A3C is a music, tech & culture festival and conference in Atlanta that has over 30,000 attendees. The event includes performances from over 1,000 artists and talks from over 300 speakers. Past performers include Lil Wayne, Nas, J.Cole, Rick Ross, Wiz Khalifa, G-Eazy, 2 Chainz and Wu-Tang Clan. Past speakers include Anthony Saleh, Ethiopia Habtemariam, Kevin “Coach K” Lee, Master P, Ryan Leslie, Steve Stoute, Troy Carter, and Tuma Basa.

New Strategic Investors: The Gathering Spot and Paul Judge Media Group

The strategic investment from The Gathering Spot and Paul Judge Media Group aims to usher in a new era of growth for the event. They will collaborate to deliver an even more appealing platform for partnering brands as well as open new doors by integrating film, TV and gaming. Additionally, the team plans to expand upon A3C’s “Startup Spotlight” track introduced in 2017 as a means to further drive collaboration, ingenuity and innovation between Atlanta’s tech and creative communities. The conference will continue to provide interactive activations, hands-on workshops and networking sessions.

“This partnership was developed based on our collective desire to create the most influential and anticipated annual conference and festival in Atlanta,” said Ryan Wilson, co-founder and chief executive officer of The Gathering Spot. “We each have a unique approach to building community and have amassed incredibly powerful resources while individually building bridges to opportunity. Together, as strategic partners and producers of the event, we’ll leverage the power of those resources and our unique experiences to bring a fresh, exciting and culturally appealing offering to our great city and its visitors.”  

“Atlanta’s influence is felt everywhere. We have an authentic, powerful convergence of culture, music, technology & entrepreneurship,” said Dr. Paul Judge, technology entrepreneur and investor. “A3C is the event that will bring these diverse communities together for inspiration and innovation. We invite the world to come experience the magic of Atlanta and see what’s next.”

15th Anniversary of A3C & New Larger Venue

This year, A3C Festival & Conference will celebrate its 15^th anniversary having been founded in 2005 as a local showcase for independent hip-hop artists. Over the years, the festival grew to become an Atlanta institution and one of the largest annual music festival and conferences in the US. Each year, thousands gather in Atlanta to discover, network and learn from the innovators, entrepreneurs and artists that drive the culture forward. The 2019 A3C Festival & Conference will include additional programming and will take place on October 8 – 13, 2019.

“For more than a decade we’ve worked to create meaningful experiences that connect people and change lives,” said Mike Walbert, co-founder and managing director of A3C. “While we’re proud of what we’ve built, this anniversary is the perfect time to bring on partners who can help take A3C to the next level. In Ryan Wilson and Paul Judge we’ve found two innovative, local entrepreneurs that share our passion for creating communities, providing opportunities for entrepreneurs and showcasing Atlanta’s leading influence on the culture.”

A3C Festival & Conference will soon announce additional details about the 15th Anniversary event including speaker submission dates, sponsorship / partnership opportunities, scheduled artists and speakers, and opening ticket sales. To sign up for the latest announcements and learn more about A3C, please visit www.a3cfestival.com

The post Atlanta’s A3C Festival & Conference Finalize Strategic Investment Deal with The Gathering Spot and Paul Judge Media Group in Preparation for 15th Anniversary appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Photo Credit: Tracy Mitchell

At A3C, we gathered up a few gems from the speakers who spoke to us that we feel you should keep in mind when chasing your dreams and perfecting your craft. Speakers who spilled these gems include Vice President of Atlantic Records Shawn Barron; producer Zaytoven; Karen Civil and much more. The quoted are listed below; cherish them to do what your heart takes you.

During the Women In Charge panel where Karen Civil, Angela Yee and others spoke their experiences, Civil said, “Take a chance if they see you chase your dreams or move to another state, they would envy. I wouldn’t let people tell my story. They want to dim your light; for them to shine. Help the next person.” Angela Yee states, “Negotiate, be very assertive and demand for a raise!”

