Bradley: On a downtown block, a ruckus is under way.

Why is this guy dancing in a dumpster?

[ Mid-tempo music playing ] Who invited life-sized puppets?

I don't know.

But I know I've arrived.

[ Sound glitching ] How did I get here?

It's a story with no script about a journey with no map to a place brimming with food made for the soul, music about life lived, style that forgot to care what you think, and magical places hidden in plain view.

It's the collision of history and the unmistakable now that makes this Atlanta story a field trip into the unexpected.

♪♪ Trust the locals... You got one, man, a tree branch right there.

[ Laughs ] ...play with fire... Ahh!

...never turn down a good meal...

Talent!

...because if you let one thing lead to another... Ah!

...the voyage... Ahh!

...never ends.

♪♪ Life is good right now.

♪♪ I don't know much about Atlanta, but here's what I do know.

It's the birthplace of MLK and one of my favorite rap groups ever -- Outkast.

Some have called this place "the Black Mecca."

And so I begin my pilgrimage by reaching out to a man who I've been told is a student of both Outkast and Dr. King.

His name is Killer Mike.

We meet in the city's West End.

This neighborhood was the first neighborhood built by Black people for Black people, post-World War II.

I'm hanging out with a guy named Killer in front of a church.

Wait.

Why are we standing outside a church?

I like walking into the same precinct I voted in since I was 18 years old.

So I came and voted 'cause that's what I do.

Out of the gate, Atlanta has thrown me a curve ball.

And I guess I've disguised how not gangster I am at all 'cause Killer Mike promises to take me into his world.

♪♪ Our first stop, Mike's Man Cave, which he happens to own.

This is the place where you come, you get a shave, you get a shape-up, and get treated like a king for about an hour.

I get wanting to be treated like a king, but why not just buy up a couple of VIP tables at the club and call it a night?

Why a barbershop?

This is the next best thing to being a politician 'cause I don't have to pander people for money, but I get to know directly from the community what's going on.

And it helps my music 'cause I try to talk about stuff that's relevant.

And it gives Black people jobs.

Dads bring their sons.

And so for me, you know, this is just my way of putting the type of business in the community I think the community deserves.

As man caves go, this one was clearly carved out with a conscience.

Mike even tells me he'll give local kids one of his vintage model cars...

These ain't cheap, either.

...if they get good grades.

You know, people say, "Oh, you shouldn't get anything for doing the right thing."

Why shouldn't you?

Positive reinforcement.

Yeah.

People who do the bad thing get stuff all the time.

[ Laughs ] But I still have to ask.

Your name's Killer Mike.

I got that name freestyle battling when I was like 15 years old, when an older dude jumped up and said, "That kid's a killer."

I never killed nobody, but I'm Killer Mike.

You know, I think about gangster rap, I don't think about someone going out and voting.

I grew up around a lot of strong Black men.

I grew up seeing Black men make dramatic change in my community, and I was determined to grow up to be one of those guys.

We stop off at a West Side staple for some real-deal soul food.

You know if you can get this many Black people eating at a soul food place at one time, it's some good food.

'Cause everybody in here can cook this food.

You get what I mean?

On any given day, you'll see any one of Atlanta's more prominent people coming to eat here.

If your city councilman has done something to aggravate you, you'll probably bump into him and give him a piece of your mind here.

Okay, so, the first thing Atlanta has taught me is that it's home to a man named Killer Mike, who might just be one of the most unexpected activists I've ever encountered.

I don't even remember why I was nervous to hang with this guy.

[ Laughter ] And just when I'm convinced Mike is really just this big, loveable teddy bear, Killer Mike takes the stage at a club called The Masquerade and earns his name.

[ "Run the Jewels" playing ] ♪ Cowering like cowards cowering ♪ ♪ In concrete showers in Rikers Island ♪ ♪ Victims, we the wolves that's wilding ♪ ♪ We often smilin' at sights of violence ♪ ♪ Acting brave and courageous ♪ ♪ Ain't advantageous for health and safety ♪ ♪ So when we say, "Run the jewels" ♪ ♪ Just run 'em, baby, please don't delay me ♪ Bradley: This is what the kids mean when they say "turnt up."

