2024 was something else.

As the year closes out, UATL’s staff members are looking back at Black culture and remembering what mattered. In this story, reporter DeAsia Paige shares memories of the year that was.

What was one of the biggest Atlanta moments of 2024?

Usher performing at the Super Bowl.

Usher brought his Past Present Future Tour to sold out State Farm Arena on Thursday, October 17, 2024. This was the first of three sold out shows including Friday and Sunday. 
Robb Cohen for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Credit: Robb Cohen for the Atlanta Journ

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Credit: Robb Cohen for the Atlanta Journ

Name someone who mattered in Black culture, and tell us why:

Maybe Kendrick Lamar. By becoming hip-hop’s boogeyman, he delivered one of the most memorable years in rap music.

FILE - Kendrick Lamar performs during the Festival d'ete de Quebec in Quebec City, Canada on July 7, 2017. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP, File)

Credit: Amy Harris/Invision/AP

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Credit: Amy Harris/Invision/AP

What album was the one you’ll remember most from 2024, and why?

Doechii- “Alligator Bites Never Heal.” She delivered a deeply personal and featureless mixtape that harkens back to the foundations of hip-hop. In doing so, she became this year’s breakout rap star.

This cover image released by Top Dawg/Capitol shows “Alligator Bites Never Heal” by Doechii. (Top Dawg/Capitol via AP)

Credit: AP

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Credit: AP

Which 2024 movie will you remember most, and why?

“Stax: Soulsville USA” (documentary). I enjoyed learning more about the rise and fall of the Stax sound and its legacy.

No. 14: Soul powerhouse Stax Records of Memphis unintentionally signs away its catalog to Atlantic.

Credit: Stax Museum of American Soul Music

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Credit: Stax Museum of American Soul Music

Who is someone we should be watching in 2025 in Black Atlanta culture?

The group of female comedians behind the Round Table Game Show. It’s a popular social media series that has gone viral this year.

In it, the comedians sit at a table and tell jokes while the others at the table try hard not to laugh. If you laugh, you’re eliminated. It’s a very interesting concept that further showcases Atlanta’s extensive comedy scene.

What is something you hope to leave in 2024 and not revisit in 2025?

Conspiracy theories and media illiteracy.

A woman (2nd L) holds a banner with an UFO painted on it and reading "I believe" as another protester dressed up as alien (3rd R) walks by at a demonstration against conspiracy theorists at Mauerpark, amidst the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, in Berlin, on May 30, 2020. (Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty Images/TNS)

Credit: TNS

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Credit: TNS

What was something that people should have paid more attention to last year, in your opinion?

The rise of Southern female rappers and how they’ve made the genre more exciting this year.

Latto closed out Saturday night at One Music Fest winning over the crowd. Photo taken Saturday, October 26, 2024, at Central Park. (RYAN FLEISHER FOR THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION)

Credit: Ryan Fleisher

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Credit: Ryan Fleisher


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