Fieldnotes II: 'Im Comin' Home Again!"

Over Spring Break I got to do some of my best ethnographical work yet. There is nothing more useful than actually being immersed in the scene. Unlike most ethnographers I am actually already somewhat in the scene because I have produced a couple of songs for some underground ATL artists. Because of this, I was able to gain access to some underground artists and hang out with them in the studio for a bit. A few things I noticed while I was at the studio:

-It was very hot! Even with the fan blowing I was somehow sweating in less than 10 minutes

- It was a very relaxed atmosphere. Not very tense. Maybe because there is no pressure from some big-wig exec, no deadlines, and very little expectations from a "fan base", just creative expression.

-In the studio were two artists, Mums Fp & Siya, two friends of theirs, a singer who was doing the chorus from one of the songs, the producer of the song they were recording, Matt of the Super 3, an underground production group also hailing from Atlanta, and me. (Interesting side note, I used to play basketball against Matt back in my high school days)

- Everyone was very cordial and welcoming, something that is not common in the music business

PS: I definitely should've taken some pictures but I didn't feel like that would have been appropriate. I did, however, record an interview which will be posted in my final project post.

Additionally while at home, I got to attend a concert that was headlined by an artist from D.C. by the name of Wale.

-The venue was called the "CW Loft". Similar to a club but it wasn’t. Had only a bar, a stage, and an open area (no seats by the way) for the audience to stand.

- The crowd there was just what I expected. Hipsters! Well, ATL hipsters, who are a bit different from the ones you may know. I plan on further explaining this species of hipster in my final post. If you asked the people if they were hipsters, they would all probably say no because people hate to be classified, in general.

-Since Wale still isn't a household name, most of the people who attended were either from the DC area and knew of Wale previously, or were just music-heads who were up on their underground music.

-Wale is a typical underground success story. Started off underground in DC, made music without any major backing, built up a regional fan base that began to expand, had a big underground song (Nike Boots), and with that buzz, got signed to a major label in 2008 (Interscope) and now has a single, "Chillin" featuring Lady Gaga as well as an album slated to release later this year.

-A few ATL indie acts opened for Wale, including Mums Fp and Siya. B.O.B, a former ATL indie artist, now major (Atlantic), had a pretty long set and was accompanied by the person who signed him, T.I.





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