Hip-hop found a home in a lot of American cities. It found its voice in Atlanta.

But the full story — how the music grew out of specific neighborhoods, specific struggles, and specific visions of what the South could be — rarely gets told with the depth it deserves.

How Hip-Hop Made Atlanta is a three-part public lecture series by Dr. Regina N. Bradley. Each session examines Atlanta’s hip-hop culture as a lens for understanding American identity, civic life, and regional history.

In this final session, Dr. Bradley examines trap as a form of critical storytelling: a genre that documents labor, aspiration, inequality, and survival. Trap music is unflinching about the structural realities of Atlanta’s neighborhoods. It is equally clear-eyed about what it takes to build a life, find agency, and imagine a future inside those constraints.

Join MODA for this free lecture followed by a Q&A.

This program is supported by a grant from Georgia Humanities.