April 1, 2026— Long before Atlanta was hip-hop’s capital, DJ NABS was already building it. Since arriving in the city in 1988, NABS has been an essential thread through Atlanta’s musical ascent — tour DJ, radio pioneer, producer, turntable instrumentalist, and archivist. This spring, he brings thirty years of that history to city.
In the Lab 30, a year-long anniversary campaign, launched with its grassroots activations built from the ground up — no industry infrastructure, no corporate rollout. Just NABS, the community, and the culture that raised him. The Find the Crate campaign puts vinyl crate digging at the center of the celebration, partnering with JB’s Record Lounge, Crates ATL, Moods Music, and Beat Lab. These aren’t sponsors. They’re institutions — stores that never wavered on vinyl when the industry looked the other way, and whose commitment to the medium has been validated by its steady, sustained growth year after year. The culture was never leaving. These stores knew it. NABS knew it. Find the Crate is an invitation to go prove it.
In May, NABS opens the Old Atlanta Film Series with its debut double feature: Atlanta Takes Over Cancun ‘98 and Birthday Bash 1997. The footage comes from his personal vault — never licensed, never publicly screened, captured during a moment when Atlanta was becoming something the rest of the world hadn’t named yet. History has a way of getting rewritten by the people who showed up after the work was done. These films exist to prevent that. Raw, unfiltered, and digitally remastered for the screen, they are documented proof of Atlanta’s rise — the people, the energy, the era — preserved in the format it deserves and presented to the generations who lived it and the ones who missed it. The city’s story belongs to the city. NABS is making sure it stays that way.
“It’s amazing how thirty years have gone by, I appreciate every record I had the opportunity to spin and every piece of history that I was able to have recorded, and now being able to celebrate this milestone by sharing my history is a genuine honor.” - DJ NABS
The choice to build In the Lab 30 through neighborhood record stores and community screenings is deliberate — and it’s deeply personal. Before hip-hop had a corporate infrastructure, it had a network: the independent stores where you found the music before radio caught up, and the movie theater where a generation of kids saw the culture reflected back at them for the first time on a full-sized screen. Beat Street. Krush Groove. House Party. For Generation X, those theaters weren’t just venues — they were proof that hip-hop was real, was lasting, and was theirs. NABS is paying homage to that blueprint. No industry rollout, no algorithm, no playlist placement. Just the record shop and the big screen — the same way it moved when it was still moving underground. Thirty years in, that’s what keeping it authentic looks like.
NABS joined Hot 97.5 in 1996 as one of the station’s original afternoon drive personalities, hosting In the Lab with DJ Nabs broadcast— introducing a then-unknown intern named Chris Lova Lova to Atlanta radio. He served as DJ and music director for Kris Kross, opening for Michael Jackson on the 1992 Dangerous World Tour.
Find the Crate launches on April 3, 2026 at participating Atlanta record stores. The Old Atlanta Film Series premieres on May 23, 2026. For updates, visit www.djnabs.com.