Atmosphere
Biography
Hip-hop outfit and Rhymesayers label heads Atmosphere represent the Twin Cities with introspective rhymes, creative storytelling, and classic production (often incorporating live instrumentation), building a devoted grassroots following with prolific output, collaborations, and consistent touring. First appearing as a trio during the mid-90s, Atmosphere settled into the core duo of rapper Slug and producer Ant, and first made a major impact on the hip-hop underground with 2001s Lucy Ford, a collection of three early EPs. Slugs lyrical focus shifted from personal struggles to character-based narratives with releases like fifth full-length When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold, which landed at number five on the Billboard 200 when it arrived in 2008. With releases like 2011s The Family Sign and 2018s Mi Vida Local, Atmospheres songs reflected on middle age and fatherhood, while 2020s The Day Before Halloween was an electro-tinged detour into dystopian paranoia. 2021s Word? was a more lighthearted return to a vintage boom-bap sound. As co-founders of Rhymesayers, they are also affiliated with a roster of like-minded hip-hop acts and curators of the annual Minneapolis music festival Soundset.
As a teenager, Slug (Sean Daley) became entranced with hip-hop, graffiti, and breakdancing, forming the Rhymesayers label and collective (originally known as Headshots) with two high-school friends, Siddiq Ali (Stress) and Derek Turner (Spawn). After some early gigs as Urban Atmosphere -- where Slug DJed behind Spawns rhyming -- the pair hooked up with producer Ant (Anthony Davis), as well as like-minded locals such as MC Musab, Mr. Gene Poole, and the Abstract Pack, forming an underground hip-hop clique dedicated to freestyling and clever lyricism. In 1997, Atmosphere released their debut album, Overcast!, which received college radio airplay and earned an underground hip-hop following thanks to Slugs deeply personal, poetic musings, as well as Ants bare-bones -- but inventive -- production.
Read full biography ↓
Atmosphere participated in the supergroup the Dynospectrum (who released a self-titled album on Rhymesayers in 1998) and Slug contributed to another supergroup, Anticons Deep Puddle Dynamics (whose full-length The Taste of Rain...Why Kneel appeared in 1999). The Headshots collective concluded their series of underground cassettes with a seventh volume in 1999, later reissued as an Atmosphere release called Headshots: Se7en. The group also began a series of limited releases (often sold exclusively on tour) titled Sad Clown Bad Dub, beginning with an extremely scarce 1999 cassette.
A year later, Atmosphere (then down to the duo of Slug and Ant) released the Ford One and Ford Two EPs, followed by the Lucy EP in 2001. Collected as the 2001 full-length Lucy Ford: The Atmosphere EPs, the three EPs were built around the theme of Slugs complicated relationship with his ex-girlfriend, the lost love of his life. As Atmospheres following increased beyond underground hip-hop circles, they toured consistently, both at home and overseas; while Ant usually didnt accompany the group on the road, Mr. Dibbs of the group 1200 Hobos often joined in behind the turntables while Slug was assisted on the mike by young rappers like the teenaged Eyedea. In June 2002, Atmosphere unleashed God Loves Ugly, an 18-track effort that returned to previous themes ("F*@k You Lucy"), but also contained the groups pop-friendly single "Modern Mans Hustle," which reached the Top 20 of the U.S. rap singles chart.
By this time indie rap superstars, Atmosphere returned with their fourth album, Sevens Travels, in 2003, followed two years later by You Cant Imagine How Much Fun Were Having. Following the records success, Ant began regularly touring with the group. They continued to put music out during the next couple of years, including the free download Strictly Leakage in late 2007, a near-party album that they followed up with When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold in April 2008. The record featured plenty of live instrumentation and guest background vocal spots from Tom Waits and TV on the Radios Tunde Adebimpe; it was also their highest-charting album, hitting number five on the Billboard 200. The "double EP" To All My Friends: Blood Makes the Blade Holy appeared in 2010, with the full-length album The Family Sign following in 2011.
In 2014, the group released the album Southsiders, which featured the single "Bitter" and became another Top Ten-charting hit. The following year, Atmosphere celebrated the ten-year anniversary of You Cant Imagine How Much Fun Were Having by reissuing the album as a four-LP set (including instrumental versions of all the albums songs), in addition to The Fun EP, a picture-disc vinyl issue of an EP of You Cant Imagine outtakes that was originally released as a promo CD in 2006. In 2016, they returned with Fishing Blues, an album that featured the single "Ringo" along with guest appearances from MF Doom, Kool Keith, and Aesop Rock. While the set peaked just outside the Top 20 on the Billboard 200, it became their second album to top the U.S. indie chart. Mi Vida Local, an urgent reflection on middle age, appeared in 2018, followed a year later by the full-length Whenever. The Day Before Halloween arrived on that exact date in 2020, with Atmosphere unexpectedly switching to sci-fi/horror-informed themes over spooky, synth-heavy backdrops. Nearly a year later, Ant and Slug swerved back to their signature sound with Word?, which included guests such as Evidence, Aesop Rock, Sa-Roc, and MF Doom.
Biography by Dan LeRoy
There are other artists with the same name:
2) A Polish rock group, established in 1993 in Leszno, Poland, with Marcin Rozynek as a vocalist. In 1994 the group appeared at Mokotowska Jesień Muzyczna, where they were runners-up just behind Myslovitz. Two years later they won competition Marlboro Rock In. In 1997, Atmosphere released their self-titled debut album, Atmosphere, and in 1999 released Europa Naftowa. Atmosphere was awarded the Album debut of the year 1997 by magazine Tylko Rock and was nominated for the award Fryderyk in 1998 in the category Debut of the Year. In 1998, Atmosphere appeared at the National Festival of Polish Song in Opole with song Niewielki Skrawek Ziemi. Disbanded after Marcin Rozynek departure for a solo career. However, Atmosphere regrouped recently with a new line-up and is recording a new album.
3) An obscure one hit wonder Italo-disco group of the early 80’s. The group was produced by Franco and Venise Scopinich, and their one single “Swede’s Scandal” was realased on Superradio Reccords (label owned by Franco and Venise Scopinich).
4) A thrash metal band of the same name from Vietnam who have released two demos. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.
