Duluth resident Tamara Hunter was searching for a family outing during Labor Day weekend when she attended the Atlanta Hip Hop Day Festival for the first time on Saturday.
Her friend saw an event flyer surfing social media and thought it could be fun for kids, a great place to see local performers and patronize Black-owned businesses. Hunter, a native of Jamaica, experienced culture shock when she moved to Georgia five years ago and was seeking events that helped her adapt to her new home.
“We wanted to experience what the Black culture in Atlanta has to offer. The music is good and the people are friendly,” she said.
The annual event, held in Historic Fourth Ward Park across from Ponce City Market on Saturday and Sunday, is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year. It’s the second time the festival was held in the greenspace.
Spark Dawg, protégé of Memphis- and- Atlanta-based hip-hop producer Drumma Boy, has performed over horror film-inspired beats at ATL Hip Hop Day Festival three consecutive years. The maker of custom gold grills, the nasally-voiced rapper from Killean, Texas said performing for the crowd in yellow cartoon boots last year made him familiar with past festivalgoers.