In His 30th Anniversary Year, the Legendary DJ and Producer Turns the Tables on Himself
Before Atlanta hip-hop had a megaphone, DJ NABS was the signal. From his mix show on V-103 to the launch of Hot 97.5, from Club Kaya's legendary Old Skool Sundays to the stage of the 1992 Dangerous World Tour alongside Michael Jackson and Kris Kross, NABS spent three decades as an essential architect of Southern hip-hop — spinning Southern artists on the radio before the industry acknowledged the South, moving crowds at nightclubs before the scene had a name, and making sure everyone else's moment landed right. In 2019, he turned the tables. The music he would begin putting into the world wouldn't be someone else's. It would be his.
What followed is one of the more quietly remarkable creative runs in hip-hop — not loud, not rushed, but deliberate. Beginning with Highs Mids Lows (2019), his debut music project under the N.A.B.S. banner featuring veteran emcee Solé, DJ/producer DJ AP, and rapper Ben Familiar, NABS introduced a dimension of his artistry built on message, craft, and the kind of musical integrity that only comes from having nothing left to prove. The 2020 single "People Love a Show" captured what this chapter is really about — music that doesn't perform for the crowd, but speaks to it.
The pandemic became a catalyst. NABS reconnected with The Cause2k — an Atlanta original he'd crossed paths with in the early '90s when NABS was holding down the clubs and The Cause was cutting his teeth as an MC. Years away from the business gave way to a reunion built on purpose. Together they launched into The Take Over 2 (2024) and T3 (2025), NABS driving production, The Cause2k commanding the pen, both on a shared mission: put real music with a real message back into the world.
The company NABS keeps on this run tells you everything. David Whild — guitarist, songwriter, and producer whose fingerprints are on OutKast's most celebrated records as a cornerstone of the Dungeon Family — produced Closed Casket and Good Moanin' (DJ NABS Mix) (2020). Khujo Goodie of Goodie Mob and Scar, a powerful vocalist whose voice has filled Dungeon Family stages, appear on T3 and Highs Mids Lows projects respectively. Chyna Whyte — the MC who stood toe-to-toe with Ludacris and Too Short on Lil Jon's "Bia' Bia'" — brings her force to T3. David Banner anchors Jokers Wild (2022). These are not cameos. They are confirmations.
The same door NABS walked through is one he now holds open. Introducing his nephew Jo Will B is featured on Jokers Wild. Mentee and protege DJ Double J continues to develop under his wing also appears on Jokers Wild. Sister rap duo Fire and IICE announced themselves on Closed Casket. Vocalist Azyia Jone made her mark on The Southern Brothas' "10 Keys." It's the In the Lab philosophy — find the talent, give it a platform, document the moment — alive and running in 2025 and 2026.
In 1998, DJ NABS released In the Lab with DJ NABS — The Live Album on Columbia Records, among the first double live albums by a Southern DJ. Twenty-seven years later, in his 30th anniversary year as an Atlanta institution, the lab is still open.