VH1 Hip Hop Roc Doc: ATL

With all of the ratchet reality programming on VH1, the network is taking a more serious direction in programming with a documentary on the hip-hop capital of the south, Atlanta with the debut of “ATL: The Untold Story of Atlanta’s Rise in the Rap Game,” debuting tonight at 10pm (ET)

The film chronicles the decisions of post-civil rights Atlanta icons as they created an environment and landscape for African-American arts and culture to thrive, which would lay the foundation for a local hip-hop scene to emerge.

You can expect to see the usual suspects interviewed such as Ludacris, Usher, T.I., Jeezy, Lil Jon and Jermaine Dupri along with those behind the scenes like the producers of Organized Noize, who discovered two teens who went by the name Outkast and regional breakouts Kilo Ali, Raheem the Dream and MoJo. Additional contributors include former Atlanta mayor and civil rights icon Andrew Young, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and NBA legend and former Atlanta Hawk, Dominique Wilkins.

In a prepared statement, VH1 describes the documentary as an investigation into the rich, complex untold story of Atlanta’s fascinating rise to the top of the rap industry, which created a major force within American music. “ATL: The Untold Story of Atlanta’s Rise in the Rap Game” uncovers the epic story of an American city’s evolution, from segregation to the Atlanta of today, which has now been nicknamed “Black Hollywood.” VH1 tells the story of how Atlanta’s modern-day rap dominance emerged from the struggle to break away from the genre’s contemporary leaders in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx in New York and from South Central and Compton on the west coast.  This is a truly unique story that reveals how Atlanta justly earned the mantle of hip-hop dominance and can now command the reputation as hip-hop’s center of gravity.

Organized Noize

It’s been a minute since VH1 aired a documentary void of violence, upheaval and unrest. Hopefully, a positive image of Atlanta will be projected to the world.