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Atlanta · Est. 2008

Coalition DJs

JEEZY · T.I. · FUTURE · 2 CHAINZ · MIGOSRecords we broke

We are the Atlanta crew that decides what gets played. Eighteen years of New Music Mondays, a chapter network across the country, and a résumé of broken records the trades keep writing about.

THE WALL STREET JOURNALProfiled us 2013Our record machine
COMPLEXFeatured us 2015Beats, Booties, and Business
AJC17 major marketsOur reach, cited Jan 2025
71,607@coalitiondjsatl

How we work

WE ARE THE ROOMTHAT BREAKS RECORDS.

5songs a night2-3plays each8weeks running

The Wall Street Journal's own arithmetic on us, 2013.

We came together in 2008 out of the rooms where Atlanta actually tests music: Jazzy T's, Strokers, Magic City. The method the Wall Street Journal documented in 2013 has not changed since. A record goes into rotation across our rooms, night after night, and the spins get counted, printed and handed back as proof.

What comes out the other side is the thing our hashtag turned into a brand: a record the room has certified. The trades wrote down what happened next, from Jeezy and T.I. to Future, 2 Chainz and Migos.

  1. 01

    We spin it

    Five new songs a night, two to three plays each, in rotation across our rooms for eight weeks. The WSJ's own arithmetic.

  2. 02

    We prove it

    Spin data comes back on paper. Our product has always been proof, not promises.

  3. 03

    We certify it

    “We are the starting point. Once it gets started in the strip clubs in Atlanta, it goes to the radio.” Nick Love, Complex, 2015.

Coalition Certified

OUR RÉSUMÉ

Both lists are published: our own About names them, and the AJC printed them again on our 17th anniversary. Records we broke for:

  • JEEZY
  • T.I.
  • FUTURE
  • 2 CHAINZ
  • MIGOS
  • RICH HOMIE QUAN
  • CA$H OUT
  • TRAVIS PORTER

On their own accounts

THE NAMES, LIVE

Every artist above who keeps a verified Instagram is on this page on their own account. Tap a handle and check us.

Jeezy@jeezy

We broke his early records out of Atlanta.

@jeezyLive from Instagram
T.I.@tip

We broke his early records, and he came back to our stage in 2026.

@tipLive from Instagram
Future@future

We broke his early records out of Atlanta.

@futureLive from Instagram
2 Chainz@2chainz

We broke his early records out of Atlanta.

@2chainzLive from Instagram
Migos@migos

We broke their early records out of Atlanta.

@migosLive from Instagram
Rich Homie Quan@richhomiequan

We broke his early records out of Atlanta.

@richhomiequanLive from Instagram
Travis Porter@iamtravisporter

On our list of broken records, and back on our anniversary stage in 2025.

@iamtravisporterLive from Instagram

Our founders

WE ASSEMBLED IN 2008

DJ Big X

Xavier Hargrove

The Atlanta music exec whose brainchild we were, and the voice still fronting our anniversaries.

@bigxatl
@bigxatlLive from Instagram

DJ Funky

Founding DJ

One of our three original founding DJs, who built our name in Atlanta's gentlemen's clubs.

@djfunkyatl
@djfunkyatlLive from Instagram

DJ X-Rated

Founding DJ

“People come from all across the country to get feedback. Sometimes you need that.” Complex, 2015.

DJ Nando

Long live DJ Nando

Founding DJ, killed January 14, 2014. Our biggest moments still carry his name, from Monday nights to the airport exhibit.

We do not link an account under his name. The one that spells it belongs to somebody else, and he deserves better than a stranger's page.

These four are our founders as the AJC and our own About print them, and the two with public accounts are on this page on their own. No canonical current roster is published anywhere yet; the rest of our family goes up as we confirm it.

Home of New Music Mondays

EVERYMONDAY.

It is the longest-running door into the Atlanta industry: bring us a record you believe in and perform it for a room of fifteen-plus Coalition DJs, the people who decide what gets played that week. Over seventeen years of Mondays, and artists still come to us from across the country.

Where
Stankonia Studios, 677 Antone St NW, Atlanta
When
Every Monday, 7 PM
The room
15+ of our DJs, feedback on the spot
Running since
2008, over 17 years of Mondays

What our New Music Mondays is

Reel · @coalitiondjsatl

View
@coalitiondjsatlLive from Instagram

Our own DJs

THE NAMES ON OUR FLYERS

The DJs we bill for Back In The Booth and The Listening Room, plus the night Too Short pulled up. Every one of them on their own account.

DJ A.D. Baby@djadbaby

Runs Back In The Booth with us, every Monday.

@djadbabyLive from Instagram
DJ Popo@djpopo01

On our Listening Room decks, Tuesdays at Smith's Olde Bar.

@djpopo01Live from Instagram
DJ Bizzon@djbizzon

On our Listening Room decks, in from Milwaukee.

@djbizzonLive from Instagram
DJ Mell Starr@djmellstarr

Held our Listening Room room down, from the selections to the technique.

@djmellstarrLive from Instagram
Too Short@tooshort

Pulled up to our New Music Mondays.

@tooshortLive from Instagram

Our run

EIGHTEEN YEARS OF RECEIPTS

Every row is carried by the page that published it, so you can check any of it in one tap: the trades, the loss, the anniversaries, the exhibit.

