Atmosphere (music group)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Atmosphere | |
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 Atmosphere at the Warehouse in Houston, TX in 2006
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| Background information | |
| Origin |  Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States |
| Genre(s) | Hip hop |
| Years active | 1993 – Present |
| Label(s) | Rhymesayers Entertainment/Warner Music Group (2007-present) Epitaph Fat Beats |
| Website | Atmosphere at MySpace |
| Members | |
| Slug Ant |
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| Former members | |
| Spawn-Stress | |
Atmosphere is an American hip hop duo from Minneapolis, Minnesota. The members are rapper Slug (born Sean Daley, September 7, 1972) and DJ/producer Ant (born Anthony Davis). Active in various forms since 1993, they are one of the most commercially successful and long-lived independent hip hop acts. Atmosphere owns the independent label Rhymesayers Entertainment.
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[edit] Members
[edit] Slug (Sean Daley)
Slug was a member of a loose group known as The Rhymesayers Collective prior to the formation of Atmosphere. Its other members were Stress (Siddiq Ali) and Spawn (Derek Turner). Slug DJed behind the scenes and let Stress and Spawn handle lyrics. Later calling themselves Urban Atmosphere and garnering some underground notoriety, the group eventually formed a strong relationship with Ant (Anthony Davis) and began collaborating on music. Along with MC Musab (then Beyond), rapper Mr. Gene Poole, and the Abstract Pack they formed the mid-Nineties crew Headshots, with Slug appearing on the underground tape series HeadShots (1-7) (see Discography below). Every HeadShots volume allowed a member of the clique to showcase their talent, and HeadShots Vol. Seven was Slug's tour de force.
[edit] Ant (Anthony Davis)
Ant produced his first CD,Comparison, for Musab (formerly known as Beyond). He has contributed to every Atmosphere album and has also produced albums for several members of the Rhymesayers Entertainment label. The only Atmosphere album featuring guest producers, including Jel, Moodswing 9, and El-P was Lucy Ford: The Atmosphere EPs. More recently, Ant released a two-part mixtape series titled Melodies and Memories featuring remixes of songs made in the late '70s and throughout the '80s.
[edit] Other members
- Spawn (Derek Turner) left the group following the release of Overcast!. He is now known as Rek The Heavyweight.
- Mr. Dibbs (never officially a part of Atmosphere) was the off-and-on touring DJ for Atmosphere. He is now the DJ for hip hop artist El-P.
[edit] Touring
As of 2005's 'Pour Me Another' tour, Atmosphere is accompanied by a live band, featuring Nate Collis on guitar, Brett Johnson on bass, Erick Anderson on keyboards, and Brian McLeod on drums. The live setup brings a jazzy, more improvisational feel to Atmosphere's sound. Along with the band, Ant is also touring for the first time in Atmosphere's history.
Atmosphere recently ended their 'Everybody Loves A Clown' tour, which promoted the newest in their series of short-release albums, 'Sad Clown, Bad Summer' and 'Sad Clown, Bad Fall'. They are currently on tour in support of their next LP titled "When Life Gives You Lemons..", released on April 22, 2008.
[edit] Lyrical content
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Slug raps in an intensely personal, often introspective style, acting as a kind of storyteller relating his own experiences to his audience. Slug's songs often deal with alcohol problems, tour life and depression, and his difficult and destructive relationships with women.
Slug occasionally raps about "slice of life moments", where he documents the every day life of himself or others. Examples include a police man's struggles with power (Lucy Ford's "Between The Lines"), a worker in a convenience store tired of the 9-to-5 (the songs "66th Street" and "Cashier in a convenience store"), and sexual deviance and intrigue turned awry (Lucy Ford's "The Woman With The Tattooed Hands").
Slug has stated that he will never lie in his raps, but that there is a difference between lying and telling a story. Though most stories told in his songs are based wholly or partially on Slug's life, a few songs are completely fictionalized. This refers to the song Nothing But Sunshine, a fictional first person account of a young man whose parents died at an early age. At the time, fans believed this to be Slug's own life story.
