There’s no better place to celebrate the culture than Atlanta. Dubbed as the Black Mecca, the city is home to some of the world’s best creatives and hottest entertainers which is why it was the perfect place to kick off The Creative Collective NYC’s CultureCon three-city tour.
Georgia alone is home to the careers of renowned artists that range from Usher to Jermaine Dupri to James Brown to Gladys Knight and beyond. With a focus on the city of Atlanta, it was only right to tap rising emcee, Omeretta the Great as one of the festival’s ambassadors because let’s just be real – sis does have a handle on what the real Atlanta is.
After of her CultureCon takeover, Omeretta sat down with Complex to discuss why she thinks so many Black people are able to thrive in her home city, how she shows up to represent her city, and more.
If you could describe Omeretta the Great in three words what would they be?
I’m real. I’m cool and I’m funny. I always say this because I’m always easy-going about everything, like I’m just a real laid back person.
With CultureCon kicking off in your home city of Atlanta, why would you say that so many Black creatives are able to thrive in an area like this?
I feel like so many people are able to thrive here because there are so many different opportunities and it’s so many people that’s here looking to connect with other people and other creatives, you feel what I’m saying?
So when you put a bunch of creatives in a room together, they’re gonna come up with something. So many people move here because this is supposed to be a place where dreams come true, it’s really like another LA and New York.
That makes perfect sense, Atlanta’s creative community is truly like nothing we’ve ever seen before. In what ways do you represent your community?
You can always find me in maybe some Atlanta gear, of course. I feel like I have the essence of Atlanta because for one, my swag and also just by being myself.
I’m not out here trying to be like nobody else. I’m real, raw, and authentic, you see what I’m saying? I feel like this is the way Atlanta really is – real and raw.
And speaking of putting on for your city, let’s talk about the infamous “Sorry Not Sorry” track where you had folks in an uproar about the real Atlanta.
I knew that it was gonna get traction, but I just didn’t expect it to blow up like that colossal. I just thought he was gonna get people talking, but like they were mad.
Well now that you got the folks talking, how do you hope people are inspired by your journey?
I hope that they like to see me as somebody, that just beat the odds. Because a lot of people have been watching my journey from the beginning. And they see the struggles that I went through and all the stuff that I had to face that I don’t know everything about, but I can guess they can estimate all the stuff that I’ve been through since that time, and I just want them to see that everything is not easy and stuff takes time.
It takes hard work to get to where you want to be and just letting them see that. You know, I’m saying like if you just keep going and keep working at what you’re working for, you’re gonna eventually get it.
