It’s been a super busy week with about 20 different events going on in the city! It’s one of the many reasons I love Atlanta.  I went to a film festival, listened to live hip hop music, Nina Simone tribute that was a spoken word/art event and singles mixer! I am exhausted as that sounds but I had a wonderful time running around town.  I will tell you about the events in more detail next week.

On Tuesday, I braved the crowd and ventured to Buckhead to attend the 13^th Annual Unsigned Urban Showcase the Havana Club in Atlanta. The event was hosted by R&B crooner Lloyd and DJ Drama, the showcase featured performances by hip-hop heir apparent Drake and Atlanta-bred Travis Porter.

One of the exciting moments for me was when BMI Vice President, Writer/Publisher Relations Catherine Brewton and members of Organized Noize and Goodie Mob presented rapper/producer Big Boi with the Legends of ATL Award.  I am a HUGE OutKast fan, so it was great to see Bib Boi aka Sir Luscious Left Foot!

After I stopped pouting about being in a club on a Tuesday night, I relaxed a bit and had a great time catching up with my friend “SuperStar.” We mingled around as she caught up with friends, including one of the BMI representatives. Let me tell you, there are a lot of perks to knowing people in high places!  He was kind enough to help us throughout the evening and kept us posted on Drake’s E.T.A. on stage.

The crowd was getting bigger and bigger, and it was getting later and later.  I have been wanting to see Drake perform live since the buzz about him began.  Just when I was feeling too old and too irritated to endure that crowd, Drake came on stage.  I was pretty impressed by his stage presence.  He worked the crowd and really did his thing.   I get why there was so much industry buzz about him.

It ended up being a really great event that made me almost fall back in love with hip hop again.  One thing I noticed about the crowd that night was that it was pretty diverse.  I know I felt older *cough* then the average attendee, but the truth is there were people there of all ages.

When you go out, are you mindful of the age range of people? For the younger readers, do you prefer to hang out at events with people in your age/demographic?  How can you tell when an event is geared toward you?

Are there certain places or events that you totally rule out because you know that the crowd won’t be your scene?  Is it a good idea to discount any place you have a preconceived notion about?  I actually met an older man, in the music industry while we were in line.  He was pretty cool and not African American, so I would not necessarily have expected to swap business cards with someone like him that night.  Which is my point. Do we mix and mingle with an open mind?