"Welcome to Atlanta" is a 2002 hip hop song by Jermaine Dupri featuring

Ludacris Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, homophonous with 'ludicrous' in American English), is an American rapper, actor, record producer and record executive. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludac ...

. It was released in 2002 as the second single released from Dupri's 2001 album '' Instructions'' and also appeared as a hidden track on Ludacris' second album, '' Word of Mouf''. The song praises Dupri and Ludacris's hometown of

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. It samples "Five Minutes Of Funk" by

Whodini Whodini is an American hip hop group that was formed in 1982. The Brooklyn, New York-based trio consisted of vocalist and main lyricist Jalil Hutchins; co-vocalist John Fletcher, a.k.a. Ecstasy (who wore a Zorro-style hat as his trademark; J ...

, as well as "

Do It Baby "Do It Baby" is a 1974 single recorded and released by the Motown R&B group The Miracles. The song was taken from the album of the same name, and written by Motown staff songwriters Freddie Perren and Christine Yarian and produced by Perren. Ba ...

" by

The Miracles The Miracles (also known as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles from 1965 to 1972) were an American vocal group that was the first successful recording act for Berry Gordy's Motown Records, and one of the most important and most influential group ...

. Dupri produced an official remix of the song, "Welcome To Atlanta (Coast 2 Coast Remix)", which features, in addition to Dupri and Ludacris, three rappers from other American cities extolling their own hometowns:

P. Diddy Sean Combs (born Sean John Combs; November 4, 1969), also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Puffy, or Diddy, is an American rapper, actor, record producer, and record executive. Born in New York City, he worked as a talent directo ...

(for

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

Murphy Lee Torhi Harper (born December 18 1979), better known by his stage name Murphy Lee, is an American rapper, best known as a member of the hip hop group St. Lunatics. His debut album, '' Murphy's Law'', peaked at number 8 on the ''Billboard'' 200 mu ...

(for

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

) and Snoop Dogg (for

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

Music video

The music video for "Welcome to Atlanta" was directed by

Marc Klasfeld Marc Klasfeld is an American music video director. He has directed over two hundred music videos for artists such as Slipknot, Sum 41, Katy Perry, Jay-Z, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Britney Spears, Kid Rock, Michael Bublé, Nelly, Foo Fighters, Kelly ...

. It shows a tour bus being taken around Atlanta by the duo, as well as scenes of nightlife within the city. It features cameo appearances by many notable Atlanta-based rappers, singers and athletes, including

Lil Jon Jonathan H. Smith (born January 17, 1971) better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, producer and former frontman of the rap group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz. He was instrumental in the emergence of the hip hop subgenre cr ...

Lil Bow Wow Shad Gregory Moss (born March 9, 1987), better known by his stage name Bow Wow (formerly Lil' Bow Wow), is an American rapper and actor. His career began upon being discovered by rapper Snoop Dogg in the late 1990s, eventually being brought ...

, MC Shy D,

Da Brat Shawntae Harris-Dupart (born April 14, 1974), better known by her stage name Da Brat, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, she began her career in 1992, the year she signed with So So Def Records. Her debut album '' Fun ...

, T.I., Monica,

Blaque Blaque is an American girl group that charted from 1999 to 2004. Outside of the United States, they are known as Blaque Ivory. Their self-titled debut album ''Blaque'' sold more than 1 million copies and was certified Platinum. The group's d ...

, Usher,

Brandi Williams Blaque is an American girl group that charted from 1999 to 2004. Outside of the United States, they are known as Blaque Ivory. Their self-titled debut album ''Blaque'' sold more than 1 million copies and was certified Platinum. The group's d ...

, Evander Holyfield, Vernon Forrest,

Dominique Wilkins Jacques Dominique Wilkins (born January 12, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player who primarily played for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Wilkins was a nine-time NBA All-Star, a seven-time All ...

