A handful of local architects designed the image that many individuals have of Atlanta. Aesthetically, much of the town’s skyline is the work of real estate businessman John C. Portman. Politically and economically, it was built on the efforts of leaders corresponding to Maynard Jackson, Atlanta’s first black mayor. Culturally, it was shaped by the visionary music producer Rico Wade, who died on April 13 on the age of 52.

As one third of the pioneering production trio Organized Noize with Patrick “Sleepy” Brown and Ray Murray, Wade laid the inspiration for Atlanta’s three-decade presence in hip-hop and black music. With Murray and Brown being the musical heart and soul of the band, Wade was the voice of the operation, acting because the de facto glue, seed and leader of Organized Noize. While their predecessors, including Bobby Brown, L.A. Reid, Dallas Austin and Jermaine Dupri, showed that Atlanta was fertile ground for crafting polished hits, Wade and Organized Noize were instrumental in revealing what life in the town was really like within the post-post era. -civil. An era of rights, giving the natives a sense of pride and transplants as a reason to come back.

Much like DJ Kool Herc’s electric innovation birthed hip-hop within the Bronx, Wade literally molded the sound out of southwest Atlanta, the red clay of Georgia, transforming an empty space in his mother’s unfinished basement into a studio affectionately called “The Dungeon” that became the headquarters the larger Dungeon Family collective, which included Parental Advisory, Outkast, Goodie Mob, Big Rube, Witchdoctor, Cool Breeze, Backbone, Joi Gilliam and second-generation scion Killer Mike, Future, Bubba Sparxxx and others. During hip-hop’s explosive growth within the ’90s, as East Coast producers drew on jazz influences and West Coast producers relied on funk, Organized Noize broke latest ground (with producers like UGK’s Pimp C) by introducing soulful elements within the form of Curtis Mayfield, using live instrumentation somewhat than sampling, creating a sonic identity that became often known as southern hip-hop.

“We always looked at New York as the father and Los Angeles as the mother, and we were the child that came from it,” Wade explained in a 2022 interview with The Times. Questlove Supreme Podcast. “This omission was enough for me to see this for myself.”

Like many Atlantans, Wade spoke with body language fueled by the town’s culture of dancing and skating. So despite the fact that you lost yourself in what he was saying through his shaky accent, his flailing limbs, quick hand gestures, dramatic facial expressions, and intense head nods sent the message he desired to convey. Nonverbal messages were also sent with intentional fashion selections, corresponding to proudly rocking Atlanta Hawks and Falcons gear even when the teams were struggling, and often showing off his “Dungeon Family” forearm tattoos, a gesture paying homage to a b-boy stance, but additionally to the brave, a pledge of allegiance that spoke louder than the trend of wearing a diamond-encrusted logo on a chain.

Even as Wade rose up and down the totem pole of demand and popularity within the music industry, he maintained the identical tough nature. When Organized Noize had songs like “Waterfalls” by TLC AND En Vogue “Don’t Let Go (Love)” on the charts, you would still find Wade around his torso at Headland & Delowe. Friends, co-workers and customers can share stories of Wade’s hospitable nature, offering all the things from a smoke to a box of wings and a place to sleep. Whether you made $1 million or worked at Family Dollar, you’ll likely find yourself with his number in your phone if you happen to’ve had greater than two long conversations with him. If he really rocked you, he excitedly greeted you each time he saw you, as if it was the primary time he had seen you in years. A man about town who may be found all over the place from the food market to the local Madden tournament, making him one of the vital accessible ships in a city where people are likely to isolate themselves after they grow to be more successful and withdraw much more when the principal mainstream Media attention is shifting away from them.

Although he never used his role to rap or sing alongside the artists he helped produce, Wade’s unique voice is a staple within the vast musical history of Atlanta hip-hop. He is the primary person you hear within the intro to Outkast’s 1993 breakthrough debut single “Player’s Ball” before Big Boi or Andre 3000 even began rapping their verses. Thirty years later, he delivered the opening monologue on the Grammy-winning album Killer Mike in 2023, launching into the momentous opening track “According to the law.”

Atlanta’s current mayor, Andre Dickens, often says that the town is a group project, promoting the concept everyone must work together for the town to maneuver forward. Rico Wade embodied this in his approach to creating music, constructing community, inspiring pride and creating a sound that made the town famous world wide.

“I never want to not want to be a part of it,” Wade said in a 2016 documentary, talking in regards to the dissolution and transformation of the Dungeon family over time. “We are all great, but we needed each other once and we always will.”

Rest in Black Man’s Heaven.