Hip-Hop and the "Atlanta Child Murders"

They lived through the trauma, and then they reckoned with it in their music

"Keep Your Children Physically and Emotionally Safe," circa 1981 by Maynard Jackson Mayoral Administrative Records and Atlanta University Center Woodruff LibraryBottom of the Map Podcast

Between 1979 and 1981, thirty black boys, girls and adults were found dead throughout the metro Atlanta area. These cases are sometimes referred to as the "Atlanta Child Murders." In 1982, Wayne Williams was convicted of the murders of two of the adults.

Dee Dee Hibbler-Murray with the hosts of Bottom of the Map by Floyd HallBottom of the Map Podcast

I remember
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Dee Dee Murray was a pre-teen at the time of the Atlanta Child Murders. Years later, she opened OutKast's debut album Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik as Ms. Peaches.

Big Rube by Austin Blue, John Ramspott, and Courtesy of the City of Atlanta - Mayor's Office of Cultural AffairsBottom of the Map Podcast

Innocence
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"You didn't think that would happen in Atlanta," remembers legendary Dungeon Family member, spoken word artist, rapper and hip-hop producer Big Rube.

Sleepy Brown and Big Boi by Cam Kirk and Cam Kirk StudiosBottom of the Map Podcast

A common thread in the Dungeon
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The Dungeon Family is Atlanta's game-changing hip-hop collective. Its members include Goodie Mob, OutKast, Big Rube, Cool Breeze, Organized Noize, Killer Mike and more. Dee Dee Murray started working with them when they were teenagers. "As we got to know each other, that was the one thing that we could all relate to," she says, "how scared we were during that time."

Goodie Mob by Austin Blue (mural), John Ramspott (photograph), and Courtesy of the City of Atlanta - Mayor's Office of Cultural AffairsBottom of the Map Podcast

Aftermath
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Goodie Mob is a reflection of the immediate aftermath of the Child Murders on music.

Andre 3000 by Cam Kirk and Cam Kirk StudiosBottom of the Map Podcast

Thought Process
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In his monologue at the end of Goodie Mob's "Thought Process" Andre 3000 says "the only thing we feared was Williams, Wayne." That verse has always stood out to Dee Dee Murray. "You took a deep dive into his soul," she explains, "and you understood one of the things that impacted him the most, and that was being scared as a little boy in Atlanta."

Archival Research by WABEBottom of the Map Podcast

Press, perspective and "Git Up, Git Out"
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Press coverage of the victims portrayed them as "hustlers," as if the children bore some responsibility for their own murders. One article made note of a victim's "forged work permit." All of the victims were from Atlanta's working class communities. OutKast's "Git Up, Git Out" reminds us that in working class communities, children start working at an early age not by choice, but by necessity.

OutKast Mural by JEKS and Jonathan Mannion and Courtesy of JEKS, @jeks_ncBottom of the Map Podcast

Aquemeni
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"Aquemini" is the titular track on OutKast's third album. While celebrating their accomplishments and elevation on the song, Big Boi and Andre 3000 also reckon with the Atlanta Child Murders. "Now you may see some children dead off in the pathway," Andre 3000 rhymes as his vibe changes, "It's them poor babies walkin' slowly to the candy lady."

Gucci Mane by Keenan Litmon and Cam Kirk StudiosBottom of the Map Podcast

Scary
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The trauma of the Atlanta Child Murders has had a lasting impact on the city's music. Three years after Aquemini, Fate Wilson referenced them during his guest verse on Ludacris' "Growing Pains," and in 2010, Gucci Mane referenced them on Shawty Lo's "Atlanta, GA." He didn't live in Atlanta at the time of the murders, Gucci Mane explains in his 2017 autobiography, but when he moved to Atlanta, he saw how the city was still reckoning with the murders and unsatisfied with the verdict.

Andre 3000 by Cam Kirk and Cam Kirk StudiosBottom of the Map Podcast

Claiming the vulnerability
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Andre 3000 has continued to reference the Atlanta Child Murders in his music. "It's almost as if he's trying to reckon with the fact of his own survival," says Michelle Hite, Associate Professor, Honors Program Director, International Fellowships and Scholarships Director at Spelman College where she researches trauma in African-American life and culture.

Andre 3000 by Cam Kirk and Cam Kirk StudiosBottom of the Map Podcast

Claiming the fear
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In 2016, Andre 3000 did a guest verse on Travis Scott's "The Ends." Dr. Hite describes his delivery and the structure of his verse as modeling a survivor's response to violence.

