Introduction

Atmosphere is an underground hip hop group from Minneapolis, MN led by members Slug (aka Sean Daley) and Ant (aka Anthony Davis) . The group is part of an underground hip hop network originating in the area during the 1980s when both members of the group collaborated with other local artists. Atmosphere was founded in 1994 by both current members as well as Spawn (aka Derek Turner), who left the group not long after the release of the first album. Atmosphere came out with its first album in 1998 entitled Overcast!. Since then, the group has come out with five additional albums. The group defines itself as "anti-gansta rap" and instead of dealing with issues of violence and money, grapples with introspective themes such as the demise of Slug's relationship with a longtime girlfriend in "Lucy Ford," and the singer's drug and alcoholic past.

Three things that I find interesting about this group is that it is "anti-gangsta rap," its members are of mixed ethnicities, and the group has actively chosen to remain part of the underground scene rather than signing with a major record label and giving into the mainstream music industry. In this ethnography, I want to understand these three things that make Atmosphere appear to be an anomaly in the hip hop world, as well as how these things create a specific fan base for the group.

Some initial questions I will ask:

What draws people to listen to this type of music?

Who listens to it?

Do they consider it to be within the same genre as other hip hop and rap artists, or do its "anti-gansta rap", anti-mainstream values cause it to actually be in a separate and original musical genre?