by Quinn Lemon
Instead of giving the top 10 songs for the week, this article will be about a musical group that few people know - Atmosphere. Atmosphere, a Minneapolis-based rap group, formed in 1989. Its members include rapper Slug (Sean Daley) and the DJ/producer Ant (Anthony Davis). Their former member and co-founder, Spawn (Derek Turner), left after their first album Overcast! because he believed that the group wouldn't go anywhere. Other former members include Stress (Brent Sayers) and Beyond (Musab Saad).
The members of the band met in high school and performed under the name Mental Subjects. They then changed their name to A Rhythmic Culture, and finally to Urban Atmosphere. Original group members, Stress and Slug, met Ant through group member Beyond and welcomed the opportunity to work with him. Slug thought that Ant was good and saw an opportunity to work with him. They soon started recording tracks together and later dropped "Urban" from their name.
Their first album Overcast! was released in 1997. It was viewed by a wider audience than expected due to the amount of airplay of the album's single, "Scapegoat". The album was received very well by critics; it earned a 9.5 out of 10 by Rap Reviews.
After their debut album came God Loves Ugly, released in 2001. It sold 130,000 copies and reached #18 on the Billboard Hot Rap Tracks charts. It, too, was received well by critics.
Seven's Travels, their 2003 release, reached #1 on KTUH's charts for the week of October 6, 2003. Again, critics raved. It received 4 out of 5 stars from HipHopDX.
When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint that **** Gold (2008) was one of their best albums. Selling 36,000 copies within its first week of release, it debuted at number 5 on the U.S. Billboard 200. This was the first time one of their albums reached the top ten on the Billboard 200. Critics awarded 5 out of 5 stars and praised Ant’s producing skills and Slug’s smooth storytelling. HipHopDX gave it 4.5 out 5 stars, and The New York Times said that it was favorable.
Their most recent album, The Family Sign(2011), debuted at number 13 on the Billboard 200 and sold 28,000 copies within its first week of release. This did not receive as much critical praise as When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint that **** Gold, but it was still liked among critics with AllMusic giving it 3.5 out 5 of stars.
It is not known whether or not Atmosphere is working on another album, but it is certain that many people are waiting.
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