Atlanta
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Source: U.S. ATTORNEY’S OFFICE FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA / DOJ
It’s been just over two years since white supremacist murderer Payton Gendron gunned down 10 Black people at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, for no other reason than because they were Black.
Now, in Atlanta, another aggrieved, violent and vehemently anti-Black white man from Arizona has been indicted after his alleged plot to murder innocent Black people at random was discovered, fortunately, before it was carried out. According to Fox 5 Atlanta, 58-year-old Mark Adams Prieto of Prescott, Arizona, was indicted on Tuesday by a federal grand jury on charges of firearms trafficking, transfer of a firearm for use in a hate crime, and possession of an unregistered firearm.
The indictment came after Prieto, who is—get this—a vendor at a gun show venue in Prescott, had discussions between January and May with two people who, unbeknownst to him, were working with the Federal Bureau of Investigations, which most certainly made it inconvenient that Prieto was allegedly discussing plans to commit a mass shooting at a rap concert in the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, which he allegedly targeted due to the city’s large Black population.
From Fox 5:
While authorities do not say what concert, the dates provided in the indictment are the same as two nights of performances by the popular singer Bad Bunny at the venue.
Officials say their investigation began when Prieto told a man at a gun show that he wanted “to incite a race war prior to the 2024 United States Presidential Election.”
Prieto, a vendor at the Crossroads of the West gun shows in his hometown, allegedly would trade his personal firearms, using cash deals to avoid any interference from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives.
On Jan. 21, officials say Prieto discussed with the source and an undercover FBI agent that he wanted them to help him carry out a shooting at a rap concert in Atlanta, specifically targeting the city because of its Black population.
As reported by the indictment, Prieto said he wanted to target a rap concert because “there would be a high concentration of African Americans” and planned to leave confederate flags after the violence and to shout phrases like “KKK all the way.”
So, just to recap: A white supremacist who is a vendor for gun shows—those places where Second Amendment enthusiasts often go to get around state gun restrictions and regulations—felt comfortable enough at the gun show to openly discuss his desire to gun down Black people for no other reason than because they’re Black, and he planned on targeting a random rap concert in Atlanta because Atlanta has a lot of Black folks and Black folks love rap music. He also planned “to incite a race war prior to the 2024 United States Presidential Election,” and, if we’re keeping it real, one doesn’t have to stress their brain out too much coming up with guesses as to who Prieto was likely planning to vote for if he got the chance. (Hint: It’s the candidate who is also no stranger to federal indictments.)
On May 14, Prieto was pulled over in New Mexico and seven firearms were found in his vehicle. Later, officers searched his home and found more guns, including an unregistered short-barreled rifle. When he was questioned by investigators, Prieto denied he was headed to Atlanta, and, instead, claimed he was going to visit his mother in Florida. However, he did admit to discussing the mass shooting, and admitted to selling an AR-15 to the FBI agent and telling him that it “would be a good gun to use in the attack.”
If Prieto is convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison for each charge of firearms trafficking and transfer of a firearm for use in a hate crime, up to 10 years for having an unregistered firearm, and he could face fines of up to $250,000 for each charge.
We have to be safe out here, Black people. Violent white supremacists are still out here, they’re armed, and they’re clearly feeling emboldened in the era of MAGA.
Stay vigilant, good people.
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Source: Eduardo Frederiksen / Getty / Atlanta Bus Hijacking
A scene reminiscent of the film SPEED starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock went down in Atlanta, and it also had a plot twist not even Tyler Perry would think of for one of his films.
Spotted on TMZ, an Atlanta city bus was hijacked by a crook, holding the driver at gunpoint and taking passengers hostage, leading ATL police on a high-speed chase that left one person dead.
Thanks to aerial footage, viewers were locked in as law enforcement was in hot pursuit of the bus as it plowed through Atlanta traffic, smashing civilian vehicles, including cop cars, in a chase that went on for miles on Tuesday.
The suspect, Joseph Grier, a convicted felon with 19 prior arrests, commanded the bus driver, Ernst Antoine, who was only on the job for three months, to drive after shooting and killing a passenger.
Speaking exclusively with ABC’s Good Morning America, Antoine said he was “ready to die” for the bus passengers and felt his handling of the situation “was right because people always coming first.”
When police finally got the bus to stop, the hostages ran for safety, and the suspect was immediately taken into custody, but that part didn’t play out so smoothly.
Speaking with PEOPLE, a passenger revealed that Grier “threw his gun and tried to disguise himself as one of the victims.”
When Antoine got off the bus, police mistook him for the suspect he revealed before pointing the cops in the right direction.
“When I get out, the police point the gun on me. I said, ‘No, I’m not the killer. I’m the driver.’ And they asked me, ‘Who is the killer?’ I say, ‘Him,’” Antoine told GMA.
