True to the tomb
My soul ain’t for sale

As the Atlanta Hawks were gearing up for their incredible run to the Eastern Conference Finals after an unprecedented 60-win season, I was all-in on Hawks mania. Growing up in Georgia, my father saw to it that I became a diehard Hawks fan. Jason Terry, Jamal Crawford, Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Mike Bibby, Al Horford and Chris Paul — oh wait, that last one only happened in my dreams — were just a few of my basketball heroes who donned Hawks uniforms as I grew up. But my fandom began to reach a fever pitch in 2014.

I had just graduated from the University of Georgia a semester early and while I searched for the first stop in my post-college career, I began to watch every Hawks game in my free time. And what a time it was, especially the undefeated streak in January which earned the entire starting unit Player of the Month honors and spots in the All-Star Game. At the height of my Hawks fervor, a simple rhyme popped into my head:

True, to the A-T-L
True to the streets that raised me well

I figured I was on to something and jotted down a few bars in the notes app on my phone. It was far from a finished product at the time but a strong starting point to revisit when inspiration struck. Then the Hawks unfortunately ran into the LeBron-conducted freight train in the ECF (well, that and the NYPD breaking Thabo Sefolosha’s leg for … reasons … and Matthew Dellavedova doing his best impression of them by dive rolling into Kyle Korver’s ankle in Game 2..) and the city’s hopes were crushed in a four-game sweep.

However, my pain was even deeper when the Hawks debuted their brand new slogan for the 2015-16 season — True to Atlanta. I couldn’t believe it. Did the team somehow have access to the notes on my phone? Were they listening when I told my best friend about my idea? I was disappointed but knew that the answer to both of those questions was obviously no. So my enthusiasm for the idea died, but the slogan never did.

Flash forward to 2021 and the Hawks go on another magical run to the ECF with the same slogan in promotions, only this time they were led by a young superstar in his first taste of the Playoffs. Trae stole the show against the Knicks and bowed to conclude his performance. He and his teammates ended “The Process” once and for all against the 76ers. Then he put on a masterclass in Game 1 against the Bucks, complete with off-the-backboard alley oops, shimmies and step-backs. We all know how that story ended though, a superstar’s misstep on the sideline ended our basketball team’s greatest hope of a championship since Bob Pettit, and he played in St. Louis.

Despite the eventual loss, I had never been more proud of my Hawks and felt the inspiration to finally finish the song I had thought of seven years earlier. I found a beat on YouTube that more or less fit the vibe I was searching for and finally recorded it using my USB microphone and Garage Band. I sent it out to some family and friends and they were pleasantly surprised by the catchy hook and relationship between the city and our sports teams. So I went ahead and copyrighted the song with the U.S. Government and have since been waiting to meet the right producer to make my vision a reality. I’ve recently discovered a friend in Mexico with his own studio and am waiting until our schedules align to finally record the song professionally. I’m hoping it’s worth the wait.