Fourteen years ago today [June 11], Minneapolis Hip Hop duo, Atmosphere, released its second full-length album, God Loves Ugly. Comprised of emcee Sean “Slug” Daley and producer/DJ Anthony “Ant” Davis, Atmosphere put Minneapolis Hip Hop on the map.
Thanks to a distribution deal with Fat Beats, the album went on to sell more than 130,000 copies in the United States. The single, “Modern Man’s Hustle,” reached #18 on the Billboard Hot Rap Tracks chart. On January 20, 2009, God Loves Ugly was re-released after being out of print for over a year.
Along with Musab Saad and Brent Sayers, Daley and Davis helped establish the label Rhymesayers Entertainment, which has since grown into an impenetrable empire of indie Hip Hop, home to artists such as Aesop Rock, deM atlaS and P.O.S. of Doomtree.
Atmosphere is now eight albums deep and consistently tours around the world. The duo’s last album, 2014’s Southsiders, debuted at #8 on the Billboard 200 chart.