This Bus Hijacking Is The Most Atlanta Thing Ever
The hijacking only gets more interesting. Not too long after the incident, an interview featuring Grier talking to reporters following a shooting at the Peachtree Center, leaving four people shot, surfaced.
In the interview, Grier discussed what he witnessed at the shooting before later boarding the bus and getting into a fight with another passenger.
Another passenger on the bus with a gun attempted to stop the fight, leading to Grier stealing the gun and shooting and killing the person trying to break up the fight.
As for his reasoning for his behavior, Grier, 39, claims he has bipolar disorder and has been off his meds for weeks.
We shall see how this plays out.
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Lil Baby was unharmed after a shooting broke out this past Tuesday (May 14) in a northwest Atlanta neighborhood ahead of a scheduled video shoot. According to reports, individuals who allegedly appeared to be shooting a video themselves opened fire
at the scene, injuring three people who were later hospitalized.
Local outlet 11 Alive reports that the shooting took place in the Dixie Hills neighborhood of Atlanta where Lil Baby and crew were set to record a music video. Police say that they arrived at the scene of the shooting just before 5 PM local time in response to three people who reported being shot.
One 24-year-old man was found with a gunshot wound to the arm, and a 27-year-old man was located with a gunshot wound to the back. A 23-year-old man was later found at a local hospital with a wound to the neck.
Lil Baby was said to be in the area but escaped injury.
Atlanta Police Department officials added that the people who were shot were not part of the team putting together the set for the video but instead said that people connected to the filming were involved yet it isn’t clear what that means as the shooting is still under investigation.
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Photo: Getty
In 2025, the annual Music Biz conference will be held May 12-15 at the Renaissance Atlanta Waverly Hotel.
The conference attracts more than 2,300 music industry executives each year and has been held in Nashville for nearly a decade. The 2024 conference kicks off this week in Nashville, running from May 13-16.
Music Business Association president Portia Sabin announced the new dates and venue during her address during the Music Biz Brunch at the Music Biz conference on Tuesday morning (May 14), held at the JW Marriott Nashville.
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Sabin previously told Billboard that the conference’s move from Nashville to Atlanta was inspired by the September 2022 start of the Music Biz Roadshow program, which has previously traveled to cities including Atlanta, Dallas and Miami.
“With the Music Biz Roadshow, we bring our members to different cities across the U.S. for free educational programs for artists and musicians,” Sabin told Billboard. “We got inspired by doing that because there are so many great music cities out there in the U.S.”
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Beginning in 2025, the Music Biz event will revert to the way the conference had been scheduled when it was then-called NARM, when the conference frequently shifted to a new city.
“We will be on probably a two-year schedule, staying in a town for two years before going to another town,” Sabin said. Sabin noted that the conference could potentially be hosted in cities including Miami and San Diego in the future.
The Music Biz conference’s panel lineup for Tuesday (May 14) includes a wide range of topics currently impacting the industry, including neighboring rights, metadata, catalog sales and the growing popularity of Latin music in sync.
In 2013, the organization formerly known as the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM) rebranded as the Music Business Association. The conference spent four years in Los Angeles before relocating the conference to Nashville in 2015. The Music Business Association headquarters continues to be based in Nashville.
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Source: Burak Cingi / Getty
Mariah The Scientist can sing but apparently, she can also throw hands. She is alleged to put the beats on a woman in Atlanta.
As reported on TMZ a woman named Cleopatra Dues filed a police report at Zone 2 precinct that the “Stone Cold” performer assaulted her on Monday, April 29. She alleges Mariah The Scientist ran up on her, attacked her, dragged her on the floor and ripped her wig off in the process. The “female grabbed her by her wig and pulled the wig off her head,” then “proceeded to drag her on the table and floor” the police report read. Dues claims she suffered injuries at the hands of the singer; specifically “bruises and cuts” and “visible bodily harm.” The incident took place at Cavo Kitchen and Cocktail Lounge; a restaurant located in the Buckhead section of Atlanta.
Customers at the venue took video of a woman snatching someone’s wig off but it is unclear if it was indeed Mariah The Scientist. The singer songwriter was arrested on Wednesday, May 1 on misdemeanor battery and simple battery charges. According to Fulton County Sheriff’s Office she posted a $5,000 bond and has since been released. Mariah The Scientist has been ordered to have no contact with the victim and not patronize Cavo Kitchen and Cocktail Lounge.
Mariah The Scientist is believed to be the girlfriend of Young Thug. You can see footage of the alleged incident below.
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Source: handout / Rico Wade
It has been a little over a week since the untimely passing of Atlanta Hip-Hop luminary Rico Wade. The founder of the Dungeon Family will be laid to rest on Friday, April 26 at a private funeral.
