Midwest underground hip-hopper Sean Daley, a.k.a. Slug, has nothing but love for everyone.
“I’ll hug anybody,” Slug insists. “Seriously.”
This is not a normal tone from a genre of music often associated with guns and degrading women. Slug feels growing up in the Midwest contributed to that.
“Everyone I meet from different scenes has so many politics involved in what they’re doing,” Slug explains. “I don’t have to deal with too much of that.”
Atmosphere, which consists of Slug, DJ Mr. Dibbs and appearances by background rapper Crescent Moon, released its third album, God Loves Ugly, earlier this summer. The new release represents a change in tone from Atmosphere’s prior release, Lucy Ford.
“It means that beautiful people are evil,” Slug answers when asked the meaning behind the title.
With song titles such as “F*ck You Lucy” and “Vampires,” Atmosphere’s tone has changed from a nice bass-driven beat on “Party for the Fight to Write” to more melodramatic and gloomy sensibilities on the new release. The difference in tone is not due to a newfound depressive state; instead, it’s closer to what Atmosphere really sounds like when compared to Lucy Ford.
“Lucy Ford was a step outside of Atmosphere,” Slug explains. When asked for the reason behind the tone change, Slug jokingly replies, “I have no idea … I found God.”
A tour consisting of 62 shows in 71 days with supporting slots filled by artists such as Brother Ali with BK One, Murs from Living Legends, DeeJay Bird and Atmosphere (which will feature Slug, Mr. Dibbs and Blueprint from Soul Position) is set to start in Madison.
“I just played [Minneapolis] not too long ago, so rather than playing here, I decided to play in Madison,” Slug explained.
Although Atmosphere has toured through Madison many times in the past years, this tour promises to be different. “This is a lot longer with a more diverse crowd and musicians,” Slug said. “Usually, I get stuck with a band of seven like-minded individuals, whereas this time there are seven people almost painfully different from each other.”
Besides the eclectic grouping of musicians, the type of hip-hop crowds flocking to see Atmosphere shows is gaining diversity with more and more female and white patronage. Slug feels this isn’t due to Atmosphere alone.
“The audience overall of underground rap is changing. Period.” Slug says. “I approach it the same way as I always did. They allow me to be me; as long as they continue to do that, I won’t shoot any of them.”
Being labeled as underground hip-hop’s sex symbol couldn’t hurt either. “That’s weird. That’s so hard not to be,” Slug says. “You’re basically calling me a failure to my face,” he jokingly adds.
With the release of God Loves Ugly, the publicity for Rhyme Sayers (Atmosphere’s label, which features Eyedea, Abilities and a half dozen other acts) has increased. With this in mind, many criticize underground hip-hoppers for blowing up and crossing over to the mainstream.
“There’s probably a lot of little elitists going, ‘They were cool when nobody knew who they were,’ and now going, ‘F*ck ’em!'” Slug explains.
He doesn’t sweat the criticism. Slug thinks people seem to hate others in the name of becoming better people. He actually welcomes this behavior.
“If you’re one of those people that gets mad at individuals for coming out of obscurity, that’s just a part of who you are,” he says. “If it makes you a better person to sh*t on me, then I will lay down on the sidewalk and let you sh*t over me.”
However, Slug doesn’t plan to change his tune to coincide with mainstream tastes. “I don’t even know what [tone] I’ve been going with so far,” Slug says. “We’re going to continue as confused and blinded by everything as we always were.”
As far as the future of Rhyme Sayers and Slug himself, he feels he won’t be in the limelight much longer.
“I think that once we’re able to break a few more of these artists, people are going to forget about me,” he says. In actuality, Slug doesn’t mind allowing new artists to take his spot on stage.
“I’ll be able to sit back on a phone at a desk and sell you Brother Ali’s record,” he says happily. “It’s just me being aware of my possibilities and potential.”
Being modest about his success has always been something that has come up in prior interviews.
“It’s not that I’m not as good as the rest of them–it’s that I don’t put as much into being dope.” Slug explains. “I’d rather put more into something different.”
Brother Ali with BK One, Murs from Living Legends, DeeJay Bird and Atmosphere, which will feature Slug, Mr. Dibbs and Blueprint from Soul Position, are set to rock it onstage at the Orpheum Sept. 8.