♪ You failed, it seems the world can't be saved ♪ ♪ These streets is full with the wolves ♪ ♪ That starve for the week so they after the weak ♪ ♪ In a land full of lambs, I am and I'll be damned ♪ Bradley: "Run The Jewels" has quietly turned into one of the biggest hip-hop albums of the year.

Yep, that's Big Boi from Outkast with a surprise guest appearance.

This is awesome.

And while I might not be ready to join the mosh pit with these college kids, I will say it's a crowd that's listening, which is good because this is a man who actually has something to say.

Killer!

Crowd: Mike!

Killer!

Crowd: Mike!

Welcome to the South.

[ Cheers and applause ] ♪♪ Full disclosure -- I'm a little hung over from Killer Mike's mic killing, and I could use some breakfast food.

This farmer's market is less than a mile from Mike's concert, but it feels like another planet.

Thankfully, it's a planet that has grits.

What's the difference between the grits that you guys are serving down here?

and then what I'm getting up in New York City?

The grits down here are probably better.

[ Both laugh ] I'm a New Yorker, and this kind of bluntness is exactly what I need at this time of day.

Oh, and sweet potato biscuits, too.

I soon find out why I feel so at home at Ron's table.

I've been down here 14 years, and people call me out on being from New York all the time.

Still, huh?

I guess it's, uh -- I guess I'm slightly abrasive.

I guess my personality is a little direct.

His New York attitude has earned him a nickname -- "The Angry Chef."

He's pretty big on Twitter, and I'm starting to see why.

Now, who came up with the notion that because it's my birthday, I get a free dessert in a restaurant?

Like, you go to a supermarket, and you're in the checkout line, you can't grab a pint of Ben & Jerry's and be like, "Hey, it's my birthday and..." "Thank you."

"...I'm gonna take this with me."

He might serve up a little edge, but the neighborhood brunch crowd can apparently take a joke.

This place is packed.

That's what it's all about.

Like, that's what I do.

That's what I love doing.

So, for your brunch menu here, what's like, the signature dish?

That's The Nasty McAlister, a fried chicken sandwich with Tillamook Cheddar, scrambled egg, and smoked bacon.

[ Whistles ] Actually, Food & Wine just named it one of the country's best hangover cures.

I'm beginning to think this man was sent here to save Saturday morning for all of us.

Hangover officially cured.

That's nasty.

♪♪ What is it about the South?

There's something in the air that just begs you to slow down.

In the Civil War, the entire city of Atlanta was burned to the ground and then built back again.

It's stories like this -- hard truth -- that have filled country music songbooks since forever.

♪♪ But isn't there anything more fun to sing about?

Maybe these guys called the Bush brothers can shed some light.

All right, guys, first off, why are we in a cemetery?

Kristian: [ Chuckles ] In the Gothic style of twisted Southern things, this is right on par.

I don't know what's about to happen.

I just met you guys.

Don't be scared.

[ Mid-tempo music plays ] We're about to play a new song that we wrote.

It's on the radio now.

It's called "Trailer Hitch."

And the line is like an old Southern colloquialism, you know, like, "Nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs."

♪ I don't know why, know why ♪ ♪ Everybody wanna die rich ♪ ♪ Diamonds, champagne, newest of the new planes ♪ ♪ Work your way down that list and ♪ ♪ We try, everybody tries ♪ ♪ Tries to fit into that ditch ♪ So this one is, "I've never seen a hearse with a trailer hitch."

♪ Never seen a hearse with a trailer hitch ♪ ♪ Never seen a hearse with a trailer hitch ♪ ♪ Hey ♪ It's true 'cause you can't take it with you when you go.

You could ask anyone in here.

[ Laughter ] ♪ Give it away ♪ ♪♪ ♪ Yeah ♪ [ Song ends ] [ Laughs ] Killed it.

Bradley: Down the road from Oakland Cemetery is this place.

Welcome to Daddy D'z.

Mmm.

This is a great example of the kind of mom-and-pop places that this town is built on.

First order of business here is you might consider the sweet tea, but in the south, we just call it tea.

Kristian: It's like Mexican food.

In Mexico, you just call it food.

Right.

Right.

French fries are just called fries...

In France.

...in France.

That's right.

