The hip hop phenomena known as Atmosphere has been around since 1996. Today, the music group's two main members are Slug (MC) and Ant (Producer/Tour DJ) and the duo have been labeled as the "Godfather of the alternate hip hop scene". Currently the group has been continuing their two year long tour and dropping a new album.

It was only three short years since this Minneapolis hip hop group had dropped their last full length record, titled When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Sh*t Gold. Since then the duo has released Leak at Will, a free EP with 7 tracks, and To All My Friends, Blood Makes The Blade Holy: The Atmosphere EP. The latter was a combination of EP which was released on Sept. 7th, 2010 for the "To All My Friends" tour.  The album shot to the #2 spot on iTunes top 10 album downloads the week of Sept. 11, 2010. The album was meant to be "an homage to their friends". Currently, the godfathers have released their latest full length record, entitled The Family Sign.

According to their official Facebook, the new record is said to be "a tribute to their true extended family: their fans, their loved ones, and each other." The Family Sign is a self reflection of the growing of Atmosphere's family. The duo was joined in studio by long time touring musicians Nate "The Guitar Man" Collis (guitar) and Erick Anderson (keys). Along with their growing professional family, at home the family saw two real-life children. Slug had this to say about where the lyrics from The Family Sign came from:

"I drew from the same places that inspired the lyrics to the last record [When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Sh*t Gold]. Like the last record I didn't really try and write 3rd person stories. It just happened. I really took a look at the songs on our last record. I wrote a song about a woman who was a single parent. I mean, I got a lot of validation for that song. A lot of people/women wrote me to tell me that I got the "story" right but I mean really; how the fuck do I know what it's like to be a single woman raising a kid?!!? At the end of the day I am a male artist projecting what I think it's like for a woman to be in that situation. Ever since then I pay more attention to what I am trying to say and how I say it."

Through the better part of the past two years, Atmosphere has been touring. Slug has this to say about the pros and cons of touring:

"Trying to maintain a healthy day-to-day lifestyle from sleep to food to exercise. That's easily the worst. The best is the constant distractions when you're on tour. You don't get bored. There's always something to play with and something to do."

Additionally, man behind the mic has this to say when asked if he was born with the natural gift of MCing:

"I'm sure it came with practice and experience. I don't know too many natural born MCs. Most of them are practiced MCs. The only person I would say I've seen or heard that I would say are natural born MCs are KRS, Nas and Rakim. Everyone else has practiced a lot and cares about their craft a lot."

Atmosphere is currently on their US tour. With only four, including today, more dates you may miss this incredible duo:

08.25 - Santa Cruz, CA @ Civic Auditorium
08.26 - Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theatre
08.27 - Mesa, AZ @ Mesa Amphitheatre
08.28 - Albuquerque, NM @ Convention Center
09.13 - Madison, WI @ Orpheum Theatre*
09.14 - Louisville, KY @ Headliners Music Hall*
09.15 - Athens, GA @ New Earth Music Hall*
09.16 - Miami Beach, FL @ The Fillmore*
09.18 - Orlando, FL @ The Beacham*
09.20 - Jacksonville Beach, FL @ Freebird Live*
09.21 - New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues*
09.22 - Houston, TX @ House of Blues*
09.23 - Dallas, TX @ House of Blues*
09.24 - Oklahoma City, OK @ Diamond Ballroom*
09.26 - Lawrence, KS @ Liberty Hall*
09.27 - Omaha, NE @ The Slowdown*

*without Prof and DJ Babu

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Source of Quotes: Westword Blogs, Associate Content