Up until moving the A3C from the Spring to the Fall in 2009 each year we were so up to our eyeballs in work that SXSW was little more than a blip on our radar to worry about. With the success of our move to October last year A3C is now firmly planted in it’s new home (the EAV as well as the Fall) and we’re taking advantage of the quiet to break out for a few weeks and head on over to Austin so we can hang out with some old friends and hopefully make some new ones so we can continue to bring the best of what hip hop has to offer back to Atlanta. We’ll be highlighting A3C alum, friends and family that will be rocking in Texas later this month so keep an eye on the site for our take on SXSW.

Today, Atlanta’s longest-running organic Hip-Hop show – The Beatz & Lyrics Show with Jayforce – will proudly commemorate its ten year anniversary with the release of a mixtape that captures the best of what the show has represented since its inception.

This Year, while we were all chilling at the A3C, Beatz & Lyrics founder DJ Jayforce and producer Amond “AJ” Jackson were locked in the studio for 72 hours straight taking advantage of the rare opportunity to harness some of the most talented independent Hip-Hop artists and producers from across the country.

In loving memory of one of the greatest MCs to ever rock a stage at the A3C, we’d like to take a moment to invite you out to the Who’s Jax Art show on December 11 at The City of Ink Tattoo Shop and Art Gallery on Walker Street in Atlanta.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have free tickets to give away for one of the best shows to hit Atlanta this year. Look at the lineup.

Tickets are selling for $18, which is pretty damn reasonable considering. That said, we’ve got two pairs of tickets to give away.

If you want a shot at seeing the show for free, please leave a comment on this post naming at least two aliases use by Raekwon and one by Noreaga.

Red Bull Big Tune national finals will be hosted in Atlanta at Opera on November 3rd. The regional winners from across the nation will gather under one roof to try and win over the audience for the chance to fly out to Los Angeles, California and collaborate with an A-list recording artist at Red Bull Studios.

Please show your support.

It’s hard to believe that it’s already been a week since the 2009 A3C.

Each year, we spend 12 months planning, nine months deciding on a game plan, six months executing deals and partnerships and booking artists and three months frantically trying to promote the monster we’ve created.

This year, we’ve spent a lot of time building up our new website and we’ve developed a healthy following. We’d like to continue to foster that following by making the A3C website a year-round music blog.

Here’s where we need your help. Generating timely, high-quality, regular content is hard. We’re hoping that out there, in the A3C community, we can find several dedicated writers who would be willing to contribute material.

Seriously: 1:0pm on Sunday, October 4th and I’m just getting home. This was a mind-blowing weekend and I need to get some sleep. Before I do, we at the A3C would like to take a moment to say thank you to everyone who made this event possible.

First and most importantly, thank you to everyone who came out and had a good time. You make this event possible and, without your support year-after-year, the A3C could never happen.

Second, thank you to all of the artists who came out to rock this year (all 200+). We know that you don’t do it for the money because, let’s face it, we don’t have very much to spend. You traveled from all over the country, some of you paying out of your own pockets, to perform with us. Incredible.

The Beatz and Lyrics show has been a staple of ATL radio for 10 years now! To celebrate, we’ve put together an amazing show featuring J-Live, Torae, Collective Efforts, and more!

“I start to think and then I sink, into the paper like I was ink. When I’m writing, I’m trapped in between the lines, I escape when I finish the rhyme” -Rakim.

You read it right, the one and only Rakim will headline the Myspace Stage, Saturday night (10/3/09) at the 2009 A3C Hip Hop Festival in Atlanta, GA.