Lil Jon made a surprise appearance at night two of the DNC in Chicago. During the official roll call where delegates from each state confirmed VP Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee, Georgia did things a little different.
Award-winning artist Lil Jon represented the state with a brief performance of “Turn Down For What” as he walked to the state delegation and state chairwoman, Rep. Nikema Williams.
The short performance represented a larger reality of how Black music has fueled Atlanta and the state of Georgia.
Beyond bragging rights, Atlanta’s music scene has a major impact to the city and state’s economy. With a thriving music industry, multiple jobs are created. According to Georgia Music Partners (GMP), in partnership with Fulton County, Fulton County’s music industry grew by 110% from 2001 to 2018 – six times the growth rate of Fulton County’s economy as a whole.
Recording studios have played a major role in helping the economy’s growth. The study reveals that Fulton County ranks sixth among U.S. counties with registered sound recording industry establishments, with 1.4% of the total recording industry establishments in the U.S.
Furthermore, one-third of Georgia’s music industry is located within Fulton County, with more than 130 recording studios, as well as rehearsal spaces, music performance venues, industry organizations and more.
To help the music scene grow similar to the growth of the film industry, Georgia Music Partners introduced an amendment, HB-347, to the Georgia Music Investment Act. The amendment makes “the music tax credit transferable and sellable, and increase it to 30% while reducing some of the thresholds so that everybody recording and rehearsing here would get the same benefit that Hollywood is getting [in Georgia].”
Atlanta’s hip-hop scene has witnessed several eras throughout its 30-year run. Starting with OutKast and the Dungeon Family, and So So Def in the 1990s, the torch would be passed to Lil Jon and the crunk music era in the early 2000s. The snap music era would have a run in the early 2000s before the Trap music scene would takeover and stand for years.
But overall, the city’s music scene remains strong today with artists such as Latto, Lil Baby, Killer Mike, and Gunna all remaining at the top of their game. Killer Mike took home multiple Grammy Awards for his album “Michael,” including Best Rap Album.
So when Lil Jon represented Georgia at the DNC, it wasn’t about pandering to a political base. Lil Jon continued to shine a light on an industry powered by Black artists from Atlanta.
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