In June 2014, a new musical called Holler If Ya Hear Me debuted in New York City. At the time, it did the unthinkable: it brought hip-hop to Broadway.

The musical used Tupac songs as its score, and told the story of a man recently released from prison who struggled to find his way.

Although many reviews were positive and much was made of rap being used in a Broadway musical, the show couldn't find an audience, and closed after only 38 performances.

Now that we live in a post-Hamilton world, the creators of Holler If Ya Hear Me hope that audiences will be more receptive to hip-hop theater.

And so, The New York Times reports that the team behind Holler If Ya Hear Me is trying again, this time opening the show in Atlanta.

“People have commented to me that it was one moment too soon," the show's producer, Eric L. Gold said. He was sure that Broadway was ready for rap, despite others telling him that "opening on Broadway was just too ambitious."

He said that he and the rest of the team learned a lot from the musical's first run, and believes that Atlanta is a better home for the piece. “Not opening originally in Atlanta is one of my biggest regrets,” he said.

Todd Kreidler, who wrote Holler, said that the work resonates even more now than it did in 2014. "People are going to see the story through a different lens because of Ferguson and Black Lives Matter," he said.

On Broadway, Holler starred poet Saul Williams, Hamilton's Christopher Jackson and Tonya Pinkins of Caroline, or Change fame.

This time, however, Kenny Leon's troupe True Colors Theater Company will fill the roles. Leon directed the show on Broadway and founded the company in 2002.

Kenny Leon, Photo: Johnathon Kelso/NYT

Leon, too, feels that Atlanta will prove a good second home for the show, and believes it could even be a launchpad. “A lot of eyes are on the production to see how it works in Atlanta so that maybe we could have a national tour,” he said.

19 members of Leon's True Colors will be in the musical, including a former member of Danity Kane, Spelman and Clark Atlanta students and Rob Demery, who will play the lead, John.

Photo: Johnathon Kelso/NYT

“John is working a job that only pays $6.50 an hour, and he sees his community as a place that will never get better because the opportunities are not there,” Demery said. “My goal in this performance is to show audiences that as black men we have goals in life, we are worthy and we are trying.”

Other members of the True Colors team shared Demery's goal.

Theresa Hightower, who plays John's rival Vertus said, “We write a lot of young men off as thugs, but an apple on a tree does not start off as rotten. As we have seen in our country, people in the highest places mess up. It only takes one situation to make you slip.”

For his part, Kenny Leon hopes that the musical will inspire those that see it to go out and make a change.

“I want to remind people that it’s the 20-year-olds that have led the country into new territory in the past,’’ he said. “I’m trying to wake up our young people and remind them that they have the power to make a difference in America.”

If you'll be in Atlanta this September, you can check out the musical for yourself. Tickets are on sale now here.

holler if ya hear me

Get relevant content delivered to you once a week