  1. 2008We assembleAtlanta music exec Xavier Hargrove, DJ Big X, builds us around DJ Funky, DJ X-Rated and DJ Nando, out of Jazzy T's, Strokers and Magic City.
  2. 2013The Wall Street Journal takes notesThe WSJ profiles us as the gatekeepers deciding which underground Atlanta artists break: five songs a night, eight-week runs, spin data delivered on paper.
  3. 2014We lose DJ NandoOur founding member DJ Nando is shot and killed outside his home on January 14. The case is never solved. We go dark for six months, then rebuild carrying his name.
  4. 2015Complex documents our machine“Beats, Booties, and Business” maps how we run Atlanta's scene from the strip clubs up, with records broken for Jeezy, Future, 2 Chainz and Rich Homie Quan.
  5. 2018Ten years of breakingOur 10-year anniversary lands at Masquerade while Creative Loafing calls us the most important curators in Atlanta hip-hop.
  6. 2019Our chapters go nationalOur DMV chapter celebrates its first year under Byron “Sleep” Stevenson, running New Music Wednesdays. Our network is real and growing.
  7. 2025Our 17th anniversary, MLK DayBelieve Music Hall, with Ralo, Travis Porter, Sean Garrett, OJ Da Juice Man and ATL Jacob. The AJC covers it and cites our reach across 17 major markets.
  8. 2026We run our own conferenceDJ Power Summit, January 17 and 18 in Atlanta: 1,500+ expected attendees and 20+ invited guest DJs, linked from our own site.

Our 17th anniversary stage

WHO WE PUT ON IT

The MLK Day 2025 stage the AJC wrote up. Every artist on it whose account we have confirmed is here on that account, and the rest go up as we confirm them.

Ralo@ralofamgoon

On our 17th anniversary stage, MLK Day 2025.

@ralofamgoonLive from Instagram
Travis Porter@iamtravisporter

On our list of broken records, and back on our anniversary stage in 2025.

@iamtravisporterLive from Instagram
OJ Da Juice Man@ojdajuiceman32

On our 17th anniversary stage, MLK Day 2025.

@ojdajuiceman32Live from Instagram
ATL Jacob@atljacob

On our 17th anniversary stage, MLK Day 2025.

@atljacobLive from Instagram

Our sound

THE PLAYLISTS WE RUN

Coalition Picks and The Blast are our own playlists, linked from our own site, where a certified record lands on Spotify and Tidal.

Coalition Picks

Linked from coalitiondjs.com

The Blast

Coalition Music Service, linked from coalitiondjs.com

The We Outside Show, Ep. 520

Our weekly industry podcast

New Music Monday ATL

A session, from our own channel

Both playlists are linked from our own site. Our podcast, The We Outside Show, runs weekly.

Straight from our account

SEE IT FOR YOURSELF

Live embeds off @coalitiondjsatl, so you can watch our rooms without leaving this page.

Follow us @coalitiondjsatl
@coalitiondjsatlCoalition DJs ATLOpen our profile71,607Followers17,765Posts2,160Following

T.I. on our 18th anniversary stage

Reel · @coalitiondjsatl

View
@coalitiondjsatlLive from Instagram

Our airport exhibit

Post · @coalitiondjsatl

View
@coalitiondjsatlLive from Instagram

Big X's Summerfest at Stankonia

Post · @coalitiondjsatl

View
@coalitiondjsatlLive from Instagram

Our rooms

MONDAY NIGHT IN ATLANTA


A singer performing at our New Music Monday
A vocalist mid-song at our New Music Monday
A guitarist at our New Music Monday
A performer with dancers at our New Music Monday
DJ Popo on the decks at our Listening Room
DJ Mell Starr in the mix at our Listening Room
Back In The Booth under the neon at our New Music Mondays
Slim of 112 at our New Music Mondays
The night Too Short pulled up to our New Music Mondays
An artist on our New Music Mondays stage

Our story

We are the starting point of Atlanta records.

We are an Atlanta institution with the receipts of one: assembled in 2008 by Xavier Hargrove around DJ Funky, DJ X-Rated and DJ Nando, profiled by the Wall Street Journal by 2013, mapped by Complex by 2015, and enshrined in the Hartsfield-Jackson hip-hop exhibit by 2025.

Our engine is still Monday night. Artists come from across the country to play us a record in the room that broke Jeezy, T.I., Future, 2 Chainz and Migos, and our certification still travels: through the chapters, through the playlists, through the We Outside Show, and through eighteen anniversary stages, the last of which put T.I. back on the mic.

And through all of it runs one name. Long live DJ Nando.

“Coalition DJs control the pulse of the city.”DJ DiBiase, in Complex, 2015

Bookings

GET IN THE ROOM

Book New Music Mondays through your Coalition DJ, DM us, or call. These are the routes we publish ourselves.

The phone number is the one our own Instagram bio gives out. The email is published on our SimplyBook booking page. No other route on this site is invented, and we publish no pricing anywhere.

Eighteen years. One room. Every Monday.

Book New Music Mondays through your Coalition DJ, DM us, or call. These are the routes we publish ourselves.

New Music Mondays

Every Monday, 7 PM, Stankonia Studios

Call usDM us