Atmosphere brings ‘emo-rap’ to the masses

‘We were like Trekkies about it’
But, even though he eschews many of its conventions, Slug’s relationship to hip-hop is nearly as complicated as his relationship with women. The son of a white mother and a black father who divorced when he was a teenager, Slug spent his youth idolizing rappers like KRS-One and LL Cool J.

“Me and my friends, we were like Trekkies about it,” Slug said. “We were fanatics. I still collect every ... book that comes out about hip-hop. When I was a kid and if KRS-One or Chuck D even mentioned a book — even if it wasn’t about hip-hop — I ran out and read it.”

By his late teens, Slug was rapping with a loose-knit group of friends and musicians that dubbed themselves the Rhymesayers Collective. He soon hooked up with DJ and producer Ant — real name Anthony Davis — who remains to this day his chief partner, spinning the beats and remaining the only other permanent member of Atmosphere.

A strong element in assembling its fervent following was Atmosphere’s early dedication to nearly constant touring, what Kranz called “the real punk-rock approach. It didn’t matter to them if they were playing in front of 15 people or 150.”

Slug always rapped in front of a full band, too, in contrast to many rappers who share the stage with a DJ. On the tour for the new release, though, Ant for the first time will share the stage with Slug for half the show, with a full band taking over for the other half.

On a recent late-summer afternoon, as Slug loitered on the roof deck of his record label office while dragging on a marijuana pipe, a young fan on the street below returned the love in the way that only a true Atmosphere fan would.

“Slug smells! Slug smells!” he yelled, then flashed the peace sign as the car he was sitting in drove off.

Slug laughed, rolled his eyes and said, “I’m special here.”

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