Atlanta Falcons Celebrate 50 Years of Hip Hop with Ludacris, Big Boi, T.I., More—and a Win

The NFC South got something to say. As the Atlanta Falcons prepared to kick off against the New Orleans Saints, the deepest roster was the hip-hop talent on the field. This year has seen its share of celebrations for the 50th anniversary of hip hop, but none have been crunk as today’s gathering of Dirty South legends at Mercedes Benz Stadium.

T.I. kicked it all off, getting the crowd yelling “Bring ’em out, bring ’em out,” despite a major microphone fail, as the Falcons took the field. The technical problems meant that Cee-Lo Green’s national anthem performance was replaced by an instrumental recording, as well. But more than 50 other Atlanta hip-hop legends were gathered in the end zone, from artists like Arrested Development and YoungBloodZ to JID, Earthgang, Killer Mike and Waka Flocka Flame.

At the end of the first quarter, a tribute to Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes featured her TLC mates Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas. Soon after, Bone Crusher had most of the 70,160 people in attendance singing “Never Scared” at the top of their lungs.

The half-time show alternated between the field and the concourse overlooking the stadium with Jermaine Dupree, Quavo, Big Boi and Jeezy each taking a turn on the mic. Big Boi sang “The Way You Move” from his half of OutKast’s Speakerboxxx/The Love Below and Quavo featured a tribute to his nephew and fellow Migos member Takeoff.

The showstopper near the game’s end saw Ludacris floating down from the rafters, singing “Move Bitch” a couple hundred feet in the air. It was a shame the national broadcast of the show paid so little attention to the historic Dirty South gathering—and that some of it was marred by technical gaffes. But at least Atlanta’s hip-hop royalty all got to see their beloved Falcons beat their despised rival New Orleans Saints 24 to 15. Crunk over bounce, at least today.

I Got Some Georgia Dome Today 🏟️ pic.twitter.com/OX37Lky3J5

— Ludacris (@Ludacris) November 26, 2023