Ying Yang Twins The Ying Yang Twins are an American hip hop duo consisting of Kaine (born Eric Jackson on December 16, 1978) and D-Roc (born Deongelo/D'Angelo Holmes on February 13, 1979). They are not twin brothers. They did the windows to the walls song. The ...

Cee-Lo Green Thomas DeCarlo Callaway - Burton (born May 30, 1975), known professionally as CeeLo Green (or Cee Lo Green), is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer and actor. He is known for his work in hip hop and R&B, including the Gnarls ...

and

Big Tigger Darian "Big Tigger" Morgan (born December 22, 1972), also known as Big Tigg, is an American television/radio personality and rapper best known as the host of BET's '' Rap City'' and ''106 & Park''. Biography Morgan was born to a Jamaican immigra ...

Coast 2 Coast Remix and music video

The official remix, "Welcome To Atlanta (Coast 2 Coast Remix)", features

, Snoop Dogg, Diddy and

on the intro and outro. Ludacris does not appear in the video. The Music Video was directed by Benny Boom. Murphy Lee would collaborate with Dupri again in 2003 on " What Da Hook Gon Be?" & would collaborate with Diddy again in 2003 on " Shake Ya Tailfeather".

Scene 1: Atlanta

Filming Locations: *2277 Cheshire Bridge Road NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30324 *241 Forsyth St. SW, Atlanta, GA 30303 It starts with Jermaine Dupri coming out from the ''Dunk N Dine'' diner mixed with flashing pictures from the highway leading to Atlanta. He is seen wearing T-shirt a drawn face of

Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes Lisa Nicole Lopes (May 27, 1971 – April 25, 2002), better known by her stage name Left Eye, was an American rapper and singer. She was a member of the R&B girl group TLC, alongside Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins and Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas. Besid ...

, which is an obvious tribute to her (deceased in April the same year). He is joined by fellow Atlantans including

and

Jazze Pha Phalon Anton Alexander, (born April 15, 1974), professionally known as Jazze Pha ( ), is an American record producer, singer, songwriter and rapper from Memphis, Tennessee. He is the founder and chief executive officer of Sho'nuff Records, to wh ...

in the parking lot of the Magic City strip club. In the lyrics and some seconds-long camera shots he refers to hometown places Fuel, Kaya, Velvet Room, Club 112, Strokers club, Ritz club, Shark Bar, and Plush Limousine Service.

Scene 2: New York

Filming Location: 4 Penn Plaza, New York, New York 10001 P. Diddy is standing on the top of the Madison Square Garden entrance roof. Cut to scenes of other parts of the city, including

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the orig ...

are seen throughout. It has cameo appearances by Loon,

Fabolous John David Jackson (born November 18, 1977), better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper. Raised in Brooklyn, he first gained recognition while still a senior in high school, when he performed live on American music executive ...

, Paul Cain, Maino,

Black Rob Robert Ross (June 8, 1968 – April 17, 2021), known professionally as Black Rob, was an American rapper who was signed to Bad Boy Records. He was best known for his 1999 single " Whoa!", which peaked at number 43 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. ...

, Stack Bundles

DJ Clue? Ernesto Shaw (born January 8, 1975), better known as DJ Clue, is an American disc jockey (DJ), record producer, radio personality and record executive. Early life DJ Clue was born in Queens, New York City to Panamanian and Jamaican immigran ...

Swizz Beatz Kasseem Daoud Dean (born September 13, 1978), known professionally as Swizz Beatz, is an American record producer, rapper, disc jockey (DJ) and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, Dean embarked on his musical career as a DJ. At the ag ...

and Jermaine Dupri. Mention is made about the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...

during the outro of the New York segment when Diddy boasts "we're still here...and we building four more new towers!"

Scene 3: St. Louis

Filming Location: 250 Stadium Plaza, St. Louis, Missouri 63102 The members of St. Lunatics (

, Nelly,

Ali ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam ...

