Signing up
The list goes on the clipboard by the door at 6:15. First come, twelve names. Any slots left at 7:30 go to whoever asks.
1STFRI
7:00 PM, every month except January · 1047 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd SW
Open mic and showcase
Your three minutes.
Twelve slots, one theme a month. Rap, spoken word, a routine, a beat played off the laptop. Anyone 13 or older can sign up on the night, anyone of any age can listen, and the room of ninety is usually full by 7:10.
How the night runs
Your First Friday, start to finish
If you've never been, here is exactly what happens. No surprises, no one gets called up who didn't sign up.
Your slot
Three minutes, timed by a light on the stage. Bring your beat on a phone or USB, or ask Malik to play one from the Lab library.
Lyrics
Clean on stage: no slurs, no profanity. Everything else, say it.
Cost
Free. The supper crew sells plates for $5 and the money goes to the Tracking Room fund.
The night, minute by minute
List goes up
Write your name and your piece's title. Kids under 13 can join the Kids' Cypher at 7:00.
Opening
Rashad reads the month's passage and the host explains the light.
First six slots
Applause between every slot. Nobody leaves the room while someone is on.
Plates and a break
Supper crew serves at the back. Mentors find the first-timers to say well done.
Last six and the closer
Selah Crew closes the night. Doors at 9:30 sharp.
This season
Themes through spring
Nov6
Lament
7:00 PM · Main floor
Lamentations 3:22–23. Write about something that hurt and what kept you going.
Dec4
Holiday cypher
7:00 PM · Main floor
Open circle, no list. Cousins home for the holidays welcome.
Feb5
Freedom songs
7:00 PM · Main floor
Black History Month. Sample something older than your grandparents.
Mar5
Psalm 23, remixed
7:00 PM · Main floor
Everyone gets the same six verses. Make them yours.
Apr2
Good Friday
7:00 PM · Main floor
A quieter night. Spoken word and slow beats, candles on the stage.
Nothing in that category this month.
Questions
Before you sign the clipboard
I've never performed. Should I start here?
Yes. About a third of every list is first-timers. The room claps for the attempt, not the polish.
Can I come just to watch?
Please do. Most of the room is there to listen: parents, grandparents, friends, youth groups from across the city.
Is it filmed?
Only if you say yes on the clipboard. Filmed sets go on the Listen page a week later.
Can my youth group come?
Groups of up to fifteen, yes. Email us by the Wednesday before so we save you a row.
Ralph David Abernathy BlvdLee St SWOglethorpe AveVerse & Rhythm
Find the Lab
The old tire shop with the violet door
1047 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd SW, Atlanta, GA 30310- MARTA
- West End station on the Red and Gold lines, then six minutes up Lee Street.
- Parking
- Street parking on Lee and Oglethorpe. The lot belongs to the barbershop next door, so please don't.
- Access
- Step-free through the side door on Oglethorpe. One accessible restroom by the front room.