The A3C Festival and Conference kicked off in Atlanta this past weekend, and of course the five-day event was filled with standout moments— from informative panel discussions to rap battles to live performances.

An intimate discussion with Master P hosted by Day One Radio, was standing room only, as the veteran rap mogul, who was recently heavily featured on Solange's No. 1 album, A Seat At the Table, narrating his experiences and thoughts about being successful and black in America, gave an in-depth interview.

“You gotta look at the power of words because it’ll come back and get you. We used to argue as kids," P said of his brother C-Murder, who is currently in prison. The mogul said he warned his little brother about choosing to use "murder" in his name. "He said, ‘I’ma name myself what I want! I said, ‘G’head. They wanted me ‘cause I was successful, but they couldn’t get me, so they got my brother.”

The moment was widely thought to be one of the best of the festival, alongside a Q&A with another hip-hop vet, Too $hort. Performance wise, Rick Ross, Royce Da 5'9 and Scotty ATL checked in with energetic showings. But maybe the aspect of the festival was catching acts on the rise. And, a few lucky fans got to catch Killer Mike hanging out at the festival, kicking life game, as he frequently does when he's asked questions about the state of black America.

On Friday night (Oct. 7), I popped into Hotlanta Yoga on Edgewood and experience what ended up being the best moment of the festival for me-- witnessing a band I'd never seen before, the Atlanta-based insanely talented collective, We Were Here. The eight-piece band, which basically consists of solo artists performing together as a unit, was undoubtedly the highlight for me.

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Featuring a couple of keyboardists, bass player, guitarists, drummer and a tenor sax (played by a woman, no less), the coolest thing about the band is that they can easily switch from leading the band to playing background. Merging soul, hip-hop and funk in a sound that begs comparison to Erykah Badu and Anderson .Paak, We Were Here formed back in February 2016 but already has established themselves as one of the best up and coming outfits in a city bubbling with talent, mostly because of their incredible musicianship. Whether they're singing or rapping, the group is engaging as a unit and individually, with the showmanship to front a band, which is super rare. You can check out some of their music here.

Check out some of the highlights captured from the festival on Instagram below.

 

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