Every year about this time, Atlanta’s Creative Loafing puts out its issue, with readers casting their votes for a range of categories, from “Best Fried Chicken” to “Best Cougar Den”, with a little bit of everything in between. The annual Best Of issues have become a fixture in Atlanta, with local bars, restaurants, artists, theaters and musicians all clamoring to see if they have made the cut.
In Atlanta, a city known for its thriving music scene, there is no doubt that the most watched categories revolve around musical performances and C.D. releases. One of the most coveted spots on the list is Best Local Hip Hop Act, a title dominated by native sons Outkast, the perennial favorites. With such stiff competition, the bragging rights for the title of Best Local Hip-Hop Act tend to fall to the runner-up in the category, with everyone well aware that no true ‘local’ group could really garner enough votes to beat them outright.

This year that honor has fallen to “The Wheeler Boys”, a group consisting of two brothers from downtown Atlanta. The Boys (whose real name doubles as their stage name) have been on the underground scene for several years now, and it seems that the time spent building a fan base has been well worth it. They have built an impressive resume along the way, including a spot on the Adult Swim Hip Hop Tour alongside Ghostface Killa, Witchdoctor and Khujo Goodie. The brothers have built a reputation on thought-provoking lyrics set to hard hitting beats, and are known for their high energy performances. With one self-released album already under their belt (free at myspace.com/thewheelerboys) and another due out soon, you can be sure that The Wheeler Boys are just getting geared up.

Clips from the Atlanta and Orlando legs of the Adult Swim Hip-Hop Tour. The tour featured Ghostface killa, Witchdoctor, Khujo Goodie and The Wheeler Boys. Huge!