The late Organized Noize members homegoing will be held at the famed Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. Per his press representative, Wade will be eulogized “privately and by invitation only” for close friends and family.
Although the services will be private, Clark Atlanta’s band is scheduled to perform hits produced by Organized Noize (Wade, Sleep Brown and Ray Murray) outside of Ebenezer Baptist, the same church where Martin Luther King, Jr. served as co-pastor and is currently lead by US Senator Raphael Warnock.
For those wanting to pay their respects along the funeral procession, details of the scheduled arrangements are below:
Event: Private Funeral Service for Rico Wade
Date: Friday, April 26, 2024
Time: 11 AM (arrivals typically happen 30 minutes prior)
Location: Ebenezer Baptist Church located @ 101 Jackson St NE, Atlanta, GA 30312
Procession to Gravesite Route:
Start MLK @ Mercedes Benz
Left on Harlan Road SW – Flowers to be laid at 409 Harlon Road SW
Right on Peyton Road SW
Right on Hayne
Left on Lynhurst Drive SW
Left Cascade Road
Right on Adams Drive – Flowers to be laid at 1590 Adams Drive SW
Left on Childress Drive SW
Left on Campbellton Road
Right on Delowe Drive
Right on Headland Drive – Flowers to be laid at the corner of Delowe and Headliand
Rest in powerful peace Rico Wade.
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Source: Ben Rose / Getty
Big Boi wrote an extensive tribute to the late Rico Wade of the Dungeon Family, sharing it with fans on social media.
As the Hip-Hop world is still reeling from the sudden death of southern rap trailblazer Rico Wade, one-third of the Organized Noize production crew and Dungeon Family founder, Big Boi opened up about the loss of his dear friend and collaborator. In a post shared on Instagram on Monday (April 15), the veteran MC and one-half of OutKast displayed a collection of photos and videos from the breadth of their 30-year friendship.
“This is a different type of hurt …. Slick Ricky Wade .. I know you’re with us STILL … in a bigger role now… Big Angel Energy… the Highest of Vibrations … Praise Yah,” Big Boi wrote in the caption of the post, ending off with hashtags honoring Wade and the Dungeon Family. The video clip in the post was taken from The Art of Noize documentary chronicling the Atlanta, Georgia production team of Wade, Sleepy Brown, and Ray Murray which had previously been streaming on Netflix.
“Rico Wade is one-third of Organized Noize and he’s like the mouthpiece for that collective of producers. He was connected to LaFace Records through Pebbles ’cause he went to school with Tionne ‘T-Boz’ Watkins from TLC. She connected him with Pebbles and through them, Pebbles introduced Rico to LA Reid,” Big Boi says before adding: “He was like the gateway to get to LA, as well as the producers who produced Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik. They signed OutKast. Organized Noize were responsible for us signing to LaFace Records. So without Rico Wade, Sleepy Brown, and Ray Murray, there would [be no OutKast].”
The death of the 52-year-old Wade last Saturday (April 13) took everyone by surprise. Many others expressed their grief in posts shared on social media. Grammy Award-winning artist CeeLo Green offered up a heartfelt and lengthy tribute to Wade in his Instagram post. “I speak on behalf of all my brothers and all of your sons we #love you and I cannot thank you enough! I’m forever in your debt. and all of the goodness God has promised us for going forward I shall give you a token of gratitude.. wow my elder is a ancestor now that means you really put that work in… amazing! Job well done.”
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Source: Fulton County PD / Fulton County Sheriff’s Department
For years now Gunna has been fending off allegations that he went Tekashi 6ix9ine on Young Thug and his YSL family and though he isn’t going to be taking the stand against his former crew in their upcoming RICO trial, fans are still torn on whether or not the rapper did allegedly snitch when he took a plea deal.
Now the rapper is looking to clear up any misconceptions about how he was able to dodge a five-year prison stint and regain his freedom in 2022 and in a recent interview with XXL, Gunna tried to explain that the general public has been misled about his Alfred plea which caused a few of his rap peers such as 21 Savage, Lil Baby and others throw darts at him for allegedly dropping dime.
Per XXL:
“None of those rappers, they’re not on the case,” Gunna told XXL. “They don’t know legally what’s going on.”
He added that he has talked “peacefully” to about “three or four of those guys,” but wouldn’t elaborate further.
“I definitely feel like everybody’s been misled,” Gunna added. “And like, you know, when you’re being misled, you got a choice to follow or make your own decisions. And that’s what is being shown right now. You’re being a follower or you’re being neutral to be like, ‘I don’t know what their business is or what they really got goin’ on.’”
