Bet You Didn’t Know: Secrets Behind The Making Of “ATL”

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Rashad and New-New/Dallas and T-Boz

You may know that the story behind ATL is based on the lives of Dallas Austin and T-Boz and their experiences around the time they were in high school kicking it at the rink on the south side of Atlanta. The only difference is that T-Boz and Dallas were never romantically involved. An escape from the madness of the outside world, the skating rink was the place for teens who weren’t quite old enough for the club scene. It ended up being a breeding ground for talent as people like OutKast, Jermaine Dupri, Little Jon, Trillville and of course TLC.

In an interview with MadeinAtlantis.com, T-Boz said that that skating rink influenced the trajectory of her work. “I’ve made a whole career out of what I learned going to Jellybeans every Sunday night.”

It was such an important part of her life, her mother would punish her by forbidding her from going to the rink. “Yes, I’m the New-New of the movie. But unlike New-New, my mom supported me going to the skating rink. If I did something bad, my punishment was that I didn’t get to go- and I’d just die twice. Of course, Mom didn’t know that I’d sneak out the window and go anyway.”

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