Bradley: These guys are ridiculous.

I feel like I'm on their show.

I'm rib-challenged, having a mustache.

A man with a mustache... [ Laughter ] This isn't what I expected from two Grammy-winning country singers from Tennessee.

You guys don't look like cowboys.

Like, who are you guys, honestly?

I think at every single time in the history of country music, people have said, "Wow, that's not my grandmother's country music."

Being authentic, telling the truth in a song -- that's what country music is about.

So, yeah, we look like this.

♪♪ Bradley: Owner Ron Newman stops by and tells us a little bit about running a barbecue joint.

I mean, this isn't brain surgery, but you take a certain amount of pride in stuff you do.

Now, people say to me, "Don't ever change it."

Yeah.

And as cheap as I am, believe me, I ain't gonna change it, okay?

Telling the truth.

Bradley: Please don't change anything, Ron, especially these ribs.

What's your secret?

Truthfully?

Yes.

Him.

Him?!

Yeah, that's the secret.

I mean, he is fanatical.

What do they call it, OCD or DCO?

If things aren't exactly perfect, he will literally kill you.

I own the restaurant, and I'm fear of my life when he gets upset at me.

Every plate I make, I would say it's for my mother.

If I wouldn't serve it to my mother, I ain't going to serve it to anyone else.

Bradley: Gregory's mother must be a well-fed woman.

I feel like napping.

I'll knife him in for coffee if it came down to it.

[ Laughter ] With the caffeine pumping, the Bush brothers tell me some killer stories about their time on the road with bands like Sugarland and Train.

It makes me wonder, "Why come home at all?"

There's something that's just kept me here, and it's probably a combination of food and women and music, which is probably what makes everything work in the world.

The great Southern trilogy.

Bradley: But seriously, this isn't the only place with good food, music, and women.

Here in Atlanta, it's still affordable to make mistakes, you know?

You can say, "You know what?

"I totally want to go explore EDM.

Let's go for it."

And then you're terrible at it, and that's okay.

And then you're like, "Oh, well, we sucked."

[ Laughter ] "I need to go back to country music."

Bradley: The Bush brothers send me to a neighborhood called Little Five Points, where Atlanta's experimental spirit is alive and kicking.

They told me to find a singer named Ruby Velle and her band, The Soulphonics, who've carved out a creative space in a room behind a burrito joint.

Luckily, I have people who call ahead and warn folks we're coming.

And luckily, it's these guys on the other side of the door.

[ Mid-tempo music playing ] ♪ Woke up this morning and I had a thought ♪ ♪ Couldn't remember the last time I tried to smile, Lord ♪ ♪ It never costs a dime and it fits just fine ♪ ♪ Besides, it compliments my eyes ♪ ♪ And it tears all my walls down ♪ ♪ So I'll never forget that day I tried to smile ♪ Bradley: The Soulphonics have made Little Five Points their home base, and Ruby wants to show me why.

Bradley: It does have, like, this sort of East Village, funky vibe.

How would you describe some of your average person that lives here in Little Five Points?

I don't think the "average" is a term that I would use to describe them, but this is a very eclectic part of Atlanta.

I think the thing that brings Little Five Points together is that weirdness.

There's just a weirdness here that you don't find in a lot of places, and it's something to be embraced.

Ruby tells me her parents were born in India.

She was born in Toronto, then moved to Florida.

So I can't help but wonder... Atlanta, to me has become home, and I think it's because of people's reverence for creativity.

There's, like, a feeling here that if you are a part of art in the community, that you're doing something special.

"Special" is exactly the word I would use to describe this woman.

I'm ready to follow her just about anywhere.

The first stop is to pick out an outfit for her upcoming show.

Factory Girls showroom is not the mall dress shop I was expecting.

For one, it's located in an art gallery.

Owners Rosa and Regina tell me they're actually fashion incubators.

It's really a place where we can help local fashion designers create their collections from concept all the way through to production.

Rosa: It's really difficult to start a fashion line.

You need a lot of support.

There's many aspects that go into it other than just sewing garments.

Bradley: Ruby's style seems to borrow from around the world.

This is a piece from my mom.

She always tries to look for things that look good when I'm holding a microphone.

