My Favorite Music Moments from Atlanta
I am still processing Atlanta, so I’m not quite ready to take a deep dive into what it meant for me, and for the culture. I have been thinking alot about the soundtrack, and the many carefully curated musical moments of the series. I truly appreciate the care and consideration that evidently went into choosing a particular song that conveys an emotion, sets a tone, and just fits really fucking well into a scene. These songs range from singles from popular current artists, to jazz, deep cuts, and everything in between. So here are some of my favorites:
Beach House “Space Song”
Season 1, Episode 4
The moment when this song was used was brief, but impactful. Earn is on Paper Boi’s couch sleeping, and as he comes to, it’s playing on his headphones. He opens his eyes to a gun laying on the table facing him. Upon my initial watch I wondered if it was some sort of foreshadowing, but looking back I think it was Earn being confronted with some vague notion of having to survive, having to get up and move on. At any rate, I loved everything about it.
The Ebony’s, “It’s Forever”
Season 1, Episode 6
The Ebony’s were a 70’s soul group from Philadelphia. Their original lineup included Jenny Holmes, David Beasley, James Tuten, and Clarence Vaughan. They achieved moderate popularity, and “It’s Forever,” released in 1973, is by far their most popular single. The song plays at the opening of this episode, when Van enters the restaurant to meet her friend, Jayde. Their conversation is full of judgment and microaggressions, and the rest of the episode is chaotic and hilarious and tense. This song serves as a moment of calm before all the messiness, and I dream of a day when I can eat at a nice restaurant with this classic on its playlist.
Crime Mob, “Knuck if you Buck”
Season 1, Episode 8
This song is probably Atlanta’s National Anthem. You can’t have an ATL club scene without it playing. It gave what it needed to give.
Kamasi Washington, "Change of the Guard"
Season 1, Episode 9
This is one of my absolute favorite episodes of the series. Van and Earn playing a married couple, the Awaken, My Love! album cover Easter egg, “Woke Craigs” uncomfortable obsession with African culture, and that God awful Jim Crow slam poetry scene. There were actually quite a few solid musical moments that included Sam Cookes “Chain Gang”, but Kamasi opens the episode in another brief (the full song is a good 12 minutes) but impactful moment. I was introduced to him on To Pimp A Butterfly, and as a fan of classic African American jazz, (not to brag, but I can distinguish Miles from Coltrane), I love that a lot of his music is a reference to the artists that came before him. It’s fresh, but it doesn't feel too modern.
The Delfonics , “Hey Love”
Season 2, Episode 1
To start, Kat Williams as Alligator Man/Earns Uncle Willie is PERFECT casting. He is hilarious, and steals every scene. (His response to Darius saying he doesn't believe in time as a concept was amazing comedic timing). The conversation between him and Earn when he tells him to get rid of the chip on his shoulder after their back and forth throughout the episode was a tender moment, as was Earn stealing the framed photo of his family from Willy’s house. This song playing as the alligator is finally revealed and saunters out of the house as the neighborhood looks on, is a stellar example of the way this series creates moments using particular songs. The sudden cutaway to Willy running away had me in tears. Kat really gave us a memorable performance in this episode. (Honorable mention: René & Angela’s “I'll Be Good” playing when Darius and Earn first get to Willy’s house because that’s the type of music my parents played on cleaning day and it just felt nostalgic.)
Jeezy ft. Bankroll Fresh “It’s All There”
Season 2, Episode 2
Another ATL classic. It plays after Paper Boi is very politely robbed by his weedman. “Hood nigga hot cheeto what i snack on” was my Facebook bio much longer than it needed to be.
Alice Coltrane “Turiya and Ramakrishna”
Season 2, Episode 8
This song is from Coltranes 1970 LP, Ptah, The El Daoud. It’s a really moving piece, and a beautiful testament to what a gifted pianist Coltrane is. The song plays during a solo moment with Alfred, which I grew to love as the series progressed; Atlanta gave him a lot of scenes to be quiet and introspective, and it worked well. I think moments like this really highlight how expressive of an actor Brian Tyree Henry is, and show a great deal of range and vulnerability.