Zaytoven was one of the speakers for his Zaytoven Keys Camp for the Beat Summit and spoke to artists and producers about chasing their dreams, stating, “Be in a team to encourage your dream.” He also followed behind it and says, “Have people believe in you and your dreams. Put in the work and get people to notice you. Make your one shot your only one and don’t let people come to you and demand you your respect. Make yourself valuable.”

Roland Williams, Zaytoven’s manager, says some accurate facts about valuing yourself when it comes to the entertainment industry.  He states, “Have to give and understand that you don’t need no one. The credentials speak for itself. I had to build and work my way up and be an asset.”

Shawn Barron, VP of Atlantic Records, shared so many gems to future A&R’s in the room about finding the next best talent and what it is like behind the scenes. He states, “Find an artist, blow the artist up and people will come to you.”

Suggested Articles:

IDK Delivers Cinematic “Pizza Shop” Visual

Aminé Envisions his Dream Girl for “Spice Girl” Visual

The post A3C 2017: Mentors Spilling Gems That You Missed appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Of course, we met up with Taste Creators, who presented a dope lineup called Tasty Vibes featuring Tim Gent, an artist that we spotlighted. Along with other artists, Joie Kathos has a Syd type vibe with her voice and her dance vibes.

?ATL @a3cfestival

A post shared by JOIE KATHOS (@joiekathos) on Oct 6, 2017 at 12:09pm PDT

Another notable showcase was Live From the Mothership, which took place at Stankonia Studios (where the likes of Outkast made Platinum singles and albums). It featured a few of Atlanta’s upcoming artists who definitely are up next in the music industry, including Chilly Chills, Bossanova, E Chapo and much more who were in the building. We caught up with another featured artist by the name of Swift, who came out with a bang by performing his two latest singles: “Show Me” and “Pull Up.” Check out a clip of the artist in action:

Brian Brown represented Nashville, Tennessee in a major way. With his persistency and lyrical flow, Brown put on a good show performing his singles: “Desires,” “Zapp & Roger,” and much more. Check out the small clip below of the hype that night.

Suggested Articles:

#PeepTheVisual: Mike Classic- “Woosah”

Kodak Black Professes his Love for a “Snot Thot” in New Visual

The post A3C 2017: Artists That Showed Up and Showed Out appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Photo Credit: Jasmine Johnson

As you know, we went to Atlanta to cover A3C, one of the top festivals down south. Throughout the week, we met up with rising artists and panelists — the first being SESAC, ASCAP and BMI executives Greg Smith, Jason Reddick and Mitch Martin, and we learned from them on how to monetize your music by collecting royalties from it. Artists had various questions about how to make money if artists wrote a song, but the producer helped with the hook and the advice was to split everything evenly while you are in the room. For example, if four people are in the room, split it in 4 ways: 25/25/25/25.

Photo Credit: Christina Mallas

The second panel featured legendary hip-hop exec Steve Rifkind with Combat Jack as the host. Steve talked about today’s music, entrepreneurship and back in the day stories with Diddy. He told us a story that I’ll never forget: he said when he first met with Biggie Smalls (aka The Notorious B.I.G.), he promoted his tapes by putting Big Mac buns with cassette tapes in them.

We got into the digital side of how technology changes the music industry with panelists Amber Grimes, Hurricane Dave, Kayla Parchia and many more. The panel was about the ways technology disrupted the music industry and what musicians can do to take advantage of it.

Photo Credit: Jade Forest

We also went to Zaytoven‘s Keys Camp, a beat summit designed for producers and artists to give them the tools and information they need in the entertainment industry through track records. Zaytoven and his team there wanted to educate and inspire young cats to reach the next level, spilling some gems to us that artists, producers, management can relate to.

Photo Credit: Vickey Ford

Lastly, it was Women In Charge featuring Angela Yee, Karen Civil, Janee Bolden, Jennifer Drake and more. They talked about how innovative and creative they are to be in a male-dominant place. It touches on issues effecting women in hip-hop by needing to lift each other up and being positive to one another.

All in all, the knowledge was abundant at this year’s A3C.

