Atmosphere

"Atmosphere finally made a good record . . . yeah, right, that shit almost sounds convincing," raps Minneapolis-based MC Slug, head of the Rhymesayers collective and label, in "Trying to Find a Balance," on Atmosphere's 2003 Seven's Travels LP. Actually Atmosphere has put out plenty of good records, the most recent being the reissue of a mixtape from '97-'99 called Headshots: Se7en. Usually Atmosphere's live show is Slug rapping while the devilish Mr. Dibbs of 1200 Hobos runs the turntables (in the studio, Ant lays down Atmosphere's beats). But for this tour, in support of the forthcoming You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having, Slug is bringing along a full band to back up his bleeding-heart, emotive rhyme-slinging. Slug's become something of the Conor Oberst of the backpacker hip-hop set, the broken heartthrob that all the little girls want to fix. Don't be surprised if you see some lingerie thrown at the stage when he hits town.