Veteran music executive Michael Mauldin debuts ‘Unite Atlanta’ to tourists
Forty-eight years ago, several Black music professionals came together to challenge white (mostly male) executives to prioritize equity and inclusion in the music business.
Record producer Kenny Gamble, radio personalities Edward Wright and Dyana Williams formed the Black Music Association, a nonprofit organization for Black performers, executives and promoters to preserve, promote and protect those working in Black music.
In 1979, they organized an inaugural conference in Philadelphia. President Jimmy Carter declared June as Black Music Month at a concert on the White House lawn.
Though it took 21 more years for Congress to make Black Music Month an official observance, leadership challenges caused the advocacy group to disband in the mid-1980s. “It ran out of fuel. People started breaking off and tried to create their own pieces,” Michael Mauldin told UATL.
Mauldin decided to pick up the torch. In 2017, while he was living in Los Angeles, the former head of Columbia Records’ Black music department co-founded the Black American Music Association, a trade organization for veteran Black professionals to protect the legacy and future of Black music.
His goal wasn’t to re-create the Philadelphia-based group but to introduce diverse audiences to the social, cultural and economic impact Atlanta’s Black music community has on entertainment.
“We needed flags in the ground and wanted folks across the world to recognize what Black Music Month could mean. We get the smallest amount of attention unless something goes bad in hip-hop, so it’s about amplifying our art form and making sure people understand Black music is a driver,” Mauldin said.
“We wanted to bring the community together, lock arms, and hopefully if we can unite in Atlanta, we can set a spark off somewhere else.”
Mauldin, who helped his son Jermaine Dupri start So So Def Recordings in 1993, is organizing the Black American Music Association’s inaugural Black Music Week Atlanta (bamXatl).
Beginning May 26 and ending Jun. 6, the events — primarily hosted at Morehouse College’s Ray Charles Performing Arts Center — are designed to expose tourists to the city’s music community ahead of FIFA World Cup’s first Atlanta match between Spain and Cabo Verde Jun. 15.
After the events end, there will be marketing campaigns around the city to make tourists and international travelers aware of the programs and opportunities for Black music-related activities and cultural resources.
“I didn’t want us to get lost in the sauce, and FIFA really gets started during the week leading to Juneteenth (Jun. 19),” Mauldin said.
Black Music Week Atlanta opens with Africa Day/Mzansi Atlanta, a creative industry expo in partnership with South Africa, and a fireside chat between Dupri and Mayor Andre Dickens.
The events include Family Affair, a gathering for performers, radio and record executives named after Jack Gibson (“Jack the Rapper,”) who’s known as the “father of Black appeal radio.” Gibson came to the nation’s first Black-owned radio station, WERD in Atlanta, in 1949.
The Jack the Rapper convention, held in Atlanta from 1977-1994, reemerges as a two-day weekend conference with panels and showcases.
On Jun. 1, the Black Music and Entertainment Walk of Fame, Black American Music Association’s flagship event, is honoring rapper Ludacris, producers Organized Noize, “Jack the Rapper” founder Jack Gibson, Bishop Paul S. Morton, African artist Davido and Atlanta’s first Black Mayor Maynard Jackson at its sixth induction ceremony. The awards dinner is a ticketed event held that evening at Hotel Phoenix.
Mauldin, who moved to Atlanta from Murphy, North Carolina, in 1973, the same year Jackson was elected to his first term, was later hired as Jackson’s sound engineer. He said the politician was responsible for incorporating arts and culture into Atlanta’s identity.
“He was forward thinking, and what we’re doing now is what he always wanted to do. Without (Jackson), I don’t believe we as Atlanta would be recognized now,” Mauldin said.
Black Music Week also has a health summit, tech and music networking mixer, backyard party and Atlanta Rhythm Cup, a five-on-five youth soccer match at Morehouse’s B.T. Harvey Stadium.
R&B quartet Jagged Edge, singer Anthony Hamilton, rapper T.I., songwriter Kandi Burruss and producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis are honorees at the inaugural Black American Music (bamX-BAM!) Awards.
Several local organizations and government offices are partnering with Mauldin to hopefully turn Black American Music Week into annual programming. Sheretha Bell, Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau’s senior vice president marketing and brand strategy, said the events give visitors a first impression of Atlanta.
“The event will bring together industry leaders, artists and emerging talent in a city with a longstanding influence on music, creating opportunities for attendees from all backgrounds to connect, collaborate and learn from one another,” Bell said.
“It brings attendees from around the world to experience the city firsthand and introduce first-time visitors to everything Atlanta has to offer.”
David Manuel, Fulton County arts and culture director, appreciates Mauldin’s curation. “Working with Michael is like being in a master class of details. His leadership and vision are the blueprint for all of us to follow,” Manuel said.
Mauldin is seeking additional partners and collaborators to produce programs. He’s dedicated to turning Black American Music Week into a large-scale series of experiences.
“We want this to be the South by Southwest of Atlanta. If we can unite Atlanta, we can ignite the world,” he said.
“Someone’s got to help carry that, and I’m willing to push as hard as I can to make sure that happens.”
IF YOU GO
Black Music Week Atlanta (bamXatl).
May 26-Jun. 6. $299. Morehouse College Ray Charles Performing Arts Center, 900 West End Avenue SW, Atlanta. bamxatl.com/#program.
About the Author
Christopher A. Daniel is a Black Culture reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He is an Atlanta-based, award-winning journalist, cultural critic and ethnomusicologist. He previously taught courses at Morehouse College, Clark Atlanta University and Georgia State University.