ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – On Friday legendary Atlanta hip-hop producer Rico Wade was laid to rest. The music icon died at age 52 earlier this month.

A private service was held at Ebenezer Baptist Church, led by Rev. Raphael Warnock.

“In a real sense his music has been a part of the soundtrack of our lives. And while I’m the pastor of this church and a Senator from Georgia, we are roughly the same age. He’s a couple years younger than me, so to see someone like him come from where he came from, telling the stories of kids like him, I think is so important,” Rev. Warnock said.

Wade was a trailblazing and innovative musical talent known for discovering hip-hop duo OutKast and helping launch the careers of artists like TLC and Goodie Mob. He was also a founding member of The Dungeon Family, an Atlanta-based music collective made up of famous hip hop, funk, and soul artists.

“I grew up with him all through the music and all that, so I’m going to miss him a whole lot. He’s been a very big influence on hip hop in Atlanta,” Gregory Gibbs said.

“Just to be here on the day he marks his ending on the earth, just you know, his blessings will still outpour on others,” Mekisha Smith said.

After the service, Wade’s casket was loaded into a horse-drawn carriage and driven through his hometown streets. Atlanta rappers Killer Miker, 2 Chainz, and T.I. were all in attendance.

“It takes a great spirit, a person with a generous heart to summon this crowd to one place at one time,” Rev. Warnock said.

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With the eighth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Atlanta Falcons select… Bijan Robinson! Terry Fontenot, Arthur Smith and the Atlanta front office staff put together the newest Falcons draft class. Get an exclusive look at how this rookie class came together as we follow along every pick in episode two of On the Rise.

A ho-hum standalone Starbucks could undergo a full aesthetic makeover along a prominent Buckhead corridor that’s experiencing a multitude of changes right now.

Atlanta-based architecture, engineering, and planning firm GDP Group has filed plans to renovate and expand an existing drive-thru Starbucks location at 3330 Piedmont Road with a hip, modernized new look.

The Starbucks is located at the entrance to what’s been rebranded Buckhead Landing—the former Piedmont Peachtree Crossing shopping long anchored by Disco Kroger. Regency Center, the developer and owner, unveiled a fresh roster of tenants for other buildings in the strip center last month.

GDP Group is scheduled to formally present its Starbucks plans Wednesday to the Buckhead SPI-9 Development Review Committee.

Designs call for expanding the building, relocating drive-thru equipment from being wall-mounted to freestanding, and updating furniture and fixtures. No ordinance variations are being requested.

In front of the Starbucks, work to create what’s being called a Complete Street project—or what Atlanta urbanists are calling anything but—is ongoing near the Buckhead Landing main entry.

Find more context and images in the gallery above.

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