An Interview by Nikki D. Bosompem. When you hear the words “Grave Yard Shift” the first thing that probably comes to mind is that late night stretch dreaded by most employees. In some sense that’s the concept behind the six member hip hop clique, who call themselves Grave Yard Shift. I recently caught up with a few of “The Yard” members to talk about their concept of “individual collectivism.”

An Interview by Nikki D. Bosompem. Atlanta native Laurah Norton Raines is pretty busy these days. Having achieved such accomplishments as writer, teacher, as well founder/editor of her own on-line literary magazine to boot, it is a wonder that she has the time to write such compelling, award winning short stories, such as Old Scratch and Medicine. Both of these stories won first place in the Creative Loafing fiction contest

By Nikki D. Bosompem. Despite the fact that a substantial snowfall blanketed Atlanta on Friday, February 12^th, the originally scheduled date for the Goodie Mob concert, the legendary Hip Hop quartet “made it rain” at 9 PM on Saturday, February 20^th to a packed Tabernacle Music Hall. Fans old and new came out and represented

By Nikki D. Bosompem. Authors of urban literature, also known as street literature, have steadily made a formidable presence on bookshelves since its humble beginnings in the early 1970’s. The pioneers of urban literature boast such authors like Iceberg Slim and Donald Goines who opened the doors to a world of survival on the streets by doing whatever was necessary. For them, that meant unabashedly writing stories about what really went on in their lives as hustlers.

By Nikki D. Bosompem. This was my first visit to the High Museum of Art since I was a small girl and it’s been 20 years since I stepped over its threshold. I have always wanted to go back to the High (as we Atlantans call it) because my experiences were enthralling but as adulthood ensued, I never made the time. I was born in the 70’s, raised during the 80’s. I was bathed in culture

By Nikki D. Bosompem. Remember PM Dawn, Arrested Development, A Tribe Called Quest, and De La Soul? These were just some of the rap groups who chose to flow about social issues over the more popular “gangsta rap” themes seen in the late 80’s and early 90’s.