Regardless of how his fellow Hip-Hop peers and fans might feel about his current street status, Gunna went on to release his first post-prison album, A Gift & A Curse in 2023 which further divided fans as many loved the album while others refused to listen to it based off principal. Still, the album went on to debut at number 3 on Billboard’s Top 200 chart and garnered more than 100 million streams for records off the album.
Obviously he still has support out on these streets.
With that being the case, Gunna went on Instagram to announce that his next album One Of Wun is on the way and though he didn’t give a release date, the reception in the comments have been mostly positive as his day-ones will remain in his corner. At least until someone like Young Thug comes out and confirms that Gunna did indeed become a turncoat. Should something like that that happen, who knows how the Hip-Hop community would react.
What do y’all think about Gunna saying people have been “misled” about his plea deal? Let us know in the comments section below.
The annual Music Biz Conference will move from its current Nashville home to Atlanta in 2025.
Specific dates and venues for Music Biz 2025 will be announced later. The conference will continue in its usual May timeframe.
Music Biz, which attracts more than 2,300 music business professionals each year, has been held in Music City for nearly a decade, and returns this year, from May 13-16.
“We’ve had a wonderful 10 years in Nashville. We love Nashville,” Music Business Association president Portia Sabin tells Billboard. “It’s been such a great place for us to grow and we are so appreciative and are very much looking forward to this year’s conference in Nashville.”
The move was inspired by the September 2022 launch of the Music Biz Roadshow program, which has traveled to cities including Atlanta, Dallas and Miami.
“With the Music Biz Roadshow, we bring our members to different cities across the U.S. for free educational programs for artists and musicians,” Sabin says. “We got inspired by doing that because there are so many great music cities out there in the U.S.”
Atlanta felt like a natural evolution for Music Biz. “When we first brought the conference to Nashville, it was a smaller version of what it is now. We feel like Atlanta has that growth potential,” Sabin adds, noting that music industry professionals from more than 30 countries attend Music Biz each year. “Atlanta has that great international hub airport, which will make it easier for people from abroad to get to [the conference]. We are excited to showcase another great American music city.”
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In 2013, the organization formerly known as the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM) rebranded as the Music Business Association. Following a four-year stint in Los Angeles from 2011-2014, the Music Biz conference has been in Nashville since 2015. The Music Business Association headquarters continues to be located in Nashville.
Beginning in 2025, the Music Biz event will revert to the way it was scheduled in its NARM days when the conference frequently moved to a new city.
“We will be on probably a two-year schedule, staying in a town for two years before going to another town,” Sabin says, noting the conference could potentially be hosted in cities such as Miami and San Diego in the coming years.
“And I’m sure we will be back in Nashville at some point,” Sabin adds. ‘Nashville’s a fabulous city and we are so grateful to have been here for 10 years. We’re looking forward to this year’s conference in Nashville. Atlanta has so much going on in terms of the music industry there, and I think it has somewhat been overlooked in general. It’s a great spot to have the conference and have this important group of people showing up to do business there.”
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Source: Rolling Stone / Getty
The RICO trial of Young Thug gained another wild moment as a witness admitted to being high while testifying.
On Tuesday (March 19), the racketeering trial of rap star Young Thug and the YSL (Young Slime Life) crew was underway in a Fulton County courtroom. The defense attorneys for Young Thug called Adrian Bean, a witness for the prosecution to the stand. As cross-examination began, Bean leaned forward with his eyes semi-closed. “Man, umm,” he began, “Can I get a water or something? I’m so high right now, y’all, I’m about to go to sleep on y’all now. I am. I ain’t gon’ tell a lie.”
The revelation prompted lead prosecutor and District Attorney Adriane Love to ask Fulton County Supreme Court Judge Ural Glanville for permission to approach the bench. Love brought Bean a bottle of water while Brian Steel, Young Thug’s attorney, asked if Bean was okay enough to continue. Despite expressing how his condition was, Bean replied, “Let’s keep the ball rolling.” The entire moment was captured in the Livestream of the trial.
Bean was called to the trial by the prosecution due to him being one of the witnesses they’re relying on to establish that Young Thug, aka Jeffrey Williams, was at the scene where Donovan Thomas Jr. was killed in a drive-by shooting Sept. 11, 2013. But further cross-examination by the defense of Bean seemed to support their argument that police were pressuring Bean to say Young Thug was at the scene. Bean also expressed that he couldn’t recall key facts during testimony he gave in February, citing his history of drug use.
The trial has seen multiple instances of outlandish behavior from one attorney joking that they would open an OnlyFans account to supplement their income to DA Love and a defense attorney getting into an argument so heated that Judge Glanville had to step in and ask them to “take it down a notch.” He also found himself admonishing the courtroom audience as a defense lawyer quipped about the exchange later that day. “I didn’t ask anyone to laugh in the gallery. This is a courtroom. Not some entertainment forum for you,” Judge Glanville stated.