The story behind Atlanta’s favorite NSFW chant
The moment came with just over six minutes left in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals.
Atlanta Dream forward Rhyne Howard stood on the free throw line, trying to put her team up by 19 points. As the All-Star readied her second shot, a collective chorus rang throughout State Farm Arena.
The not-safe-for-work chant reached a decibel level NBC’s broadcast team couldn’t talk over. Somewhere, rappers Baby D and Pastor Troy were smiling.
That rallying cry is also the name of their 2002 song, “ATL Hoe.”
The record also features late rapper Archie Eversole with production from Lil Jon.
More than 20 years later, the crunk rap anthem’s hook is seemingly everywhere there’s Atlanta sports. It’s not confined to Dream, Hawks, Falcons, Braves and United games. The phrase was heard at 2026 FIFA World Cup watch parties, cookouts, concerts — even Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
It’s not a resurgence the song’s creators initially saw coming.
“Man, I never expected it to be as big as it is in sports, different generations,” Baby D told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“If you’re from Atlanta, you know that song.”
And there’s actually an instance that preceded the song’s release.
Pastor Troy first uttered the phrase on his 2001 single, “This tha City.”
He was listening to a lot of Memphis rap, and that three-letter-word was a popular ad-lib.
Starting out a solo artist in the late 1990s, he felt short on creative allies, so he sought out features. With his classic, “No Mo Play In GA,” the artist was known for big Southern rap records.
“I always catered myself on making anthems, making stadium music,” he said.
Baby D, only 17 at the time, was a young upstart on indie label Big Oomp Records. The pair had grown to become close collaborators and friends. Despite the barriers broken by the Dungeon Family, many acts still felt overlooked by Northern counterparts. “Atlanta didn’t have a voice like we got now,” Baby D recalls.
Baby D and Pastor Troy teamed up with Archie Eversole, whose track “We Ready” was getting some regional buzz. Lil Jon handled production. The trio took their frustrations into the studio, resulting in three distinct verses.
“I would explain it as a rally cry for our respect,” Pastor Troy said.
“Those are those days where people thought that we were slow in the South. Atlanta wasn’t this, we wasn’t that. [The phrase] really made them put some respect on our name.”
At just over four minutes long, the song is quintessentially Atlanta post-Y2K. The single from Baby D’s commercial album debut, “Lil’ Chopper Toy,” features Pastor Troy’s aforementioned quip on loop coupled with an aggressive cacophony of 808 bass, hi-hats and sinister synths.
Initially, it was promoted as “Atlanta’s street anthem.”
“At the time we was just doing it just to have fun, teenagers running around [Club] Prime Time, just happy to have a song that people knew,” Baby D said.
During that viral moment from Game 3, it became clear just how many people knew Baby D’s A-Town ballad.
The moment began when Dream entertainer CM the DJ harmlessly called out “ATL Yo,” and the crowd took it from there.
That an Atlanta crowd ran with it at the speed of Dream point guard Jordin Canada driving to the lane didn’t surprise in-game emcee Bria Janelle.
From “Knuck If You Buck” to “We Ready” and “Swag Surf,” the soundtrack of Atlanta sports is rooted in the hip-hop culture that helped define the city in the 1990s and 2000s.
“These are the things that raised us. So are we a big sport city? No, but we love our music and we love our city and we love our culture,” said Janelle, an Atlanta native, who credits the environment curated by the Dream entertainment staff with fostering that feeling at games.
Whether at Gateway Center or State Farm Arena, Dream games have become known for their call-and-response moments. Your favorite rapper’s favorite rapper might just perform during a timeout.
And fans might turn a familiar lyric into an arena-wide chant. It’s a community affair built around Atlanta’s Black culture.
Pastor Troy is scheduled to grab his microphone — and signature wrestling belt — for a performance during Game 4. He remembers attending Dream games when only a handful of fans showed up.
As the Dream entered the 2026 Finals as underdogs, Baby D and Pastor Troy saw something familiar: a team fighting for respect, much like the young Atlanta rappers who once struggled to be heard.
“We’ve been the underdogs from day one,” Baby D said. “So each team, we don’t care if they winning, if they losing — we can ride or die for them.”
Both artists have collaborated with Atlanta’s professional sports teams over the years. But they say the phrase now belongs to anyone who takes pride in the city, not just sports fans.
They’d love to hear it at a championship parade.
“It was made for everybody,” Baby D said. “When they come to the city, they got something they can say.”