Even in a Zoom conversation, and given that I’m from the same neck of the woods, I’d struggle to name anyone more Atlanta than Belly Gang Kushington. His voice sits in a husky baritone, and his thick Adamsville drawl feels as if molasses and tobacco have been worked through his jaw. If you ask about his family, he’ll tell you about a stylishly bold great-aunt from the ghetto who loved reading the Bible and frying chicken for their church pastor and the neighbors. He might also mention seeing photos of his cousin, whom he calls his mama, heading to Freaknik. When I bring up growing up in Cobb County and the pride I felt when Jermaine Dupri and Ludacris dropped “Welcome To Atlanta,” he confesses he was actually on the video’s set—the scene where Ludacris and Jermaine Dupri are partying at 112. His cousin, the one he refers to as his mama, was in that video as well.
Clara Weiss
I write about music as a cultural signal, following the artists, scenes, releases, and movements that shape how people listen today. My work focuses on discovery, context, and the stories behind the sounds that travel beyond borders.