Although hip-hop's origins are from New York City, Atlanta has had a major influence in the genre's direction for the past decade -- if not longer. Outkast and Goodie Mob dominated the mid to late-90s, T.I. and Gucci Mane emerged in the 2000s and Future, Migos & Young Thug essentially birthed the new generation of rappers. From an outsider perspective, Atlanta's hip-hop scene has a strong sense of community: local strip club DJs help break records, and key players in the rap game, like Gucci Mane and Young Thug, help mentor up-and-coming rappers in the city. But Reese LaFlare doesn't see it that way. In the latest episode of "On The Come Up," LaFlare breaks down why there isn't as much of camaraderie in Atlanta's rap scene as it seems.
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"In Atlanta, all the music starts from the street, you know what I'm sayin'? In the hood, go to strip clubs and like, everybody fuck with it or you got a movement and everybody rockin' with it," Reese LaFlare told HNHH about Atlanta's hip-hop scene.
"Atlanta's funny because, it's so crazy, everybody always says that there's a lot of camaraderie... It ain't," he said. "From the outside, yeah. It's just because everybody was all, like, cool at one time. So everybody was coming up at the same time. And then they kind of hit where they blew up at the same time or whatever."
He continues, "It looks really good fasho, but everybody really be on they own shit."
Rappers often get a lot of shine for the influence Atlanta's had in the music industry, but the producers deserve an equal amount of credit. Reese says it’s the producers that bring together rappers and artists from the ATL.
"The producers are kind of like the threading fabric because everybody fucks with the producers. So that's low-key how some people end up jumping on songs with other people. It's just like a vibe," he said.
Reese LaFlare had a few people in the music industry giving him guidance in his early days such as Don Cannon, The Cool Kids' Chuck Inglish, and Dom Kennedy. But at this point in his career, Reese feels like he's been a mentor to all the youngins in Atlanta.
"As far as kids that I've mentored? Shit... fuckin' the entire Atlanta. They've all came to my house, recorded at my house, slept on my couch, given 'em clothes off my back," he said. "That's a lot of them."
Now, that he’s launched his own record label, LaFlare Records, he’ll be able to give a platform to some of the kids he’s mentored over the years.
“I’m ‘bout to put out the LaFlare Records compilation,” he said. “Yeah, I got some artists on LaFlare Records. I’m not tellin’ anyone who they are ‘cause n***as like to come and steal shit. I been the rap game martyr.”
Peep the latest episode of "On The Come Up" with Reese LaFlare and subscribe to HNHH TV for a new episode, every Wednesday.