes music news, trends and any Georgia-related music that DeAsia is listening to. If you’re a Georgia artist and have music you want to be considered for this column — or if you just want to talk music — feel free to send an email to deasia.paige@ajc.com
Atlanta rap appears to be in a never-ending state of mourning.
Last week, the artist born Dequantes Devontay Lamar died. Rich Homie Quan was 34. A cause of death is unknown at this time, but what’s known is that Lamar left an indelible mark on the evolution of Atlanta’s rap scene.
With a gruff tone and piercing staccato, Lamar became a crucial element in pushing Atlanta’s trap sound to the mainstream in the early 2010s. As a soloist, he delivered trap anthems like “Type of Way” and “Milk Marie” that became cult classics in the city. As one-half of the Cash Money group Rich Gang, he and Young Thug formed one of most notable duos Atlanta had seen since Outkast.
His death represents another giant loss for a generation that helped take Atlanta trap to another stratosphere. The early 2010s created a pivotal chapter in Atlanta’s extensive rap history by soaking colorful trap beats and unorthodox stylings into rap culture ― making Atlanta trap the predominant hip-hop sound. But, now, most of its major players are gone.
Credit: Courtesy of One Musicfest
Credit: Courtesy of One Musicfest
Some are out of the game, but others aren’t living to see the age of 35.
- Edgewood rapper Trouble, 34, was shot and killed in a home invasion in Conyers in 2022.
- Migos’ Takeoff was shot and killed outside of a Houston bowling alley in 2022. He was 28. His death marked the end of the Grammy-nominated supergroup Migos as we knew it.
- Rap superstar Young Thug has remained in jail since being arrested in 2022 on gang and racketeering charges. The ongoing YSL Trial is the longest criminal trial in Georgia’s history.
- Last week, ILoveMakonnen, who became popular for his 2014 trap smash “Tuesday” and boasted a remix from Drake, announced his retirement.
Not only is Atlanta mourning another pioneer, but the city is mourning the end of an era that further shaped its sound. Who would’ve imagined in 2014 that Takeoff, Rich Homie Quan and Young Thug would either be dead or in jail?
“May God be with us,” Quavo wrote last week in an Instagram post featuring an older picture of him with Takeoff, Offset, Young Thug and Rich Homie Quan. Never saw this being apart (sic) of our journey.”
Atlanta remains the top rap city, helmed by newcomers like Hunxho and Babydrill and dominance from mainstays like Future, 21 Savage and Latto. But its rap scene is in a sad and weird phase that includes trying to move forward while swiftly losing its staples.
Rest in peace, Rich Homie Quan. Below is a playlist with his top tracks.
Kendrick Lamar to headline 2025 Super Bowl
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
Credit: Ryan Fleisher
Before the first Sunday of the 2024 NFL season kicked off, the league, Roc Nation and Apple Music announced that Kendrick Lamar will headline next year’s Super Bowl halftime show. The event will be held Feb. 9, 2025, at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
The news comes amid a victory lap for the Compton, California, rapper, who was unanimously declared the winner of a culture-shaping rap beef with Drake.
And, in case you needed a reminder, it all started with a song off an album by two Atlanta artists: Future and Metro Boomin. In March, Future and Metro Boomin dropped their first joint album, “We Don’t Trust.” The 17-track album included “Like That,” a song that featured a surprise Kendrick Lamar verse, which kicked off the most entertaining rap battle royale in recent memory.
The monthslong beef ended with the success of Lamar’s No. 1 single “Not Like Us,” which includes the rapper citing Atlanta’s dominance in hip-hop.
“You called Future when you didn’t see the club / Lil Baby helped you get your lingo up / 21 gave you false street cred / Thug made you feel like you a slime in your head / Quavo said you can be from Northside / 2 Chainz say you good, but he lied / You run to Atlanta when you need a few dollars / No, you not a colleague, you a f---ing colonizer.”
Will Lamar bring these Atlanta connections to life with yet another televised performance of “Not Like Us?” It’s likely.
But let’s not forget that Atlanta set the stage for Lamar’s stellar 2024.
This story has been updated to correct Rich Homie Quan’s age at the time of his death
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