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Atmosphere debut "Last to Say" video

Posted at 4:42 PM on July 13, 2011 by Brett Baldwin (3 Comments)
Filed under: Local

Local rap heroes Atmosphere debuted a new video for "Last to Say" on MTV2 today.


The subject matter is heavy — Atmosphere is no stranger to that — and the video mirrors the song's topic: the cyclical nature of domestic violence.

Slug (aka Sean Daley) said in the article on the MTV site:

This is a song that I've wanted to write for a long time, and I guess I've been waiting for the proper music to join it. So when Anthony (Ant) handed me this beat, I felt like this could be the opportunity. Domestic violence is something that everyone has dealt with, directly or indirectly.

When Atmosphere joined us in-studio last April, we produced our own video of the same song.

Comments (3)

I will never understand how Atmosphere was the chosen "Minnesota Icon" last summer. Yes...Atmosphere does a nice job rhyming. Is that what is so important now in songwriting? If so...I understand because I can Atmosphere does a very nice job at it. Perhaps, Dr. Seuss would win if he had lived in Minnesota. I'm hoping that Atmosphere eventually covers "The Wheels On The Bus". Yes, the classics.

Posted by Mark H | July 13, 2011 11:59 PM

@Mark H.

You're joking, right?

First of all, Atmosphere isn't one person, it's the group's name - consisting of Anthony Davis (AKA Ant), Sean Daley (AKA Slug), Nate Collins and Erick Anderson. So to say that Atmosphere does a "nice job rhyming" makes no sense since Sean Daley is the main lyrical composer. So far, you're off to a bad start.

Second, I would easily classify Atmosphere as a Minnesota Icon without a doubt. Officially formed in 1995, Rhymesayers Entertainment has been signing and promoting a myriad of independent hip-hop artists in the Twin Cities and beyond. To put a basically unknown, underground hip-hop scene on the national map would be a pretty good qualification for Minnesota Icon.

Third, there is so much more complexity to Slug's (notice how I didn't say Atmosphere's) rhyme schemes and lyrical composition than just, according to you, "a nice job rhyming." Is that all you listen for? Good rhymes? If that's the case, please clean out your ears and actually start listening. Sean Daley is one of the finest storytellers in hip hop - far beyond the intellectual capacity of mainstream hip hop artists that rap mostly about money, drugs, cars, clothes and hoes. So again, start cleaning out your ears and listen beyond the rhymes.

Fourth, rhyming is not everything for music today, but it does hold strong merit in hip-hop. Without rhyme schemes, it would just be a pile of babbling with no musical structure (again, this is where you have to listen beyond the rhymes).

And lastly, did you happen to read the excerpt from Slug that was quoted above? He himself describes the exact context of the song and why he wrote it. Not because he thought he could write a few good rhyme schemes, but because domestic abuse is an issue that all of us have faced at one time or another, either directly or indirectly. And instead of pumping this song out with whatever beat came his way, he waited until Ant delivered the perfect beat to accompany his lyrics. Yet again - storytelling that goes far beyond a "nice job rhyming."

In conclusion Mark H., I think that you need to seriously reconsider your position on Sean Daley and Atmosphere as a whole. Listen to the music for what it is really for - a story, not just the rhymes.

Posted by Drew | July 14, 2011 10:02 AM

Very. Very well stated Drew.

Posted by Kyle Perleberg | July 14, 2011 10:40 AM

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