, Kyjuan and Slo'Down) are gathered in the

Busch Memorial Stadium Busch Memorial Stadium, also known as Busch Stadium II, was a multi-purpose sports facility in St. Louis, Missouri, that operated for 40 years, from 1966 through 2005. The stadium served as the home of the St. Louis Cardinals National League ...

accompanied by 2002 season's

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

player

Fernando Viña Fernando Viña (''VEEN-ya'') (born April 16, 1969) is a Cuban-American former Major League Baseball second baseman and former MLB analyst for ESPN. His parents Andres and Olga emigrated from Cuba in 1968. From through , Viña played for the Se ...

and

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...

hockey goaltender

Fred Brathwaite Fredrick Brathwaite (born November 24, 1972) is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former player. Brathwaite played as a goaltender, and spent his career with the Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, St. Louis Blues and Columbus Blue Jackets in the NHL ...

. Murphy Lee dressed in a Spirits of St. Louis jersey speaks about his loyalty expressed throughout his tattoos and jewelry. The St. Lunatics also dance outside of the stadium next to the statue of Stan Musial.

Scene 4: Long Beach

Filming Location: 1014 East Pacific Coast Highway, Long Beach, California 90806 Snoop Dogg invites the whole LBC to have a party with him at the same spot where they had one 9 years earlier in the square in front of the World Famous V.I.P. Records store, where Snoop performs his verse mounting the top of the building, like he did during the " What's My Name" video shoot. He also presents his ''Snoop Deville'' lowrider car, which was later used in the "

From tha Chuuuch to da Palace "From tha Chuuuch to da Palace" is a song by American rapper Snoop Dogg featuring fellow American musician Pharrell Williams from the former's sixth studio album '' Paid tha Cost to Be da Bo$$'' (2002). Produced by The Neptunes (Williams and Chad ...

" music video. Some of Snoop's entourage show up on the set, including

Soopafly Priest Joseph Brooks, (known professionally as Soopafly born December 8, 1972) is a hip hop producer and rapper from Long Beach, California. He is a member of the DPGC. Early life The oldest of three children, Brooks grew up in Long Beach. He ...

and Uncle Junebug.

Other remixes

*The

TNA Wrestling Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment. Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promo ...

pay-per-view Bound for Glory 2007, which took place at the Arena at Gwinnett Center near Atlanta, used a

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

-influenced instrumental cover of the song as its main theme. *A remix called "Welcome to L.A". is done by

Warren G Warren Griffin III (born November 10, 1970) is an American rapper and producer known for his role in West Coast rap's 1990s ascent.Steve Huey"Warren G: Biography" ''AllMusic.com'', Netaktion LLC, visited May 8, 2020. Along with Snoop Dogg and ...

where he presents his town. It appeared on the mixtape of ''DJ Felli Fel Featuring Snoop Dogg–

The Heavy Hitters Alexander & Catalano was an Upstate New York, Upstate New York City, New York based law firm practicing in the area of personal injury and worker's compensation related cases. The firm was headquartered in Syracuse, NY, Syracuse, but also had off ...

'' in 2002. *

Pitbull Pit bull is a term used in the United States for a type of dog descended from bulldogs and terriers, while in other countries such as the United Kingdom the term is used as an abbreviation of the American Pit Bull Terrier breed. The term was f ...

did an additional version of the song called "Welcome to Miami" *

Kardinal Offishall Jason Drew Harrow (born May 11, 1976), better known by his stage name Kardinal Offishall (), is a Canadian rapper, record producer, DJ, and record executive. Often credited as Canada's " hip hop ambassador", he is regarded as one of the countr ...

and Ones Project did a remix track entitled "Welcome to Toronto"

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

JD on ''MTV News''The video data on ''MVDB''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Welcome To Atlanta 2002 singles Jermaine Dupri songs Ludacris songs Murphy Lee songs Music videos directed by Marc Klasfeld Sean Combs songs Snoop Dogg songs Song recordings produced by Jermaine Dupri Songs written by Jermaine Dupri Songs written by Ludacris