Rappers Opening One of Few Black Owned Breweries

Nappy Roots took the world by surprise in the early 2000’s. The hip hop quartet with roots in Kentucky gave the world a different flavor at that time and today, two of its members are serving up another unique flavor of their own. Nappy Roots members Fish Scales, Skinny DeVille, B. Stille, and Ron Clutch opened Atlantucky Brewing on February 4. The brewery is one of the few in Atlanta that has the distinction of being Black owned. Why be a consumer when you can be the producer? 

The U.S. beer industry sold roughly $120 billion in beer and malt-based beverages to U.S. consumers through beer retail establishments in 2019 (numbers dipped as many outlets closed during COVID). As consumers are demanding more original products and local flavors, the craft beer scene has exploded in recent years. With so much money to be made, who said rappers couldn’t be the ones to make it? Beer, for all of its detractors, is a moneymaker and has been for centuries.

Fermenting beverages played a huge role in spiritual practices in West Africa. That skillset was brought over to the Americas by enslaved Africans and yet, far too many think of Black people and brewing. But just as Rap Snacks is proving that Black owned companies can move in spaces where they aren’t expected, Atlantucky is shaking up the brewery scene in ATL.