You can spot Sean P and J-Bo –– original members of the Atlanta rap duo YoungBloodz –– from across the room. Yes, one’s in a top hat and they have the swagger you’d expect out of an Atlanta rap group. But in truth, you can hear them before you can see them, or at least you can hear their friend, who’s rowdy, proud, and always seemingly on the verge of bursting out into an A-T-L clap.
“That’s Pele,” Sean P says – a reference to the legendary Brazilian – as he points to his friend. “We call him that because he played soccer for years, and he put us onto the game.”
It’s fair to say Sean P and J-Bo have caught the Atlanta soccer fever, saying the electric crowds live up even to Pele’s hyperbolic claims. But the truth is they would’ve cheered for the team regardless, if nothing else because of the bold A on every player’s chest.
“Atlanta fans are down for any time,” J-Bo says. “We aren’t fair-weather fans or bandwagoners."
"We’re here with the good and the bad, and next year we’re going to do it again and do it again. We’re always going to pick ourselves and keep going.”
That’s what Sean P and J-Bo say are the defining characteristic of Atlanta sports fans. And they’d know as well as anybody. Born in Atlanta in the late 70’s, the duo stayed true to their roots and never left the city.
“We were born and raised in Atlanta, true Atlanta people,” Sean P says. “We saw the city when there weren’t all these people and all these buildings. We represent the streets, the inner city, the lower-income families –– we all came up in situations like that and it didn’t knock us or our mission. This city kept us going, all we had was Atlanta to put on our back and show the world.”
“We come from this city and this city makes our music,” J-Bo adds. “What we see every day, where we come from every day, and also all the good things. That’s what makes us.”
But that’s not always been easy. The group has been nominated for a Grammy, hit the Billboard charts time after time. But there was a time, before they became one of the foremost groups of the early-2000’s crunk era, where they had to earn their respect.
“We struggled and strived every day –– we keep striving –– to make our city be known when there was only New York and West Coast, and we fought hard to represent our city,” Sean P says. “And look where we are now.”
It’s that scrappy upstart mentality that launched the Atlanta music scene, embodied by Andre 3000 famously saying, “The South’s got something to say.” But it can easily be applied to Atlanta United as well: discounted and counted out as a city where MLS would never work. But now, as Sean P said, look at where we are now.
“To see how big it is in Atlanta is a beautiful thing,” Sean P says. “Atlanta United means so much to us because we’re Atlanta to death.”
“Soccer just brings more energy,” J-Bo adds. “I guess it’s just because it’s such a worldwide sport, people play it everywhere. Atlanta fans are all here in the good or bad times, but these soccer fans are hardcore.”
With the team thriving on the field, Sean P and J-Bo see the next opportunity off of it, with Atlanta United continuing to help grow the game in Atlanta. They say the Station Soccer pitch at the Five Points MARTA station is just the start as the Five Stripes plant the seeds for the beautiful game in the rich Georgia soil.
“It’s time to get to those inner-city kids and let them know that this is something they can achieve in and try to get involved,” Sean P says. “Growing up, we didn’t know anything about soccer, but now it’s universal. There’s a love for the game now, and there’s real opportunity now.”
So two more Atlanta hip hop stars join the ranks of the 17’s, rowdy and proud. “We’re lucky enough to be stars, but I’m just a fan,” Sean P says as they walk out of view, ready to drive home the golden spike one last time. And nearly drowned out by Pele’s spontaneous clap, he gives a parting shout.
“This is Atlanta!”
© 2026 Atlanta United FC
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