404 Day expands its horizons

Ricky Raw is on a mission to blend Atlanta’s indie hip-hop and EDM with art and film

When local bass music promoter and Mighty High Coup’s MC, Ricky Raw, booked the inaugural 404 Day festival in 2012, he mostly just wanted to throw a party at the Clermont Lounge. But as the show unfolded, co-headlined by Mighty High coup and bass music producer Mayhem, he saw the potential to create a much larger platform to showcase Atlanta’s rising local talent. Three years later, Raw has booked his largest 404 Day yet, featuring more than 20 hip-hop and EDM artists, along with dancers, live painters, photographers, and filmmakers taking over Edgewood Avenue’s staple night life spots such as Department Store/Erosol, the Music Room, and Noni’s Bar and Deli. Before getting the party started, Ricky took a few minutes to talk about how his 404 Day vision is shaping up this year.

Why do you put on 404 Day each year?

I really wish to highlight all of the working talent in Atlanta. I am doing my best to bring together as many different art forms as possible with focus on the city. All too often artists get big in other cities and then Atlanta appreciates them. I am doing my best to recognize the up-and-comers for their talents and potential before everyone else does.

Aesthetically speaking, what is the common ground that the hip-hop and electronic music acts that you’ve lined up share?

The common ground for 404 Day is bigger than just the merger of hip-hop and EDM; that is really more of 808 Fest’s territory. The purpose of 404 Day is to bring together all types of different artists from music, visual, dance, video, and so on, with the common theme of them all being from Atlanta. I honestly really wish I had more bands on this year’s line up.

So what’s the difference between 404 Day and 808 Fest?

Well, 808 Fest is not strictly limited to Atlanta artists, and the common theme for everyone is that 808 Fest is all bass music. It doesn’t really focus on anything else; no bands, or a focus on photography, or anything else. It’s just all DJs and rappers, for the most part.

How have the locals reacted to 404 Day?

I have seen that a lot of the artists I am booking have grown exponentially over the last few years. I would love to tell you that we have made some significant impact, but I think this year will really be our biggest year yet. Last year was a huge growing experience, and honestly, we weren’t quite ready to grow that fast .... I compare it to a puppy who doubles in size and just does not realize it yet. We just had no idea how to maneuver at this level, but this year we have an entire staff devoted to the artist experience, so we are sure that crowd will be able to absorb much more of the talent. All of the sets are staggered and close enough that if you wanted to, you could absolutely see every single act on this bill for at least 30 minutes each.

With more than 20 artists on the bill I was surprised to see that your group, Mighty High Coup, isn’t performing. Why not?

Well, the truth is that it kind of boils back to some advice that Daniel Pollard gave me: Do one thing well. Last year I was so focused on diversity that we didn’t really create the best vibe that I felt was possible. Last year, our main stage was completely diverse, and the satellite stages were more each in a single direction. This year, we are focusing on doing our main stage as house music. Department Store is where most of the hip-hop is happening, and the Music Room has a film showcase, followed by the Slow n Low bass music party and barbecue presented by Ployd. So long story short, we just didn’t fit anywhere. If we had booked 2 Chainz or Big Boi, then we would obviously have had our group play around these acts, but I’m not going to force my group in somewhere that we do not belong.

However, Mighty High Coup has literally 100 new songs right now, and we are working on different ways to release them. So by 808 Fest, you should get a heavy, heavy dose of new Mighty High Coup with extremely various producers and production. Everything from classic chopped psych and soul samples, to trap bangers, EDM remixes, and some brand-new-sounding jams that do not really fit into any genre.

You are the 404 Day point man and the mastermind. Who else is working on this behind the scenes?

Double Nil aka Nilz did 90 percent of the design work. Double Nil also consulted on nearly every single booking. Keiran Neely, who co-owns the Music Room, Speakeasy, Pizzeria Vesuvius, and Bone Lick BBQ, helped out with every single aspect of booking the party, putting together the logistics and even helping 404 Day get sponsored by Heineken, which really is what is going to make the difference this year.

Who do you consider to be this year’s headliner?

Treasure Fingers, Ajhenda, Habersham, Amalgam, Kemit, Ployd, Justin Padron, and HxV are probably ... the most accomplished acts on the lineup. Literally, everyone playing has regular nights of being the headliner. Dillon Vaughan Maurer will headline the hip-hop stage in place of the Difference Machine, who just landed a dream gig on April fourth, opening for Run the Jewels in Athens.

I am just so proud of them, and I think it speaks to the fact that I am doing my best to book the absolute best quality music that I can.