The S.O.S Band by Austin Blue, John Ramspott, and Courtesy of the City of Atlanta - Mayor's Office of Cultural AffairsBottom of the Map Podcast

Before hip-hop, Atlanta was a funk and disco city

The connection between the Atlanta Child Murders and music began long before Atlanta was a hip-hop city. In the 1970s and 80s Atlanta was a funk and disco city. Many of the city's youth were vying to be a part of its burgeoning music scene. Some of them became victims.

Maurice J. Hobson, Author of "The Legend of the Black Mecca" by Courtesy of Maurice J. HobsonBottom of the Map Podcast

Foundations
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Governor Jimmy Carter and Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson put policies in place that fostered Atlanta's development as a center for black creative expression. Talent shows abounded, and many of the victims were connected to them, explains Dr. Maurice Hobson, author of "The Legend of the Black Mecca: Politics and Class in the Making of Modern Atlanta."

Bunnie Jackson-Ransom (2019-07-18) by Maria White TillmanBottom of the Map Podcast

The rise of soul and funk music
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Bunnie Jackson-Ransom, who was previously married to Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson, played an instrumental role in establishing Atlanta's soul and funk music scene. Dr. Maurice Hobson, author of "The Legend of the Black Mecca: Politics and Class in the Making of Modern Atlanta" shares the story.

Dee Dee Murray by Floyd HallBottom of the Map Podcast

Talent shows
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"It was a great time to be a kid...and then the light switch came on," says Dee Dee Murray. As Atlanta's music scene was building through talent shows, she and her brothers went from school to school watching other kids as they performed their renditions of Earth, Wind & Fire, Parliament and L.T.D, popped and locked, and breakdanced. When children started disappearing, she noticed additional police at the talent shows. She was scared for herself and for her little brothers.

"Help Keep our Children Safe," circa 1981 by Maynard Jackson Mayoral Administrative Records and Atlanta University Center Woodruff LibraryBottom of the Map Podcast

Foremost among our problems
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Atlanta's cultural and economic prominence was growing, explains longtime news anchor Monica Kaufman Pearson who closed each evening's newscast with "It's ten o'clock, do you know where your children are?" But children were missing.

Maurice J. Hobson (top) with his father and brothersBottom of the Map Podcast

Maurice J. Hobson (top) and his family moved to Selma, Alabama after his father turned down a job at the Atlanta University Center. He turned it down because they were killing black children in Atlanta and nothing was being done, Hobson explains. He and his brothers fit the profile of the children being murdered--black boys with afro hairstyles within the age range--and their parents were hell bent on keeping them protected. Hobson later returned to Atlanta. He is a historian, Associate Professor of African American Studies at Georgia State University, and the author of "The Legend of the Black Mecca: Politics and Class in the Making of Modern Atlanta."

"Atlanta Criminal Information Network-Flash Bulletin," April 9, 1981 by Maynard Jackson Mayoral Administrative Records and Atlanta University Center Woodruff LibraryBottom of the Map Podcast

In memoriam
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In 2019, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced that the cases would be reopened. Bottoms grew up in Atlanta, and she was nine years old when the first child went missing. The Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs is working with an Atlanta artist to create The Atlanta Missing and Murdered Children’s Memorial Portraits. The exhibit will be displayed at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in the main atrium.

Milton Harvey, 14
Yusef Bell, 9
Angel Lanier, 12
Jeffrey Mathis, 10
Eric Middlebrooks, 14
Christopher Richardson, 11
LaTonya Wilson, 7
Aaron Wyche, 10
Anthony Carter, 9
Earl Lee Terrell, 10
Clifford Jones, 13
Darron Glass, 10
Charles Stephens, 12
Aaron Jackson, 9
Patrick Rogers, 16
Lubie Geter, 14
Terry Pue, 15
Patrick Baltazar, 12
Curtis Walker, 13
Jo Jo Bell, 15
Timothy Hill, 13
Eddie Duncan, 21
Larry Rogers, 21
Michael McIntosh, 23
Jimmy Payne, 21
William Barrett, 17
Nathaniel Cater, 27
John Porter, 28

Credits: Story

This exhibit features excerpts from three episodes of the Bottom of the Map podcast: "Thought Process: Surviving Silent Terror," "The Ends of Dread," and "Story time with Ms. Peaches: A BOTM Extended Play."

Bottom of the Map is hosted by music journalist Christina Lee and hip-hop scholar Dr. Regina N. Bradley. In each episode, they explore, explain and exalt Southern hip-hop culture.

Photography and images provided by Cam Kirk Studios, the City of Atlanta Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs, the Archives Research Center at Atlanta University Center, JEKS (@jeks_nc), Maurice J. Hobson and WABE.

Bottom of the Map is produced by WABE, Atlanta's NPR station, and PRX, and made possible (in part) by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.
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