Gentrification isn’t unique to Atlanta, but it’s certainly a lens by which we can evaluate many of the issues facing the city. Everything from income inequality and spiking rents, to unending development, population displacement, and nightmarish traffic can be attributed to so-called urban renewal. As residents and regular visitors can attest, the skyline isn’t the only thing changing in Atlanta. Entire neighborhoods are being razed and repurposed as poorer residents are priced out of their homes, forever altering the history and culture that make our city so vibrant and unique.
After growing up in Atlanta, Titos frontman Alex Lotito moved away in 2014. When he returned just three years later, he was stunned by how much the city had transformed. “Developments were springing up all over,” Lotito says. “Neighborhoods that used to be familiar had changed, and rent prices were significantly higher.” So Lotito did what any self-respecting songwriter would do. He wrote a song about it.
On the surface, “Whoever You Are” is a bright, energetic number populated by chiming organs and soulful rhythms. It’s a cut that moves in alternating waves, sprinting forward one moment before easing on the brakes and settling into a billowing, mid-tempo groove. Methodical and melodic, the song’s vintage vibes radiate throughout, but it never feels dated or nostalgic. Instead, as guitars sparkle and swirl, and the band’s elastic undulations tumble forward, Lotito paints a picture of a city in the midst of a difficult metamorphosis. Some of it is physical—there’s mention of the “suicide lane” on Dekalb Avenue, metal plates on Moreland, and bandits on the Beltline stealing the right of way. But elsewhere, the imagery grows more emphatic and earnest, raising the specter of Atlanta’s (continued) history of racial division: “Bow-knot magnolias on the old west side / They’ve stretched out new steel, set to divide.”
“Gentrification is a national issue, but has been particularly problematic in Atlanta,” says Lotito. “While the song is full of references to Atlanta, the second verse is particularly about the changes in the city and how gentrification exacerbates previously existing racial inequalities. The second verse is an attempt to link the South’s legacy of racism to current developments in the city and the impact they have on low-income tenants today.”
Listen below.
The Titos will perform on Fri., Sept. 27 at Eddie’s Attic alongside Mermaid Motor Lounge. Doors open at 9:15 p.m. Admission is $12 in advance or $15 DOS.
More Info
Bandcamp: thetitos.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @ThetitosATL
Instagram: @titos_atl
SoundCloud: @alex-lotito