Atmosphere
Atmosphere at the Warehouse in Houston, TX in 2006
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
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. Image File history File links atmosphere File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... This article is about the city in Minnesota. ... Capital Saint Paul Largest city Minneapolis Largest metro area Minneapolis-St. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Hip hop music is a style of music which came into existence in the United States during the mid-1970s, and became a large part of modern pop culture during the 1980s. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... In the music industry, a record label can be a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... Official Logo Rhymesayers Entertainment is an underground hip-hop music label based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, co-founded in 1995 by Slug, a member of the group Atmosphere. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Epitaph Records is a Hollywood, California based record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. ... MySpace is a social networking website offering an interactive, user-submitted network of friends, personal profiles, blogs, groups, photos, music, and videos. ... Sean Daley, (born on September 7, 1972) better known by his stage name Slug, is an underground rapper from Minneapolis, Minnesota. ... Ant is a hip hop producer, whose full name is Anthony Davis. ... Hip hop music is a style of music which came into existence in the United States during the mid-1970s, and became a large part of modern pop culture during the 1980s. ... Minneapolis redirects here. ... Rap redirects here. ... Sean Daley, (born on September 7, 1972) better known by his stage name Slug, is an underground rapper from Minneapolis, Minnesota. ... is the 250th day of the year (251st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... DJ or dj may stand for Disc jockey, dinner jacket The DeadJournal website, or Djibouti. ... Hip hop production is the creation of hip hop music. ... Ant is a hip hop producer, whose full name is Anthony Davis. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ...

Members

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. Sean Daley, (born on September 7, 1972) better known by his stage name Slug, is an underground rapper from Minneapolis, Minnesota. ... Official Logo Rhymesayers Entertainment is an underground hip-hop music label based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, co-founded in 1995 by Slug, a member of the group Atmosphere. ...

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. Ant is a hip hop producer, whose full name is Anthony Davis. ... Official Logo Rhymesayers Entertainment is an underground hip-hop music label based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, co-founded in 1995 by Slug, a member of the group Atmosphere. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... El-Producto or El-P (born Jaime Meline) is well known in underground hip hop circles as a pioneer whose work with the trio Company Flow (El-P, Big Jus and Mr. ... Memories and Melodies is a one-hour mixtape of hip-hop from 1979-1985 remixed by Minneapolis based DJ Anthony Davis, a. ...

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.

Brad Forste,[1] better known as Mr. ... El-Producto or El-P (born Jaime Meline) is well known in underground hip hop circles as a pioneer whose work with the trio Company Flow (El-P, Big Jus and Mr. ...

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 expected to tour in support of their next LP titled "When Life Gives You Lemons..", due on April 22, 2008.

Lyrical content

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 Convienence Store"), and sexual deviance and intrigue turned awry (Lucy Ford's "The Woman With The Tattooed Hands"). 9 to 5 is a phrase which refers to the time (9:00AM to 5:00PM, or 0900h - 1700h) at which some office employees work each day, usually from Monday to Friday. ...

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.

"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. Paul Sage Francis (born November, 1976 in Miami, Florida) is a hip-hop artist based in Providence, Rhode Island. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with video clip. ...

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. This article is about the rapper. ... West Coast hip hop, also known as West Coast rap or California hip hop, is a style of hip hop music that originated in California in the early 1980s. ... The Living Legends crew is a group of eight underground hip-hop creators. ... The Living Legends crew is a group of eight underground hip-hop creators. ...