So I'm curious what the Factory Girls have planned for a desi soul singer playing a bike path in Atlanta.

♪♪ What do you guys think?

Both: It's not Ruby Velle.

This is better, right?

Both: Yeah.

It's super cute.

Yeah, it's really fun.

I like it a lot.

It makes me want to do this.

Rosa: Really beautiful.

And you have pockets just in case.

Yeah.

Pockets are the best on dresses.

I love it.

♪♪ Bradley: We meet back up with the Soulphonics in Little Five Points for some beer.

What really has my heart about this place is the fact that they represent local breweries.

Gunn: You know, when we opened this place, people were like, "What?

No Budweiser?

No Miller?

No Coors?"

We were like, "Sorry, you're not our customer if that's what you want to drink."

Bradley: Meet owner Molly Gunn.

She's definitely put her stamp on this place.

But what's with the suitcases?

A customer once said, "You're ready to up and move at any moment."

I was like, "Yes, but there's nothing in them, unfortunately, except for very bad customers."

So we got some locals in front of you.

We're starting with what's very near and dear to my heart.

The first light one is Atalanta.

It's from Orpheus Brewery, which is doing a lot of sour beer.

Sour mashing uses the yeast that's in the air.

Gunn: You got to have the -- Each batch is individualized?

Exactly, individualized.

And it would be different if you made it in Texas or if you made it in North Georgia, but because -- They're right off Piedmont Park, so it's got that Piedmont Park flair.

Bradley: Next stop, Piedmont Park, where Orpheus Brewery is throwing some kind of party for local artists.

Did I mention there's more beer?

I catch up with Brandon Sadler, who's actually signing beer cans.

Is this kind of what it's come to now, having your art on beer cans to kind of make it as an artist?

I don't know about making it as an artist, but when it starts to transcend the gallery and transcend this, like, pedestal that is the gallery and it becomes a everyman's tool and something that you interact with on the daily, like, I think that's a powerful thing.

♪♪ Bradley: I'm starting to get a sense of the reverence for creativity and community that's kept Ruby here in Atlanta.

It's...weird.

It's unapologetic.

And it tastes good.

♪♪ ♪♪ Here at the Sound Table in the Old Fourth Ward, Ruby's bacchanalia continues.

They're hosting something called a pop-up kitchen.

Well, tonight's theme is called Give It to Me Raw.

Mm.

Whoo-hoo!

So we're doing a Southern vegan -- raw vegan menu.

So, instead of mac and cheese, you've got mac cauliflower.

Instead of collards with bacon, you've got collards with cumin.

Bradley: I'm a little skeptical that raw vegan food can really work with a Southern menu, but these Dirty South martinis with pickled okra are giving me hope that anything's possible.

I wouldn't do it if it wasn't delicious, you know?

Right.

I need to taste it to believe it, I think.

No offense.

As well you should.

This is the Rombo Gumbo.

Rombo Gumbo!

It looks delicious, too.

No pigs were injured in the preparation of this particular dish.

I love it.

I love it.

I got to say, I'm -- I'm a believer now.

I am totally convinced.

Yeah!

This is Southern cooking done raw.

♪♪ So we're here in the Old Fourth Ward.

This is Atlanta's.

This is like the cradle of the Civil Rights Movement.

Yeah.

Which means a lot to all of us, you know?

So we don't take that lightly.

There's not a single corporate chain that's even touched this neighborhood.

That's true.

Bradley: This is the birthplace of Martin Luther King Jr., and the neighborhood has not forgotten.

♪♪ We are living on sacred land, you know, where Martin Luther King was, actually his birth home.

So it's an honor to be here.

♪♪ One of the local hangouts in this historically Black neighborhood is actually run by a Latina.

Ruby sends me to meet Myrna Perez, the queen of fruit.

Born and raised on the Texas-Mexico border, it was really a sense of homesickness that set off her journey into fruitology.

We are all fruitologists and smoothie surgeons.

I kind of, like, consider myself maybe an aspiring fruitologist.

What does it take?

An aspiring fruitologist?

I like that.

What does it take for me to earn a lab coat?

Do you think I have what it takes?

Well, we can start today, actually.

Oh, yeah?

Yeah.

Yeah, let's go!

Come on back!