[edit] "Lucy"
"Lucy" is a character who is featured prominently in many of Slug's lyrics. She is commonly referenced in various songs, and a few songs are directed at her. Slug has stated that Lucy was originally used to write about his on-again-off-again girlfriend and mother to his son, but eventually evolved into a device to write about women in general, and even disguise political statements[1]; furthermore, in the song "Doomage" by Sage Francis, Slug states that "Lucy is hip hop" and that "It's all been said before/Buried in a metaphor". On a vidcast promoting the album When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold, in response fans' questions about Lucy, Slug jokingly states that "Lucy" was a cat he had owned when he had written his first few albums.
[edit] Collaborations
Slug has also released two albums with Murs from the West Coast hip hop group Living Legends. The idea for Felt: A Tribute to Christina Ricci, their first album as a duo, came about while on tour.[1]The two decided to see if they could garner some extra media attention for Ricci by dedicating their album to her, although according to Slug, Ricci has never responded to this or contacted the band.[2] This debut studio album was produced by The Grouch from Living Legends.
Their second collaboration, Felt Vol. 2: A Tribute to Lisa Bonet, produced by Ant, was released in 2005.
Slug has also been featured on albums by Brother Ali, Eyedea & Abilities, Evidence, Aesop Rock, Unknown Prophets, Oddjobs, Vakill, DoseOne, Jel, P.O.S., X-Ecutioners, Kanser, Blueprint, Heiruspecs, Jean Grae, Static & Nat Ill, Booka B, El-P, Roosevelt Franklin, Minnesota indie rock band Lifter Puller, several Living Legends albums as well as Living Legends solo projects such as The CMA.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio albums
- Overcast! (1997)
- Lucy Ford (2001)
- God Loves Ugly (2002)
- Seven's Travels (2003)
- You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having (2005)
- When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold (2008)
[edit] EPs
- Overcast! EP (1997)
- The Lucy EP (2001)
- Ford 1 (2001)
- Ford 2 (2001)
[edit] Compilations
- Sean Likes Ugly Girls
- Lucy Ford: The Atmosphere EPs
- Headshots: SE7EN (2005)
- Strictly Leakage (2007)
[edit] Singles
- They Lied (1998)
- Uptown Jesus (2002)
- Modern Man's Hustle (2002)
- GodLovesUgly (2002)
- Cats Van Bags (2003)
- Trying to Find a Balance (2003)
- National Disgrace (2004)
- Watch Out (2005)
- Say Hey There (2006)
- Shoulda Known (2008)
- Guarantees (2008)
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Felt. Rhymesayers Entertainment. Retrieved on 2007-05-30.
- ^ Wiley, M. (2003-10-10). IGN Interview, Page 3. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-05-30.
[edit] External links
- Atmosphere at Myspace
- Rhymesayers Entertainment: Atmosphere
- Atmosphere in studio at KCMP 89.3 The Current
- Synthesis Magazine interview with Slug and Murs
- Reviews and Interview with Slug
- Atmosphere at Allmusic
- Atmosphere at Discogs
- Twin Cities Hip Hop
- Articles
- "One Nation, Invisible: The Untold Story of TC hip hop, 1981-1996." City Pages (8/18/04)
- "Rhyme Out of Joint" City Pages (7/5/00)
- "Wearing His Heart On His Record Sleeve" City Pages (10/8/03)
- "Hip-Hop Mysterioso: Interview with Ant" Complicated Fun (12/11/03)
- "11 Questions With Slug" IGN (4/5/03)
- "Here Comes a Regular: Slug and Ant bring Atmosphere back home" City Pages (11/9/05)
- "Purple Rain Dogs: Tom Waits for Prince Fans--Or How Atmosphere Went Electro" City Pages (3/30/08)
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