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. Brother Ali (born Jason Newman, now Ali Newman) is an American hip hop artist. ... Eyedea and DJ Abilities Eyedea & Abilities are an American rap duo. ... An American Hip-Hop artist and producer and memeber of the Rap Group Dilated Peoples. ... Aesop Rock (born Ian Matthias Bavitz on 1976-05-11) is an American hip hop artist. ... Unknown Prophets is a Rap group From Northeast Minneapolis, which consists of MaD SoN And Big Jess, and DJ Willy Lose. ... Oddjobs were a Minnesotan hip hop group formed around 1998 by Minneapolis MCs Advizer (Adam Waytz) and Crescent Moon (Alexei Casselle), and St. ... Vakill (born Donald Mason, 1975) is an American rapper from Chicago, Illinois. ... Doseone is the stage name of Adam Drucker (born April 21, 1979), a rapper and poet. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... P.O.S. P.O.S. (born Stefon Alexander), is a rapper signed to Rhymesayers Entertainment and a founding member of Doomtree. ... The X-Ecutioners are a group of hip hop DJs/turntablists from New York. ... For other uses, see Blueprint (disambiguation). ... Heiruspecs (pronounced high-roo-spex) is a live rap/hip hop band based in St. ... Jean Grae (formerly What? What?; real name Tsidi Ibrahim) is an American hip hop artist. ... El-Producto or El-P (born Jaime Meline) is well known in underground hip hop circles as a pioneer whose work with the trio Company Flow (El-P, Big Jus and Mr. ... The cover of Roosevelt Franklins 1971 LP Roosevelt Franklin was a fictional character featured in Sesame Street during the early 1970s. ... Lifter Puller (sometimes spelled Lftr Pllr) was a Minnesota indie rock band from 1994 to 2000. ...

Discography

Main article: Atmosphere discography

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)

Overcast! is Atmospheres first album, released in 1997. ... Lucy Ford is a fictional character in the TV series Monarch of the Glen. ... God Loves Ugly is an album by Atmosphere, released on June 11, 2002. ... Sevens Travels is a 2003 album by the hip hop group Atmosphere. ... You Cant Imagine How Much Fun Were Having is the fifth full-length album by Minneapolis hip hop group Atmosphere, released on October 4, 2005 through Rhymesayers Entertainment. ...

EPs

• Overcast! EP (1997)
• The Lucy EP (2001)
• Ford 1 (2001)
• Ford 2 (2001)

Overcast! is Atmospheres breakthrough first album, released in 1997. ... Tracklist Free Or Dead [Ford One] Party For The Fight to Write Theyre All Gonna Laugh @ You Free Or Dub Party For The Fight to Write [Instrumental] Just Tryin to Make Friends With Your DeeJay Category: ‪Album stubs‬ ... Tracklist Lost And Found The Woman With The Tattooed Hands Nothing But Sunshine Travel Tattooed Instrumental Nothing But Beats Travelling Music ...

Compilations

• Sean Likes Ugly Girls
• Lucy Ford: The Atmosphere EPs
• Headshots: SE7EN (2005)
• Strictly Leakage (2007)
• All of the Sad Clown Albums

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)

Modern Mans Hustle is a hip hop single, released on May, 23, 2002, by Atmosphere. ... GodLovesUgly is a single by Atmosphere, released on November 19, 2002 via 12 vinyl. ... Cats Van Bags is a hip hop single released on the 26th of August, 2003, by the group Atmosphere. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... National Disgrace is a hip hop single, released on the 19th of April, 2006, by the group Atmosphere. ... Watch Out is a hip hop single released on the 9th of September, 2005, by the group Atmosphere. ... Say Hey There is a hip hop single released on the 11th of April, 2006, by the group Atmosphere. ...

See also

• Underground rap
• Slug (rapper)
• Ant (producer)

Underground rap is a term sometimes used to describe forms of rap music which have little or no mainstream appeal, visibility or commercial presence. ... Sean Daley, (born on September 7, 1972) better known by his stage name Slug, is an underground rapper from Minneapolis, Minnesota. ... Ant is a hip hop producer, whose full name is Anthony Davis. ...

References

1. ^ Felt. Rhymesayers Entertainment. Retrieved on 2007-05-30.
2. ^ Wiley, M. (2003-10-10). IGN Interview, Page 3. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-05-30.

Official Logo Rhymesayers Entertainment is an underground hip-hop music label based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, co-founded in 1995 by Slug, a member of the group Atmosphere. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 150th day of the year (151st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 283rd day of the year (284th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... IGN - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 150th day of the year (151st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

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 the All Music Guide
• 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)