Come on back!

Well, right now I'm making a tropical fruit cup.

It's called Limonatta.

This is my favorite one.

This is the reason why I opened up Lottafrutta.

Bradley: This?

This.

Right here?

This right here.

It is all of our tropical fruit, fresh-cut Dominican coconut, cucumber.

We're going to douse this all with fresh lime juice and chili guajillo.

What is it?

It's kind of like Mexico's version of cayenne.

It's smoky.

It heats up.

You're going to love it.

Alright.

You ready?

It's happening.

♪♪ Tons of antioxidants in there.

It wakes up all your senses.

Oh, my God.

[ Laughs ] Amazing.

Why can't you just have good food that tastes good, too?

Right.

Lottafrutta!

[ Laughs ] Lottafrutta!

We created another believer!

I love it.

Bradley: I've never experienced anything like Lottafrutta.

Making the smoothie, making it right.

[ Blender whirs ] Bradley: I could stay here all day, But Myrna insists we go check out the BeltLine, where Ruby and the Soulphonics will be performing later.

Fresh fruit and now a bike ride?

This might be the healthiest day I've had since I got here.

♪♪ So, here we are on the BeltLine.

Perez: Yes.

What is it?

Used to be an old historic railway.

And now it's turned into this recreational path.

It turns out this bike path connects just about all the neighborhoods I've seen so far.

It's really brought so many of our neighborhood pockets together, you know?

It's a connection.

You've got tons of artwork that we're going to see along the way from local artists who have contributed to the beauty of the Beltline.

♪♪ That thing is cool.

That's the Old Fourth Ward skatepark!

♪♪ [ Mid-tempo music plays ] ♪♪ Bradley: I head over to Ruby's apartment to sit in on a dress rehearsal and soak in this day.

♪ My dear ♪ ♪ Listen here ♪ ♪ I know it's not right to see ♪ ♪ Fellas losing jobs and people hopeless ♪ Bradley: People love to use the word "creative" to describe just about anything.

But what I've seen of Ruby's Atlanta was something more than people just making things.

♪♪ It's about incubating ideas, carving out the space for spontaneity, and embracing the weird.

♪ And reach down to find ♪ ♪ Oh, the good in your heart ♪ Bradley: It could be this Japanese scotch Ruby has me sipping, but this is an Atlanta I had no idea existed.

♪ That only love will help us overcome everything ♪ ♪ Yeah ♪ ♪ Sweet child, don't force a smile ♪ ♪ If the way things are got you mad ♪ ♪ Get up do what you can do to lend a helping hand ♪ ♪♪ ♪ I know it's easy to turn our heads away ♪ ♪ Take refuge in our lives and not make change today ♪ ♪♪ ♪ And I know sometimes the world can be so harsh ♪ ♪ But reach down to find the good in your heart ♪ ♪ Bring light to dark ♪ ♪ All you need to do is see ♪ ♪ My dear ♪ [ Cheers and applause ] Thank you.

Bradley: It's my last day in this city, and Myrna takes me downtown.

We meet up with Courtney Hammond, who's organizing some kind of happening.

Hammond: We have this one project.

It's called Dumpsters, and it's by the Goat Farm.

And they've transformed these nasty things that you think about into these beautiful installations...

Wait a minute.

...to tiny galleries.

Dumps-- Like -- Like, trash.

Like, the dirty, nasty things that I don't want to be in?

Yeah.

Art in the garbage.

Are you -- Are you hearing this?

I need to see this.

I need to see this.

♪♪ [ Rhythmic grunting ] ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Rhythmic squealing ] Bradley: Yep, this dumpster is a musical instrument.

And, yeah, it's getting weird again.

[ Reverb sounding ] [ Both screaming ] ♪♪ People are congregating at this gallery where these puppets appear to be sleeping?

♪♪ Not for long.

[ Mid-tempo music playing ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ As a traveler to new places, I'm an outsider.

I wipe my feet at the door and try not to offend the locals.

I ask questions and hope for a good meal.

But sometimes, if you're lucky, that door is opened all the way.

[ Up-tempo music plays ] ♪♪ It's the people I've met here, their off-the-wall charm and genuine Southern kindness that have brought me inside to this moment in time.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