Rap and Minnesota is an oxymoron. Think abou it: what kind of connotations do we associate with the Mid West? An abyss? Farmers? Cold weather? Perhaps the biggest indoor rollercoaster in the world? Well stop thinking for a second. Imagine a crew that consists of dope lyricists and DJ’s that produce some of dopest music in hip-hop. RhymeSayers reinforces the conception that all you need to make hip-hop is two turntables and a microphone. In 92’, Sean Daley, a.k.a. Slug, spawned RhymeSayers, a hip-hop elite made up of local fam from Minnesota. RhymeSayers first started out as a regular B-Boy crew and eventually evolved into one of the most successful underground hip-hop labels around. Like most hip-hop labels, he had many fiscal issues. But like Darwin said in Descent with Modification, “Only the strongest survive.” Slug’s perseverance and skill has allowed him to open the 5th Element, a record store, and transform RhymeSayers into one of the most recognized hip-hop labels.

Hip-hop is multifaceted. Basically, you have those that treat hip-hop as a job, and those that live hip-hop. Atmosphere is the quintessential example of the latter. “When I put out a record, the profits made don’t go towards my pocket, they go towards putting the cat next to me record out,” he says. This philosophy is probably why RhymeSayers is so successful. Slug loves hip-hop. His major objective, other than producing great music, is making hip-hop available to the multitudes of Minnesota. He constantly hosts open mics searching for new talent and when he was growing up, he would have to drive all over to see cats perform. Now, he hopes he can walk there.

Slug has a pallid complexion. He looks like the kind of cat that is just finishing up college. He rocks old school Levis jeans, a baseball cap, and a button down shirt. His appearance does not exactly illustrate the typical rapper that our musical society is accustomed to. If I didn’t know what he looked like, I would have thought he worked at the venue where I met him. He is thirty years old but looks barely twenty-one(he also has an eight-year-old son). Slug first got interested in rap when he heard Grand Master Flash on the radio. He used to have friends that would go to NYC during the summer and observe the hip-hop movement that was going on concurrently. They would bring back vinyl as well as many other elements of the hip-hop culture. Back home they would adopt the culture and employ it into their lives. He used to break, catch tags and do freights, and spin the wheels; however, as he grew up and matured, hip-hop became less of a hobby and more of a job.

Slug is very down to earth. He is not a bullshit rapper: he doesn’t spit about the drugs he has abused and coming from a broken home even if that may be the case. He spits about life, thoughts that have diffused over his brain, old girlfriends, and anecdotes from when he was a young emcee, a tagger, a breaker, and coincidentally a DJ. Slug's music is not monotonous in any way. He approaches his craft from an introspective level, which would explain his large following. His rhymes are unique: “I’ll break it down / the ingredients of this recipe is 2 cups of step the fuck back and a teaspoon of don’t mess with me / unless you be like 3 times the emcee that you assume you is / best believe that whom exist / testing us is timorous.” His music can make you laugh; it can make you cry. Not only is he articulate, but his music also leaves the listener with something to think about. Atmosphere provides the type of music that you can play over and over on your Discman, never encountering a tedious song or redundant beat.

Atmosphere’s music attracts mixed audiences: kids of all ages (even though most their venues are 18+), men, women, black, white, Asian, Latin, Jewish, Christian etc… Why do all these people convene to go see this white boy from farmer country? His deliver and showmanship are spectacular. His DJs produce some of the dopest beats and scratches period. Girls dig him. Guys idolize him. Slug is a prophet to the backpacker crowd. He is the paradigm for most white rappers, reinforcing the idea that a good emcee has dope lyrics, not some fake gangster personality.

I interviewed Slug in the beginning of November on the THE GOD LOVES UGLY TOUR. I would just like to shout out to Teal, RhymeSayers Entertainment, Kaloe SAY IT, Reign Supreme, Krumbz, and Dion who posted this.