MUSIC Hot hip hop Atmosphere of Minneapolis comes to GF Sunday

Atmosphere, a hip hop act coming Sunday to the Alerus Ballroom, is the hottest thing going on the Minneapolis hip hop scene right now, the event promoter says - but he's not the only one saying good things about Atmosphere and the rapper Slug.

Entertainment Weekly magazine said: "With passionate inflection and pristine delivery, Slug toggles neatly among the poetic, preachy and provocative, sometimes hitting all at once."

From Rolling Stone: "One can feel Atmosphere loosening modern hip-hop from its moorings and yanking it into some weirder and far more interesting place."

With national and international tours and its latest CD, "You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having," Atmosphere is getting noticed way beyond the Twin Cities.

Atmosphere's beginnings go back to 1997, when Atmosphere released it's debut album, "Overcast!" Slug (aka Sean Daley) and producer Ant (Anthony Davis), with then-member Spawn, delivered an album that would introduce a small audience to Midwest rap, the performer's bio says.

After a year, the Atmosphere song, "Scapegoat," received national play on college radio and Atmosphere was becoming discovered outside the Twin Cities. During this time, both Slug and Ant also were involved in one of independent rap's first underground supergroups, The Dynospectrum.

In 1999, Atmosphere began touring (with DJ Abilities and Eyedea) in Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota, Missouri, Kansas and Texas, according to a news release. "Ford One" and "Ford Two," singles released through Fat Beats, included such songs as "Party For The Fight To Write," "Woman With The Tattooed Hands" and "Nothing But Sunshine."

In 2000, Atmosphere began a tour that took it to the East Coast for the first time. Without a solid distribution system, Atmosphere was bringing its music to the people "in a van, on the road, one show at a time selling the music hand to hand," its publicity said.

In 2001, Atmosphere toured more than ever, performing throughout North America and Europe and produced its third recording, "God Loves Ugly." A 2003 album, "Seven's Travels," sold more than 150,000 copies in the United States alone, putting Atmosphere at the top of the niche underground-independent rap genre.

Atmosphere went from "all-night drives to play in front of only 25 people, to multiple sold-out shows" in Minneapolis, San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Austin, Seattle and Los Angeles. In 2004, Atmosphere appeared on TV's "Jimmy Kimmel Live." The summer months of 2005 were spent putting the final touches on the new Atmosphere album, "You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having."

Making a name

A VH1 Web site says of Atmosphere: "They are widely considered to be one of the most successful underground rap groups. Slug's rhymes focus on his personal truths regarding politics, women and other physical/emotional experiences."

One of Slug's favorite topics to rap about is his ex-girlfriend Lucy Ford, the site says, and many of his raps tell elaborate stories. Atmosphere also is known to have one of hip hop's largest female fan bases, the site says.