Suggested Articles:

Dave Announces New EP, Delivers “Question Time” Visual

The Weeknd is Getting His Own Comic Book

The post A3C 2017 Recap: Top Panelists appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Hello everyone! As you know, we are covering this year’s A3C Festival in Atlanta. We have curated the tunes for you to be prepared for the festival and its performers. This year’s festival line-up includes Nas, Ghostface Killah, Saba, Smino, and many more headliners. The festival will be set from Wednesday, October 4 through Sunday, October 8 with many conferences and shows throughout the five days.

From October 4th through the 6th, there will be plenty of conferences that range from artists learning how to build the perfect team, brand, and networking with industry execs. Producers can also join the conferences because experienced producers will be present to give a few useful tips on how to sell beats successfully. They will also give feedback to the beats you’re working on and many more.

The festival will be set from Saturday, October 7 to Sunday, October 8 with plenty of performances from A-Trak, Rich Homie Quan, Dj Drama, Project Pat and the list continues on. If you haven’t already, make sure you get an A3C pass to experience the festival and learn something in the industry. Click here and you can stream this playlist and be on the lookout because more will be added to it!

Suggested Articles:

Ty Dolla $ign Announces ‘Beach House 3’ Release Date; Drops 2 New Singles

Pleasure P Drives Fans Wild With “For A Long Time”

The post RESPECT. Mag: A3C Edition Playlist appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

A3C Festival is right around the corner and there is a lot of hip-hop artists to discover. Before the festival arrives, let RESPECT. Magazine introduce you to one of the stand out artists on this years lineup.

Music artist Childish Major originally made a name for himself as a producer, however, he’s in the intense process of transitioning from full-time beat maker to producer/recording artist. Currently residing in Atlanta, the South Carolina native is 26 years of age and is already on a path to hip-hop stardom. He is infamously known for his production credits on major tracks like Rocko’s 2014 smash “U.O.E.N.O” and the title track of J. Cole’s fourth studio album 4 Your Eyez Only. 

As an artist, Childish Major is garnering the attention of many music fans due to dropping his new song, “Supply Luh,” produced by J. Cole. He is now on a mission to prove that he is more than just a producer.  As Childish Major gears up for A3C and works on his upcoming project, he takes a moment out his hectic schedule for an interview. Check out the conversation below. 

RESPECT.: Hey Childish! How’s it going? For those that are new to you, how old are you now and how long have you been making music? Are you excited to perform at this years A3C?

26 and i’ve been making music for about 13 years now. I’m going to be doing commission stage then I might add on a few shows later. I also have a bunch of panels. 

RESPECT.: Is this your first time attending? 

No, I’ve been going the last couple of years. 

RESPECT.: I follow you on Instagram and I saw that your new song “Supply Luh” played on HBO’s Insecure. How did it feel hearing your song play on such a successful show?

I watched the first season and a lot of my friends were on there. I am a huge fan of the show and I told myself that I was going to figure out a way to make it happen. For it to end up being the record playing during the last episode of the season was crazy. There was no dialogue and that really made it special for me. 

RESPECT.: Now that you have a song out produced by J. Cole, how is life different for you now? 

It sounds very confirming. 

RESPECT.: How so?

Making that transition from being a complete producer to an overall artist. I mean there is still a lot of work to be done. Me and my team Humility City have been working. A lot of these songs y’all are about to hear are songs we’ve had for years now and some are a lot newer. What’s different, is the way everyone else is. It’s confirming for a lot of people and not just myself. They see that J. Cole is taking me serious so now they want to take me serious too. That’s a blessing from Cole just for me. I am glad people are starting to see how talented I am and how much of my soul and heart I put into this. 

RESPECT.: What’s it like working with Cole? Is he one of your main inspirations? 

Yeah for sure! We are from the Carolinas. He’s from the north and I’m from the south. It’s just who he is an artist and getting to know him as a person. Everything about him aligns with what I hear in the music. It aligns perfectly with who he is and it makes sense.

RESPECT.: Is there anything Cole told you that really stuck with you and motivated you to go harder? 

For one, just having him believe in me is enough.  Also, him offering me production and saying we should do something together. Our first encounter was me producing for him. In the first meeting, I ran some music by him and he rocked with it. He rocked with it enough to give me production and actually allowing me to release it. 

