According to rapper Common and producer Pete Rock, their joint album “The Auditorium, Vol. 1,” released earlier this year, was inspired by the musical production of The Dungeon Family and sounds of classic Atlanta recording artists.
The pair, playing Buckhead Theatre Wednesday, pulled together 15 tracks for the LP, and gave production trio Organized Noize credit for the sonic inspiration. Each track, produced by Pete Rock, includes brassy arrangements, record scratches, hard-hitting snare drums and soulful, sometimes-gospel-inspired hooks.
Rock, a deejay and formerly half of the legendary East Coast rap duo Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth, calls Organized Noize producer Rico Wade, who molded the careers of OutKast and Goodie Mob, and died in April, his role model.
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Rock remembers frequenting Phoenix Dance Club, 112, Magic City and other popular Atlanta nightclubs in the early 1990s while touring. He said in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he wanted to hear songs and artists native Atlantans were listening to.