Hip hop duo Atmosphere on a quarter-century of hustle
- Text by Huck HQ / Nick McGregor
- Photography by Beth Saravo
#34 – Atmosphere
Hip hop’s true DIY spirit might be best personified by Minneapolis, Minnesota, duo Atmosphere. Long accustomed to being ignored by the bicoastal hip hop power structure, MC Sean ‘Slug’ Daley and DJ/producer Anthony ‘Ant’ Davis founded a record label (Rhymesayers Entertainment) in 1995, a festival (Soundset) in 1997, and a record store (Fifth Element) in 1999 – all before any of their albums broke big. How does Slug feel about a quarter century in the hip hop game?
“I make no apologies for the fact that I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing half the time. A lot of shit is outside my control, and I’m okay with that. That is a breath of fresh air as an artist. I appreciate the fact that my fans don’t expect me to be extra cool all the time. People allow me the room to be the idiot, or the inspiration, or just the exhausted person that I’m going to be. I’m an artist, but another part of me is a small business owner and an A&R guy. All of these things make up the shit that I write about. No matter who I am at any given moment, I can be that – as long as I’m not an asshole. The only time people get mad is when you treat them like shit. But I can’t remember the last time I treated somebody like shit. That sounds arrogant, but I mean it: you don’t have to treat people like shit unless you’re trying to.”
This is just a short excerpt from Huck’s Fiftieth Special, a collection of fifty personal stories from fifty inspiring lives.
Grab a copy now to read all fifty stories in full. Subscribe to make sure you don’t miss another issue.
Latest on Huck
Meet the trans-led hairdressers providing London with gender-affirming trims
Open Out — Since being founded in 2011, the Hoxton salon has become a crucial space the city’s LGBTQ+ community. Hannah Bentley caught up with co-founder Greygory Vass to hear about its growth, breaking down barbering binaries, and the recent Supreme Court ruling.
Written by: Hannah Bentley
Gazan amputees secure Para-Cycling World Championships qualification
Gaza Sunbirds — Alaa al-Dali and Mohamed Asfour earned Palestine’s first-ever top-20 finish at the Para-Cycling World Cup in Belgium over the weekend.
Written by: Isaac Muk
New documentary revisits the radical history of UK free rave culture
Free Party: A Folk History — Directed by Aaron Trinder, it features first-hand stories from key crews including DiY, Spiral Tribe, Bedlam and Circus Warp, with public streaming available from May 30.
Written by: Isaac Muk
Rahim Fortune’s dreamlike vision of the Black American South
Reflections — In the Texas native’s debut solo show, he weaves familial history and documentary photography to challenge the region’s visual tropes.
Written by: Miss Rosen
Why Katy Perry’s space flight was one giant flop for mankind
Galactic girlbossing — In a widely-panned, 11-minute trip to the edge of the earth’s atmosphere, the ‘Women’s World’ singer joined an all-female space crew in an expensive vanity advert for Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin. Newsletter columnist Emma Garland explains its apocalypse indicating signs.
Written by: Emma Garland
Katie Goh: “I want people to engage with the politics of oranges”
Foreign Fruit — In her new book, the Edinburgh-based writer traces her personal history through the citrus fruit’s global spread, from a village in China to Californian groves. Angela Hui caught up with her to find out more.
Written by: Katie Goh
