AMAZON IN THE ATL: A HEAVY PLAYLIST

At Kendrick Lamar’s Atlanta show—where reps from Amazon Music and its live-radio app, Amp, brought music and media VIPs together with student-government reps from HBCUs Morehouse, Clark and Spelman—the following influential creators posed without realizing the photo would fall into our grubby little hands (l-r): hit producer Johnta Austin, I Am OTHER Head of Music Kawan Pranther, attorney Vince Phillips (whose client YoungBoy NBA recently became a hot free agent), So. Atlanta Scene’s Satchel and Bems of brand-marketing shop Atlanta Influences Everything.

The gathering of folk at State Farm Arena, sponsored by by Amazon Music’s Rotation (led by Tim Hinshaw, head of hip-hop and R&B), was both a vibrant celebration of the culture and a testament to Amazon’s embrace of the ATL; the company added some 15k jobs in Georgia in 2021, which included big staff expansions at Amazon Music and Amp. Attendees of the Kendrick happening also included legendary Atlanta producer Dallas Austin, producers Mike Will, ZAYTOVEN, Sean Garrett and Turbo the Great, team LVRN and many more. Amazon’s Phylicia Fant, who played a vital role in the proceedings, would still prefer not to be seen with us.

Photo: Prince Williams, ATLpics.net