Ask NuFace to name Atlanta’s hip-hop Mount Rushmore, and his first move is a joke about suddenly needing to take a phone call.
Then he gives his answer: OutKast, T.I., Future and Killer Mike. In our GAFollowers interview, the conversation goes beyond four names to the record stores, mixtapes, clubs and women he believes deserve a bigger place in the story of Atlanta hip-hop.
Watch the interview segment
Watch the segment on GAFollowers’ YouTube channel.
NuFace’s Atlanta hip-hop Mount Rushmore
The opening question puts NuFace on the spot: Who belongs on Atlanta’s hip-hop Mount Rushmore? His selections are OutKast, T.I., Future and Killer Mike, with OutKast counted together as one entry.
There is some playful back-and-forth over counting the duo, but the picks remain his own. The interview does not turn into a ranking of the four. Instead, the conversation moves toward the people and places behind Atlanta’s music scene.
Why DBS Sounds deserves its own documentary
Asked which Atlanta-area record store, club or neighborhood deserves a documentary, NuFace starts with DBS Sounds. He describes the Highway 85 record store as a family-owned, Black-owned business that has supported artists for more than three decades.
For him, that history is personal. NuFace says he helps with promotions and coordinating in-store appearances, but he is also a customer who buys albums to take to shows and get autographed.
He recalls artist appearances involving Cardi B, T.I., Rick Ross, Gunna, Teyana Taylor and Ciara. His point is about what those visits make possible: fans can buy a physical release, meet the person who made it and leave with something they can keep.
“You’re going to have something tangible,” he says.
NuFace also mentions Criminal Records as part of that record-store conversation. For him, the stores offer a kind of connection that goes beyond pressing play on a streaming service.
The mixtapes and clubs he still remembers
From record-store counters, the discussion moves to Earwax Records and Big Oomp Records. NuFace brings up DJ Jelly, DJ Montay, Baby D and Sammy Sam while remembering the mixtapes that soundtracked car rides and helped music travel beyond Atlanta.
He recounts asking T-Pain about DJ Montay and being told that those mixtapes were widely played in Florida. It is a memory NuFace shares to explain how Atlanta’s local scene reached listeners elsewhere.
When the conversation turns specifically to clubs, two names come quickly: Club 559 and Visions. NuFace says both stand out for the memories he made there.
Miss Sharon and Princess deserve more recognition
Asked about overlooked women in Atlanta hip-hop, NuFace names two: Miss Sharon and Princess of Crime Mob.
He credits Miss Sharon’s showcases with giving artists and dancers an early place to perform. In his recollection, those stages were important to acts including Raheem the Dream and Ghetto Mafia. His answer makes room for someone working behind the scenes, not just the performers audiences know from records.
With Princess, NuFace points to her stage presence and the response her part in Crime Mob’s “Knuck If You Buck” still gets from a crowd. He recalls hearing it at a Claressa Shields fight: when the DJ cut the music, the audience kept singing her part.
He also speaks about her balancing motherhood, performances and other work. Rather than treating her contribution as something confined to the past, he talks about showing up and supporting her now.
“I always try to be there for her, to give her her flowers,” NuFace says.
The Mount Rushmore question opens the debate, but the rest of the interview broadens it. NuFace’s account makes space for the stores, DJs, venues and organizers alongside the artists on his list.
Who belongs on your Atlanta hip-hop Mount Rushmore—and which local music institution deserves its own documentary? Watch the segment above and join the conversation on GAFollowers’ YouTube video.
