Chapter 31 – A3C Hip Hop Recap
by Leesa Dean
I’ll cut to the chase. I had a GREAT time in Atlanta!
My plane arrived right on time and I called Lyn Adler as we had pre-arranged. She and her fiance Mark were already en route to the venue. We both got there early and it was so cool to finally meet her and Mark in person. Lyn and I have known each other for a few years, but only online (we had a friend in common.) It was wonderful to finally meet in person. They are absolutely lovely people.
We took a short walk, checked out the the block party (which was just setting up/starting a few blocks away) and came back just in time to meet Charles Judson, the artistic director of the Film Festival (and the Atlanta Film Festival) and Kristan Woolford, his assistant. Both great guys. We started chatting as people started arriving and really hit it off.
Once inside, I met Darren Blastmaster Zulu and his wife and son. Really great folks! Darren and I both know Patti Astor (who knows anybody who’s anybody that’s involved in the graffiti, art and hip-hop world; she used to run the iconic Fun Gallery. I’ll be writing a bit about her and her new book next week) and when I told Patti I was flying to ATL for the screening, she told Darren all about it and he and his family came to show support. It’s just humbling when people are so genuinely nice to you.
The crowd was intimate and seriously enthusiastic! Great to see all the episodes back to back. I literally haven’t watched them that way since before I launched. And, during the Q&A, people asked a lot of cool questions.
After the screening, Lyn, Mark and I checked out a little more of the block party, then went to Cabbagetown and had cappuccino and interesting conversation at a quaint little spot. The weather was lovely. It was just….idyllic.
They dropped me off at the airport which was just so nice of them and…my flight was delayed for an hour because the idyllic weather had apparently changed once I got inside the terminal. It was raining and thundering like crazy.
It’s not a good a sign when, before take-off, the pilot says, “Folks, yes the weather is NOT good, but I’ll get you all through this. We WILL make it safely.” People around me were literally crossing themselves as we headed down the runway. And I, the atheist, was sitting next to a guy who looked like a body double for Dwayne The Rock Johnson. Well kind of.
His name was Moses (at least that’s what he told me, unironically) and he was with special forces in the military. Recently came back from Afghanistan and was working doing something with law enforcement. He couldn’t tell me exactly what. Hmmm. For whatever reason, I felt that if something happened with the plane, he’d know what to do, which was slightly comforting though, for all I know, he might’ve been the first guy to start screaming like a baby and hid under the seat.
Needless to say, though there was turbulence most of the ride, we landed without a hitch and I was back home by 11pm. An intense but really fun adventure all in all. Bye, Atlanta. Hope to come back again soon! And thanks A3C for a great time.
Thanks for posting, LB & Munchman!