She's
from
here
Produced KhoaTran
Photography PeytonFulford
Styled JabeMabrey
Atlanta may be known for hip-hop, but the city has also birthed a new wave of artists who are blending genres, crossing boundaries, and creating sounds as unique as their personal styles. Our spring fashion feature pays tribute to three of these breakthrough musicians who’ve forged unconventional paths: Yung Baby Tate, Mattiel Brown, and Faye Webster. Their music draws from R&B, rock, folk, and, of course, hip-hop—yet it feels entirely their own.
Yung Baby Tate is helping launch Atlanta’s next generation of hip-hop. Her mother, Dionne Farris, won a Grammy singing with Arrested Development in 1993 and was nominated on her own in 1996. Tate says, “My mom had her Grammy in our living room, so I walked by it every day and thought, One day, I want to put another one there.” The Decatur native was recording her own music with GarageBand by age 13. At the elite DeKalb School of the Arts, she was voted “Most Creative.” Now 23, she released her first full-length LP, GIRLS, last year and previewed new work at the Atlanta Red Bull Music Festival in November. But look for her next album to be more rooted in R&B. The multitalented singer-songwriter, rapper, producer, dancer, and actress produced GIRLS herself, featuring only black female artists. “The music industry is sometimes like a boys’ club,” she says. “I want to see a girls’ club.”
LEFT:
Marc Jacobs dress, $6,500
Gianvito Rossi pumps, $945
Saks Fifth Avenue at Phipps Plaza,
ring, stylist’s own.
ABOVE:
Valentino shirt, $1,490
jacket, $3,980
shorts, $890
and belt, $1,045
Valentino at Phipps Plaza.
TOP:
Marc Jacobs dress, $6,500
Gianvito Rossi pumps, $945
Saks Fifth Avenue at Phipps Plaza,
ring, stylist’s own.
ABOVE:
Valentino shirt, $1,490
jacket, $3,980
shorts, $890
and belt, $1,045
Valentino at Phipps Plaza.
Prada jacket, $3,400
and skirt, $1,840
Prada at Lenox Square.
Watch, artist’s own.
Dolce & Gabbana sandals, $1,095
Neiman Marcus at Lenox Square.
Back when she was studying at Georgia State and, later, working as a graphic designer for Mailchimp, Mattiel Brown would drive around Atlanta in her 2002 Ford Focus and belt out songs with the radio. It was her friend, musician Jonah Swilley (brother to Black Lips cofounder Jared Swilley), who convinced her to go on stage—leading to a Nashville encounter with Jack White of the White Stripes, who invited her to join his tour in 2018. But Mattiel didn’t quit her day job until last year, when she released her second LP, Satis Factory, which NPR described as “delightfully unique”—a “pinch of garage rock, a touch of psychedelia, some galloping honky-tonk and at the lead, Mattiel Brown’s powerful and assertive vocals.” Reflecting on her ATL influences, Mattiel, who grew up in Fayette County, points to André 3000’s imaginative lyrics. She says, “He was one of those artists that gave me permission to let my natural impulses take over without fear of judgment.”
Tory Burch shirt, $498
Tory Burch at Phipps Plaza.
Brunello Cucinelli pants, $1,795
Saks Fifth Avenue.
Miu Miu sandals, $790
Saks Fifth Avenue.
ABOVE:
Simone Rocha shirt and pants,
price upon request, jacket, $1,735
skirt, $930
Jeffrey at Phipps Plaza.
Jimmy Choo boots, $1,095.
RIGHT:
Marc Jacobs dress, price upon request.
TOP:
Simone Rocha shirt and pants,
price upon request, jacket, $1,735
skirt, $930
Jeffrey at Phipps Plaza.
Jimmy Choo boots, $1,095.
ABOVE:
Marc Jacobs dress, price upon request.
Faye Webster’s soft, breezy vocals and vulnerable lyrics make a seductive foil for her unorthodox mix of musical genres—from pedal-steel ballads that aren’t exactly bluegrass to her hit “Flowers” (featuring Atlanta rap label Awful Records’ founder, Father), which isn’t exactly hip-hop. In fact, she got her real start at Awful, with which she connected after joining a rap group at Grady High School. It was there, recording with rapper Ethereal, that she tuned her hauntingly romantic sound. Last year, after the release of her second LP, Millionaire’s Club, with her new label, Secretly Canadian, Rolling Stone declared Webster, 22, an “artist you need to know.” The album is titled after her father’s ironically named group of grad-school buddies who compete in everything from doughnut-eating contests to 5K races. Next, she’ll headline at the Georgia Theatre in Athens (April 18) and begin touring with Canadian singer-songwriter Andy Shauf. She hopes to release a new album this year.
Photo assistants RossLandenbergerandAboubacarKante
Makeup DanielleMitchell
Hair ZamarWilliams
Videographer AustenTaylor