21 Savage and Metro Boomin,“Runnin”
Season 3, Episode 3
This song doesn’t actually play, but it’s a part of a really funny scene in London when the group asks Will, an investor, which UK artists they should be listening to, and he mentions 21 Savage and starts rapping this song. It was definitely a reference to when Black Twitter discovered 21 was born in the UK, which was a day that will live in infamy. I’ll put those tweets up against a lot of other trending topics, including ‘Nigger Navy’ and the couple that wore plantation fits to a formal. (SN: Atlanta is not a show that’s known for pulling source material from social media, and I appreciate that when they do it’s low-key enough to not read as cringe. That was my biggest gripe with Insecure)
The Temprees, “Dedicated To The One I Love”
Season 3, Episode 5
Another absolutely perfect song to pair with another introspective moment for Alfred, after an extremely stressful and confusing episode. What was the point of him stealing the phone just to throw it away??
Ludacris “Splash Waterfalls”
Season 3 Episode 10
Ludacris isn't in a lot of people’s top 5, but when discussing Atlanta Hip Hop, he’s always worth the mention. He was one of the first Dirty South rappers to achieve mainstream success, and gave us a lot of indisputable classics. This episode was really important in the context of Vanessa’s character development. It was also full of a number of WTF moments, including her new friend's client with very specific proclivities, which we witnessed taking place at the very end, before the episode closes with this song. Very cheeky, Atlanta.
Fivio Foreign, Polo G, “Bop It”
Season 4, Episode 4
I have a fondness for Fivio, and I'm glad there was space for him in Atlanta. However, I absolutely hate the scene this song was featured in, which shows Earn's father, played by Isiah Whitlock Jr., getting bullied by kids in the mall. It’s a testament to his acting ability how upsetting it was to watch. But Fivio, who currently carries the mantle for NY Drill after the tragic loss of Pop Smoke, is a good fit for this moment, and represents the social media generation's angst and little regard for authority. (God, I sound old). Another honorable mention: Gil Scott Heron's “ Save The Children” during the end credits .
Sade, “Your Love is King”/”Love is Stronger Than Pride”
Season 4, Episode 7
We love a Sade moment, always.
Public Enemy, “Fight The Power”
Season 4, Episode 8
Immaculate storytelling here. Deviations from the main plot in episodes like this aren't your typical “fillers” that are used in most series’. With Atlanta they exist to highlight themes such as racial politics, consumerism, and white supremacy in a way other shows seldom do. This whole episode reads as an IYKYK plot, because many of us have long considered A Goofy Movie a Black film, and here we get to not only imagine that it is, but to do so in a way that explores Black exceptionalism. Thomas Washington was just trying to fight the power, and be a good father.
Ray Charles, “Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Crying”
Season 4, Episode 9
And yet another episode where Brian Tyree Henry reminds us that he is an ACTOR, one that closes with a moment between Alfred and Earn that is a callback to earlier episodes when they are just cousins chatting it up, before the fame and success. It was a nice reprieve after I sat through the entire episode thinking this was it for Paper Boi, and developed a deep, irrational fear of feral pigs. Fun fact, this song was originally sung by Louis Jordan and later remade by Ray Charles, but his version is my favorite.
The East Flatbush Project, “Tried By 12”
Season 4, Episode 10
I first heard this when DJ Premiere used the instrumental as the beat for the Shady 2.0 Cypher at the 2011 BET Hip Hop Awards, when their cyphers used to be good. The East Flatbush Project is actually a single person, Spencer Bellamy, and he’s only ever released 6 singles. This is a great usage of one of many deep cuts in the series, which I have a feeling Donald Glover has a hand in curating. As an acclaimed producer himself, I would bet his knowledge of Hip Hop is vast and encyclopedic. I’m ready for new music anytime, sir.
Funkadelic, “The Song is Familiar”
Season 4, Episode 10
“There is a song that I sing whenever I'm sad, feeling bad
There is a place in my head that I go when I'm feeling low”
The song the series closed with, a song about loss, and retreating into your own head in order to move past it. A seemingly poignant note to end on, but one that could actually not mean anything at all. Atlanta always left us with more questions than answers, but gave us good music and a lot to ruminate on, so I forgive them.
(Final honorable mention: Season 3, Episode 9 had a lot of moments where interesting music choices were used, particularly Italian selections from film soundtracks that seem to have little to do with the plot of this episode. I’m curious if theres an obscure tie-in somehow with racial passing and racial performance, or if they were simply just used to set a dramatic tone.)
