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Atmosphere (music group)

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Atmosphere
Years active1996–present
MembersSlug
Ant

Biography

Atmosphere is a Minnesota Hip Hop group, formed around 1994. At its creation, the group was called Urban Atmosphere. Atmosphere originally consisted of Spawn (MC) ANT (producer) and Slug (DJ at the time). After the Spawn left the group (now rapping under the name Rek The Heavyweight) the line up was set, with Slug, ANT and a rotating DJ. Currently the group consists of rapper Slug (Sean Daley), producer Ant (Anthony Davis), and Touring DJ Mr. Dibbs (Brad Forste). Slug is also one of the co-founders of a Minneapolis hip hop label called Rhymesayers Entertainment and an independent record store called Fifth Element.


Members

Slug (Sean Daley) [AKA Sept Sev Seven]

After Atmosphere was formed, Slug was a member of a loose collective known as The Rhymesayers Collective. 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. Slug then appeared on the rare 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. And, he is the lyrical genius behind The large collective of Atmosphere releases.

Ant (Anthony Davis)

Ant produced his first CD, an album titled 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 was The Lucy Ford: The Atmosphere EP'. They include Jel and Moodswing 9. More recently he released a two-part mixtape series titled Melodies And Memories and features remixes of songs made in the late 70's and throughout the 80's.

Spawn (Derek Turner)

Spawn, now known as Rek The Heavyweight, left the group following the release of Overcast!.

Mr. Dibbs

Mr. Dibbs (never offically a part of Atmosphere) is the off and on touring DJ for Atmosphere.

Touring

File:Atmosphere Admats Pour Me Another.jpg
Pour Me Another Tour (2005)

As of 2005, the Pour Me Another Tour, Atmosphere now tours with a full live band: Nate Collis - Guitar, Brett Johnson - Bass, Erick Anderson - Keyboards, and Patrick Armitage - drums. Mr. Dibbs is still listed as Touring DJ, but Ant is also touring for the first time in Atmosphere's History. The band brings a new, jazzy element, and depth to Atmosphere's sound.
At the Fillmore in Denver, Colorado, the show sold-out with Blueprint and POS opening, not to mention other routine sell-out shows across the nation, especially in the Twin Cities and LA.



Lyrical Content

Slug's rhymes focus on his personal truths regarding politics, women, and other physical and emotional experiences. Many of his raps tell elaborate stories, often doing away with the chorus to better facilitate storytelling. Many of Atmosphere's recordings are considered to be "conscious rap" and "emo rap," the latter a term Slug despises and says is a shortcut record editors use to describe his music. Slug's popular songs deal with his difficult and self-deprecating relationships with women, whom he generally labels Lucy. Slug also raps about "slice of life moments," where he documents a police man's struggles with power (The Lucy Ford: The Atmosphere EP's [Between The Lines,] a worker in a convenience store tired of the 9-5, and sexual deviance and intrigue turned awry (The Lucy Ford: The Atmosphere EP's [The Woman With The Tattooed Hands]. Atmosphere also has a large female following.

Collaborations

Slug has also released two albums with Murs from the westcoast Living Legends group. The idea for Felt: A Tribute to Christina Ricci, their first album as a duo, came about while on tour. The two decided to see if they could garner some extra media attention for Ricci by dedicating their album to her. (Slug says Ricci hasn't said anything about it.) This studio set was produced by The Grouch from Living Legends. Their second collaboration, Felt Vol. 2: A Tribute to Lisa Bonet, produced by Ant, was released 2005. Slug has also been featured on albums by Brother Ali, Vakill, P.O.S., Blueprint, Jean Grae, Static & Nat Ill, and several Living Legends albums to name a few.

Album History

Overcast!

Overcast!

Overcast! was Atmosphere's first LP. Before Overcast!, Atmosphere recorded on several of the rare HeadShot cassette tapes. At Overcast!'s release, Atmosphere's members were Slug, Spawn and Ant. It featured guest shots from Beyond. The Overcast! EP contained several tracks not featured on the CD. Most popular, "God's Bathroom Floor," available only on the EP and cassette release of Overcast!, was not included on the CD. A live version of the track can be found on Sad Clown Bad Dub and a studio version can be found on Sad Clown Bad Dub 7.

Sad Clown Bad Dub II

File:Atmosphere Album Sad Clown Bad Dub II.jpg
Sad Clown Bad Dub II

Atmosphere's third CD. This is an actual release, recorded on 4 track. It was sold while the band was on tour. A rare CD, only 500 were originally made, each hand-numbered by Slug. Now a re-pressed version is sold through Rhymesayers.

Seven's Travels

Seven's Travels

Atmosphere's second most recent album, Seven's Travels was released on Epitaph Records, a major punk label. It features a much more experimental, mainstream sound, especially in the beats and background music, but also in the vocal style. Seven's Travels seems to play like a high quality version of a Sad Clown Bad Dub. Most of the songs have been done before, and is more a loose collection, or best of, of concert songs. In My Continental, Los Angeles, Reflections, Say shhh... are songs that appeared on various Sad Clown Bad Dub releases. Slug has referred to this album as his "De La Soul record" because of its narrative songs and its relative optimism.

A hidden track on the disc, "Say Shhh...," is a tribute to Minnesota and the Midwest. Originally featured on the mixtape Midwest Broadcast, it was used as the track that launched Minnesota Public Radio's contemporary music service "The Current" on KCMP 89.3 FM in the Twin Cities in 2005

Their track 'Trying to find a Balance' from the Seven's Travels album was featured on 2004's Tony Hawk's Underground 2 video game.

You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having

File:CantImagine1005.jpg
You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having

Atmosphere released You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having on October 4, 2005. Ant brings more rugged production to this effort, drawing stylistically on some of Slug's early influences, LL Cool J, Public Enemy, and De La Soul. Slug has clarified that the title of the album is not a sarcastic statement; that he and his "friends" are having the happiest times of their lives.

The darkest song on the album, "That Night," is about a girl who was raped and killed after an Atmosphere show.

The main single from the album, "Watch Out," was featured in a national And1 commercial that aired briefly during NBA and NCAA broadcasts in Winter 2005-06. The second ad in the campaign used the images and voice of Marcus Camby backed by the first instrumental from Rhymesayers labelmate and underground hip-hop heavyweight MF DOOM's song "Change the Beat" (released under DOOM's alias Viktor Vaughn on the album Vaudeville Villain).

The first track from the album, "The Arrival," was featured on 2006's EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 3 video game.

Discography

EPs

Albums

Sad Clown Bad Dub Series

HeadShots [Cassette Tape]

Singles

Collaborations

Bootleg

Unofficial

See also

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