Not since that paisley purple funk-filled egg cracked open to reveal Prince has Minneapolis produced such crucial musicians. Indie hip-hop duo Atmosphere — made up of MC Slug and producer Ant, primarily — has been cranking out conscious-raising, metaphor-laced sagas in album form for close to 15 years. Overcast!, their first official album as Atmosphere, debuted in 1997. On fan favorite Lucy Ford, Slug introduced ongoing recurring character “Lucy,” a lyrical metaphor for wack chicks and relationship woes. The complex, introspective God Loves Ugly reinforced the duo’s willingness to both spit some tough game and walk home with their proverbial tale between their legs, two themes explored further on the female-trouble-oriented Seven’s Travels. After 2005’s You Can’t Imagine How Much Fun We’re Having was met with mixed reviews, Atmosphere returned last month to drop the brilliantly named When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That S*** Gold, which entered The Billboard 200 at #5 — a career-high for the duo and their Rhymesayers label.
The album is as complex as anything Slug and Ant have dreamed up in the past. The mix is lush, the guests include a beatboxing Tom Waits and TV On The Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe, and (our favorite part) the deluxe edition boasts a hardcover, a bonus DVD (Sad Clown Bad Dub 13) and a Slug-penned children’s story across it’s 36 pages. Awesome!
Let’s just say we love it, which is why we tapped Slug and Ant to set up shop — in this case, a hip-hop lemonade stand — all this week on MTV.
Moreover, you can dig into plenty of Atmosphere on MTV.com. Like the music videos for Lemons‘ “Guarantees” and “Shoulda Known,” among others, photos from the MTV shoot, and clips from MTV2’s Subterranean. And don’t miss the interview Slug gave MTV’s Sucker Free blog.
It gets even better. Take your adoration for Atmosphere worldwide web-style with Tag It on the duo’s Paint That S*** Gold web site. Use the virtual spraypaint to make your mark anywhere and submit it to the gallery. Just don’t deface Buzzworthy, k? Thanks.
While you’re here, watch “Guarantees” and their Artist of the Week videos here: