Last night was an incredibly epic evening not only for the three members of Organized Noize but also for Atlanta and its influence on music over the past 20 years. Orlando McGhee’s Seventy 2 Music group and the City of Atlanta partnered with Coca-Cola and Martell Cognac who sponsored the private screening of The Art of Organized Noize. Grammy Award winner Kawan Prather opened the event with an introduction of two special friends. The Coca-Cola ambassadors were quite attentive making sure all guests had a Coke by delivering them with a smile.
The screening was followed up by a Q&A discussion moderated by BMI’s Catherine Brewton, who asked many relevant questions mainly pertaining to the present views from Organized Noize about today’s new music and the growth of Atlanta. It’s amazing how tax incentives in the television and film industry have made Atlanta number three on the map in terms of money generated from the film industry.
The documentary detailed the humble beginnings of three Atlanta natives Rico Wade, Ray Murray and Pat “Sleepy” Brown as the production trifecta that we know as Organized Noize. Rico Wade took viewers all the way back to when “Yo MTV Raps” host Fab 5 Freddy first rolled up on the “Dungeon” where musical history was in the making.
Who knew “the Dungeon” was the basement of a brick house in SE Atlanta? If I had to guess, it’s every native of Atlanta. Sometimes I’m cursed by my California blonde roots.
The movie was executive produced by Flava Unit’s Queen Latifah, Shakim Compere and Organized Noize, and produced by group manager Orlando McGhee, Joshua Krause and Yaneley Arty and directed by Quincy Jones III. Atlanta-based Overstreet Production & Post contributed to the film by doing the audio mix and creating the 3-D animation graphics. This documentary will debut on Netflix on Tuesday, March 22.
