Southsiders

Sorry, drama lovers, but \"Kanye West,\" from Atmosphere\'s eighth album, isn\'t a diss track. Rather, it finds rapper Slug—one of hip-hop\'s most beloved journeymen—reflecting on love, life, and parenthood. So it goes on *Southsiders*, an album that boldly grabs hold of hip-hop\'s third rail: getting old. \"Gotta be a model civilian/And get your name printed on a bottle of pills and/Spill your guts into a Dixie Cup,\" Slug raps on \"The World Might Not Live Through the Night.\" He may be a decade removed from the vanguard Atmosphere once occupied, but he remains an incisive lyricist, and his grown-man reflections still pack a punch. So do the boom-bap beats by longtime producer Ant, as reliable as an old Chevy. Fatherhood and family life have transformed Slug, but he reminds us some thing never change: \"Been a few years since the last cigarette/But if you put your finger inside the flask, it\'s still wet.\"

About 10 years ago, already well into a flourishing career, the bluster and self-evisceration of the early records Slug made with producer Ant as Atmosphere suddenly bored him. So he started penning compassionate character sketches while Ant warmed and loosened up their sound with live instruments. Southsiders extends the "quietly durable" phase of the Minneapolis duo's lifespan.

Eight albums in and Minnesota's indie rap act Atmosphere are as angsty as ever, but on the great Southsiders, MC Slug and producer Ant fight hard against the dreck and depression of everyday life as they take a mature stance and muddle through it all with style and a sense of purpose.

On Southsiders, the Minneapolis duo of Slug (Sean Daley) and DJ Ant (Anthony Davis) are back with another batch of their catchy, emotional and brutally honest brand of indie rap.