Atmosphere has always been one of my favorite hip hop groups, and rapper Slug (Sean Daley) and beatmaker/producer Ant (Anthony Davis) did not disappoint in their performance at The Novo on February 7.
The two have been making music together under the name Atmosphere since the late ’90s. A lot of the music this Minneapolis duo creates is considered part of one of my favorite sub-genres of hip hop known as conscious rap (aka backpack rap) because their lyrics discuss or allude to social issues and movements for change. (Slug apparently also coined the term “emo rap” as a joke back in ’97.)
Many of Atmosphere’s song lyrics tell stories that depict struggles and hardships. These first-person narratives are often unapologetically self-deprecating, conveying a sense of vulnerability that brings the listener closer to the artist. Many of us can identify with being aware of our imperfections, but Atmosphere reminds us that we’re all human and flawed and that’s ok.
I always wondered whether Slug and Ant chose their stage names together and if they decided to both be types of bugs for a reason, hoping that their names had some hidden meaning (that they would become an infestation in hip hop, perhaps?). To my dismay, I found a Livewire interview where Slug said his dad’s nickname was Sluggo, and this nickname was passed along to him by his dad’s friends and eventually shortened to Slug. It seems that Anthony already had the stage name Ant when he met Slug, so I’ll sadly accept that their bugginess is just a coincidence.
Moving on to the show…
Openers: The Lioness and deM atlaS
The Lioness opened the show with some fierce lyrics and emphatic delivery on The Novo stage. Another Minneapolis native, deM atlaS (Joshua Turner), was up next with an emotional performance.
Atmosphere
Part of why I love seeing Atmosphere live so much is the energy they exhibit and the way Slug interacts with the crowd. Rather than just going on stage and reciting his lyrics, he delivers them with such enthusiasm and makes full use of the stage. His body movements and hand gestures reinforce that excitement. Between songs, he often asks the audience how they’re feeling, if they’re excited, and for other feedback. The audience feeds off his energy as much as he feeds off theirs. When you combine that with Atmosphere’s profound lyrics, you can’t help but feel your spirits lifted at his shows.
At one point during the concert, I looked over and noticed that the girl next to me had tears streaming down her face as she watched the show. That’s how moving Atmosphere can be.
“God Loves Ugly”
After a few songs, Atmosphere started “GodLovesUgly” with Slug saying, “I’m having a great day. I’m having a great time. I’m happy to be here. I’m happy to be alive. Let me hear ya’ll say, ‘Alright I’m having a glorious fucking night… ’” as Ant started the music to the song.
This seems to be a trend with Atmosphere when they perform that song live.
In their 2015 set at Bonaroo, they started “God Loves Ugly” in the same way.
I also found someone’s Instagram post on December 12, 2014, that shows yet another video of Atmosphere beginning the song that way.
In another instance, I saw Atmosphere perform at the Hollywood Palladium on September 6, 2014, where they began the song with Slug saying something along the lines of, “Hell yes, I’m having a great day. I’m having a beautiful day. I’m happy to be here. I’m happy to be alive.”
Whether to hype up the crowd or to remind everyone not to take the night for granted, I’ve yet to find the reason behind this choice of words, why they’re at the beginning of this particular song, and when Slug started saying them at shows.
If you know anything about this or have seen Atmosphere live where they’ve done this yet again, please comment and let me know!
Update: Slug also began “God Loves Ugly” at the Electric Ballroom in London on April 23, 2019, in the same way.
“Sunshine”
Of course Atmosphere had to perform their fan favorite (and one of my all-time favorite songs) “Sunshine.”
About halfway through the song, Slug again said the lines, “Put your hands in the sky like you’re happy to be alive. Alright, make some noise tonight like you’re happy to be alive.” Those of us in the crowd made sure Slug and Ant knew we were stoked to be there and happy to be alive that night, and nearly everyone in the audience sang along to “Sunshine.”
In the lyrics of this feel-good, cheerful song, Slug gives shoutout to fellow Minnesota native and fellow Rhymesayers co-founder Musab Saad (aka Beyond) with the line, “It reminds me of one of them Musab lines like, ‘Sunshine, sunshine it’s fine. I feel it in my skin, warming up my mind. Sometimes you gotta give in to win, I love the days when it shines, whoa let it shine.’” The song he is referring to and sampling the lyrics of are Beyond’s “Sunny Days.” Beyond’s original version has a much more somber tone than “Sunshine” but nearly identical lyrics: “Sunshine, sunshine, it’s fine. I can feel it hit my skin, warmin’ up my mind. Arise daily to the sun rays, I love the days when it shines. Oh let it shine.”
Beyond is also featured in “Current Status” and “Adjust” from Atmosphere’s 1997 debut album Overcast! (which is Atmosphere’s only album with MC Spawn, who left the group after they finished the album). Beyond (credited as Musab) was featured more recently in Atmosphere’s song “Earring” from their October 2018 album Mi Vida Local.
6 Degrees of Music: Chain Lyric Samples
In deM atlaS’ song “A Happy Sad,” he uses lyrics similar to Musab’s (and Atmosphere’s): “Sunshine, sunshine, aw it’s fine, feel it in my skin, warming up my… ” and changes the line “mind” to “ass crack” (although that’s not my favorite new concluding lyric for that verse). In the same song, deM also puts a spin on the lyrics, “I’m happy, I’m feeling glad, got sunshine, in a bag” from the Gorillaz song “Clint Eastwood” (that features Del the Funky Homosapien) by saying, “I’ve got sunshine in a bag, and I’m happy, that I’m sad.” Perhaps deM atlaS was searching for songs with the word “sunshine” in them to reinforce the happy part of his “A Happy Sad” song.
Ok, tangent over. Back to the show again…
“The Best Day”
For those of you not familiar with Atmosphere, that heading isn’t commentary on my experience being the best day (although it was pretty epic); it was another song Atmosphere performed. As the beat began, Slug started the song by saying, “Hold that number 1 up high, because you’re number 1 Los Angeles! Let me see that smile!” and held his number 1 (index finger) up in the air as well. He then started into the song by exaggeratedly imitating the sound of the beginning chords with raspy singing: “Bow doww doww doww doww.“
Fun fact: “The Best Day” samples lyrics from “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five featuring Grandmaster Melle Mel and Duke Bootee. The lyrics sampled are, “I’m not going to school. The teacher’s a joke, he must think I’m a fool,” and Slug then continues with his own lyrics (some of my favorite), “Class warfare up and down the hallways”…
Then Evidence Came!
A surprise appearance by Evidence (of Dilated Peoples and Step Brothers) pumped up the crowd. He joined Slug in performing their song “Powder Cocaine” (written by Evidence and Slug and produced by Alchemist). As Evidence was finishing his verse in the song, Slug went over and gave him a hug.
Closing
Next, deM atlaS and Lioness came out at the end and performed “Drown,” another song from Mi Vida Local, with Slug and Ant.
More Concert Videos
To see my YouTube playlist of more videos I took at the concert, click here.
