A screenshot of 18-year-old Kenaniah Turner performing outside of a Waffle House for South Fulton's "Hey Twin, We Rise" music video. (DorMiya Vance/WABE)
South Fulton officials are undertaking a rebrand to help change the city’s image after years of tension between the previous mayor and the city council.
One of the ways they’re doing it is with a song, or city anthem, meant to inspire the local community.
However, it just so happens to be AI-generated.
Westlake High School band director Cedric Young is the creator of South Fulton’s “Hey Twin, We Rise” song. It comes as South Fulton celebrates its ninth anniversary as a city this year.
“I found out that the city was nine years old, you know. I was there when the city became a city,” Young said. And I said, ‘Well, do we have an anthem?’ I said, ‘Well, let’s put this thing together.’”
Young’s inspiration was fueled after hearing Mayor Carmalitha Gumbs’ moving State of the City address earlier this year.
“I noticed that she talked about the city rising, and I said, ‘Well, let me do something.’ I guess the voice of god was speaking to me,” he said.
The song’s lyrics are overall positive affirmations that feature some Atlanta slang like “Hey Twin,” which the South Fulton police department has adopted to connect with the city’s youth via a viral social media campaign.
“The basis of art is that it reflects human nature. And if AI is creating art, sure, you can tell it what you want it to say and what you want it to look like, but at the end of the day, it’s not your work.”
Recent Westlake High graduate Kenaniah Turner’s love for his South Fulton community led him to participate in the music video for “Hey Twin, We Rise,” despite his stance on AI-generated music.
Young says he wanted to incorporate elements that would appeal to both younger and older audiences, creating the song just for fun.
“I had no plan on doing anything with the song. So I guess the Lord was speaking to me, and I was just following through. I didn’t know what I was doing. Then, I had a few versions of it, and I sent it to my band booster president. And she screamed. She said, ‘Oh, I like this. I’m going to send this to the mayor.’” Young said.
“Hey Twin, We Rise” came at just the right time, according to Gumbs. She says she got emotional the first time she heard it, as she hopes to rebuild public trust in the city’s elected officials.
“When I heard it, I literally almost cried, and I was just like, this is it. I wanted to find something to really just start building community pride and really boosting the city of South Fulton, and this song was it. It was what we needed at that time,” Gumbs said.
Gumbs received the song well and even called for a music video to highlight various parts of South Fulton and its residents, which dropped in mid-June. It also features the Westlake High School band and the Zion Hill Baptist Church choir, plus 18-year-old Kenaniah Turner as the “vocalist.”
A screenshot of South Fulton mayor Carmalitha Gumbs from the city’s “Hey Twin, We Rise” anthem. (DorMiya Vance/WABE)
Turner is a recent graduate of Westlake, starting at Mousehouse College in the fall. He got the opportunity to be in the video through a former teacher.
“So, he called me up just like randomly, like on a Tuesday afternoon, and he was like, ‘Yo, I got an opportunity for you. We’re filming this music video for South Fulton, and I think that you should be a part of this.’ And of course I said yes because … I love this community,” Turner said.
Even though he took the opportunity to be in the video, Turner says he “did compromise a little bit” because there was a hitch.
The song is AI-generated, which Turner says made him uncomfortable.
“This opportunity is something that I will only do one time. Can AI be used as a tool? Yes, but I think with art specifically, AI has no place,” Turner said.
“Hey Twin, We Rise” was created using the Suno Studio AI music generator, according to Young. He says the completely AI production was the result of playing around with some ideas using the software.
Turner adds that he was asked to lip-sync the lead vocals for the video. He says he agreed despite being against the use of AI in the arts, including music.
“The basis of art is that it reflects human nature. And if AI is creating art, sure, you can tell it what you want it to say and what you want it to look like, but at the end of the day, it’s not your work,” he said.
Turner believes participating in the video was a way to support the South Fulton community where he’s from.
“My thing is creating positive energy across our city, whether it’s AI-generated or a handwritten song. My position is that I wanna build community pride, and this song was able to do that.”
South Fulton Mayor Carmalitha Gumbs
Meanwhile, Young says the anthem is more about the message than the method of creation being generated with AI, which he refers to as a tool for expression.
“I think it’s a very, very good tool. It’s just like you need to dig a ditch and you’re using a shovel when you can use a tractor,” Young said.
“I think that’s … the great thing about that: it is a tool, and it really works well for those who cannot produce music but have a desire to make it.”
A screenshot of “Hey Twin, We Rise” creator Cedric Young making a cameo in the song’s video. (DorMiya Vance/WABE)
Overall, Youngs says his intentions with the song were innocent, and his goal was to bring something creative to South Fulton.
And Gumbs was aware the city anthem was AI-generated.
“I think creativity is all in how you use AI to get messages across, especially even in music,” she said. “People are not doing the same thing the same way anymore, so we have to learn how to really embrace those types of things.”
She believes AI is the “wave of the future,” and the song is an opportunity to spread positivity throughout the city.
“My thing is creating positive energy across our city, whether it’s AI-generated or a handwritten song. My position is that I wanna build community pride, and this song was able to do that.”
The soulful yet energetic city anthem sparked friendly competition online among residents from other cities, hoping to inspire creativity in other parts of metro Atlanta.
And there are plans to recreate a real “Hey Twin, We Rise.” Young says he has plans to bring in a real vocalist, choir, and the Westlake High School band.
“This is a gift for the city. This is where my students live. This is where my school parents live. I’m invested in the community. I’m not just a teacher in the community; I’m a part of it,” he said.
“This whole thing came together … by trusting people and just being creative and just following our thoughts and intellect and just doing the right things, trying to incorporate the vision of Mayor Gumbs.”
