CHRIS HICKS - Community and Collaboration in Atlanta

Summary Christopher Hicks discusses the evolution of Atlanta's entertainment scene and the sense of community that has allowed it to flourish.

He highlights the collaborative nature of the city, where individuals support and help each other in various fields. Hicks also mentions the growth and attention Atlanta has received, both from a population standpoint and in the political landscape.

However, he acknowledges that the city has become more crowded and may not evoke the same warmth as before. Despite this, Hicks sees opportunities for success, particularly in the film and TV space, and believes that Atlanta has the potential to launch intellectual property and drive narratives. Takeaways Atlanta's entertainment scene has evolved and grown over the years, with a strong sense of community and collaboration among individuals. The city has seen increased attention and growth, both in terms of population and political landscape.

Opportunities for success exist in the film and TV space, with Atlanta having a favorable tax credit and the potential to launch intellectual property. Despite the changes, Atlanta retains a sense of community, although it may not evoke the same warmth as before. Sound Bites "Atlanta's a crown jewel of the South. It has had the benefit of 50-plus years of Black leadership." "Atlanta has been highly competitive, but highly, highly collaborative." "There were several seeds that were planted before they're doing what they're doing that allowed Black men to think this is possible." Chapters 00:00 Christopher Hicks' Background and Passion 05:43 The Importance of Black Ownership and Recognition JOIN THE NEWSLETTER 📫 Be the first to hear about behind the scenes, new episode drops and live shows near you! Sign up: https://tr.ee/QJ4c7FUWBj LISTEN TO THE SHOW iTunes: http://bit.ly/3XDA3sl Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3D33sCM JOIN OUR COMMUNITY 📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/cultureraisesus 🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/cultureraisesus 🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@cultureraisesus ABOUT US Culture Raises US. It isn’t just something we’re impacted by, it’s also something we can impact. As empowered stewards of Culture, it’s time to get smart on how we can continue influencing society while breaking new grounds. On Culture Raises US, Astor Chambers invites you to join for honest, insightful, and challenging conversations with pioneering cultivators across music, fashion, tech, sports, art, and entertainment.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
And so you've been super unapologetic and bullish on you know,
your efforts and investing and promoting and highlighting the entertainment
scene in Atlanta, obviously from your music business, you know,
roots to Cassine working with on the film side, and
now QC. How would you describe, though, the evolution you've

(00:21):
seen in the city since you first arrived to now
and where do you want to see it go?

Speaker 2 (00:28):
That's a good question, man, I think that and I
don't want to sound nostalgic, but when we came here,
it was very It was a very community based city.
This is Atlanta's a crown jewel of the South, right
it is. It has had the benefit of fifty plus
years of black leadership, So folks here are accustomed to

(00:51):
seeing people of color in powerful positions, which when you
come here it's not your norm, right, and what you
actly make yourself to it. You know, we rented our
first building that we rented was from AH J. Russell,
who was arguably for the long long time, the largest
black contractor in the nation. Cassim helped us with that.
You know, a lot of a lot of the relationships

(01:14):
that we made with the organized noises of the world,
and with the Jds of the world, and the Dallas
Austin's of the world, and the Kevin Wales of the world.
These are other black men who look like us, that
saw that we were very serious about doing what we
want what we wanted to do, and we're very collaborative
in that effort. I don't know if that could have
happened anywhere else, right, It definitely happened where we were,

(01:35):
where we came, and so there was a strong sense
of community here and if you walk the if you
told the line, and there was a degree of acceptance.
And so I don't again, I don't think that that
could have happened anywhere else. And that allowed us to
really bloom in this community. And I saw it happen
with not just us, the Red zones of the world.

(01:56):
Saw so many people come here and flourish because we all,
in a very competit nature, helped each other. Yep. If
you look at the last twenty five years of Atlanta,
it's been highly competitive, but highly highly collaborative.

Speaker 1 (02:09):
Right. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (02:10):
We plug in in all different areas, whether it's community,
whether it's in a political space, whether it's you know,
in the entrepreneurial space or in the business space, and
I haven't haven't seen that synergy anywhere else, and so
very proud to being part of that growth. Where we
stand right now, I still feel the sense of community.

(02:33):
Atlanta is a lot more crowded than it used to
be in so many ways, you know, a from a
population standpoint, but also from a social standpoint. I think
we have far more attention on us, on us as
a city and as a stage based on what's happening
in the political landscape. And so it's not it doesn't
give me the same warmth that it did when I

(02:53):
first came here, but I would also attribute that to
I was greener, you know, I was a young man
appear it's is, you know, it's right. I think as
far as achieving goals, you know, we spoke about Ryan
and what he's doing with Greenwood, I don't know if
he could do that in another city, you know what
I mean, right kind of that he that he did
that he did here. I mean, I think given a
story with keV and p and QC and what they're building,

(03:16):
you know, there were several seeds that were planted before
they're doing what they're doing. That allowed black men to
think this is possible. You know, if you talk to Coach,
he'll tell you coming down to our building at noontime
the first time was the first time he saw progressive
black men doing things that he always wanted to do.

Speaker 1 (03:32):
So, you know that was that was a seed that
you planted in him.

Speaker 2 (03:36):
And there were but there were several seeds around the
city that that he could have witnessed that from the
same people that gave us the same energy. I don't
know if I don't. I don't know if that same
synergy exist here in the same way. I'd like to
believe that it does. I see it more. It does,
it does. It's just a lot more. It's a lot
it's some more crowded space here. But I do see

(03:58):
the same opportunities here as I as I saw before.
Maybe not for me in the music space, because as
I alluded to, earliers to young Man's game. But I
do think that we can have room to evolve and
not to digress. But you know, Atlanta has Georgia has
probably the best tax credit in the universe. It's not
nothing's even close. You know, we probably have had four

(04:20):
billion dollars in spend this year in that space, probably
ten to eleven billion dollars in economic impact. In the
last calendar year, probably in the last decade has probably
been ten to fifteen billion dollars of just an ecosystem
and utilities put here for filming in the television and
movie space. But nothing gets greenlit from here unless it's Tyler.

(04:43):
And to me, that's so fast awkwards, especially with the
emergence of all of these digital platforms. You know, five
years ago we had five really important svods. Five years
from now we're gonna have one hundred, and so as
people who are curators of the culture and who drive
these narratives that so many people tap into to tell story,
it seems like a really ripe opportunity to kind of

(05:04):
launch IP from Atlanta. I think some of the frustration
is if you think about California, California has a high
tolerance for investing in IP by way of tech and
by way of the music and entertainment space. They're used
to batting two hundred and still having phenomenal success here.
If it doesn't have four walls and some air condition
blowing through it, it's red clay underneath it. As a

(05:25):
case study people a little bit risk averse to that model.
So trying to help introduce how that model would be
successful here is part of this next chapter. And I
feel more retention in this space than I felt earlier
in the music space. And again, ignorance is bliss. Maybe
it was just because I was a younger man. It
was far a study for the music industry, but for
what we're doing in the film and TV space is

(05:47):
it's a whole lot of case study and it's a
harder mold to break. But I'm committed to it, you
know what I mean. And I think that there's other
people in the city that are committed to it. So
what kind of see where it lands? Maybe you could
check back with me in six months and I'll be
able to tell you. Maybe six months a year and
I'll be able to tell you what with a definitive position,
how I feel like you're able to flourish in the
city compared to to back in the days with greater clarity.

Speaker 1 (06:08):
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