RESPECT.: That’s really cool how Cole earned his big break around the age of 26 and now it’s the same for you. That has to be really inspiring to know. 

Yes! Since I started making music early on, I would kind of take my story and look at other people. Like Pharrell is someone I studied and I was thinking about his career and how he started. Your story is never going to be the same as somebody else’s but I found those relatable things and I’m not that far off. 

RESPECT.:There’s a lot of people that have issues with producers hopping out from behind the scenes to hop on tracks. Is this something you’ve always planned on doing? 

Yeah, I knew eventually I would get tired of just waiting for artist to jump on my production. Also, after awhile of producing it just wasn’t fulfilling. So from that I became a songwriter and then that turned into me wanting to tell my story. I guess that’s the difference on how people are receiving my transition versus some other people going from producer to artist. I’m not here to take the same beats I give to artist and make a hit. Im not here to make a hit. That’s not my aim. Im not here to make records that other people can make. I’m here to tell my story and relate to the kids and people like me. 

RESPECT.:You are a very musical person overall. I have to ask if you play any instruments. 

I sing and I rap of course. Music wise, I’m self-taught on piano and I am self-taught on guitar. When I was in school I even played the saxophone. For the most part, I’m self-taught on instruments.

RESPECT.:You have a lot of people asking are you signed to Dreamville Records but I’m not going to ask you that. If you were given the opportunity would you sign to the label? 

Yes, regardless of me inking with them or not that’s family. That’s like a home. Cole personally told me i’ll always be able to work with the team whether its for shelter or making records. They really do feel like family. 

RESPECT.: This is sort of off topic but how did it feel hearing the final edits of “4 Your Eyez Only?” 

It was amazing. Funny thing is, I was even more involved in making the final than making the start. It was great to be a part of the final and the start of the track. 

RESPECT.: Lastly, what is your overall goal being an artist and what can your followers look forward to?

Connecting with people and writing songs that makes them feel how I feel. I’m going to put this music out and get on the road so I can get close to the people. My followers can look forward to videos, an official Childish Major project, and more shows.

Stream Childish Major’s new single “Supply Luh” below! Also, you can catch Childish Major at this years A3C Festival. Make sure you use discount code respect20a3c to purchase tickets at 20% off.

Suggested Articles:

The Next Big Showcase’s Cliff Po & DJ Tarzan Making Dreams Reality in NYC & NJ

Scoop B Radio: Turner Sports’ Steve Smith Talks Career & More

The post RESPECT. Interview: Childish Major Talks A3C, Working With J. Cole, and Transitioning From Producer to Artist appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

The stars came out to support the official screening of the creative new Hip-Hop documentary, The Takeover: What You Really Know About the Dirty South? A slew of celebs were spotted at the mixer and documentary screening in Atlanta that took place during the week of A3C and the BET Hip-Hop Awards, including award-winning super producer and the documentary’s soundtrack executive producer Drumma Boy, Atlanta’s own Trinidad James, rising star Vedo the Singer, L.A. Hair star Lisa B., rap artist Kia Shine, indie Hip-Hop star Lucci, Think It’s A Game Entertainment CEO Fly, rising R&B star T’Melle, the documentary producer, director and writer Andre “Jack Frost” Stephens, and hosted by XXL Magazine Editor-in-Chief Vanessa Satten.

Guests enjoyed Hip-Hop trivia, prizes, a photo booth and complimentary popcorn with an up close and personal Q&A session featuring Drumma Boy, Jack Frost and Satten immediately following the screening.

The star-studded event celebrated the The Takeover’s success since its recent release, made possible by Frost Vision Films in association with eOne Distribution and N.S.U.C. Entertainment Group. The 90-minute groundbreaking documentary follows the significant rise of southern Hip-Hop music, featuring some of the industry’s biggest stars including Rick Ross, Scarface, Rich Homie Quan, Gucci Mane, Trick Daddy, Mannie Fresh, Lil Jon, Master P, Killer Mike, DJ Drama and more.

The post Drumma Boy, Vanessa Satten, Trinidad James & more spotted at Atlanta screening of “The Takeover: What You Really Know About The Dirty South?” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.