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Atmosphere: Rhymesayers
The Minneapolis-based record label Rhymesayers and its groundbreaking group Atmosphere have become one of the most powerful forces in independent hip hop today.
Photographer Dan Monick has traveled with the musicians and rappers from Rhymesayers and Atmosphere on and off for the better part of a decade. He s documented a wide swath of territory from the fans to the shows and illuminated behind-the-scenes photos of the artists being themselves. Monick likens the Rhymesayers work ethic to the DIY punk rock approach that he experienced playing in bands.
Atmosphere leader, Sean (Slug) is a charismatic driving force behind the Rhymesayers and features prominently in the story of the label and within the pages of the book.
Rhymesayer fans from Japan to Australia, Europe and all of North America who have witnessed the energy in concert will enjoy feasting on the pages, and those who have never been will be brought up to speed.
Photographer Dan Monick has traveled with the musicians and rappers from Rhymesayers and Atmosphere on and off for the better part of a decade. He s documented a wide swath of territory from the fans to the shows and illuminated behind-the-scenes photos of the artists being themselves. Monick likens the Rhymesayers work ethic to the DIY punk rock approach that he experienced playing in bands.
Atmosphere leader, Sean (Slug) is a charismatic driving force behind the Rhymesayers and features prominently in the story of the label and within the pages of the book.
Rhymesayer fans from Japan to Australia, Europe and all of North America who have witnessed the energy in concert will enjoy feasting on the pages, and those who have never been will be brought up to speed.
- GenresPhotography
272 pages, Hardcover
First published December 17, 2010
31 people want to read
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October 11, 2012
"it goes:
one for the cannabis
and two for your diuretics
three for your reasoning
and four for those that try and get it
five for your love
and six for the stress
and seven for the day that i climbed into this mess." Atmosphere's "God's Bathroom Floor"
Seven Years With Atmosphere & Rhymesayers by Dan Monick was my birthday present to myself. It's pricey. I don't remember exactly, but it seems right that it was thirty-three like my years. I usually get my books from used sellers. I abuse books. Dog-earing relevant pages. Laying them face down! (We're closer, me and books, if I don't have to be tender.) This costs more used. If you got it back in the day (I'm thinking 2010. I'm old now so I can't remember these things anymore) it came with a vinyl record. I've forgotten which, but I know it was collected from the eps. Mine has a cd sampler from the Rhymesayers record label in the back. There's some good stuff on here going by the tracklisting. Mostly Atmosphere, some Musab (I can't remember but I think he hasn't released anything with them in a long time. I can't remember but I think his was their first release), P.O.S., Brother Ali, Felt and Eyedea & Abilities. If you got it back in the day you could get the book signed on one of their tour stops. There are some expensive used copies of this book. I guess people needed money or they don't like Atmosphere anymore. I'm going to treat this book right. I don't love it enough to abuse it, but it's mine. You don't give back presents to yourself. I'm grown up now so it's going to be different. I won't even smudge the photo pages with my fingers. Did you know that finger prints aren't formed until your body is out in the world for the first time? Some chick told my twin that we weren't really identical because we don't have the same fingerprints. I call bullshit on that. Insides count and inside out no one is the same. But you can look back. I love an older Atmosphere record "godlovesugly". If you could throw yourself out into the world and it meets you to make those fingerprints on contact. It could be ugly and loved because you're too close to be gentle. No one has all of the same experiences so no one is going to have the same fingerprints, or leave the same marks when they handle everyone else's fragile pages. I could listen to that album and it's back in the day again. I can remember to remember the wisdom of MC Slug aka Sean Daley because it's back in the day and more days of mental bullshit rain hasn't beaten down on my skull/roof enough yet. I love Atmosphere. I have a soft spot for those old Slug raps when he was in his own head on rainy days. I love when he's trying to make it easier for other's to do the pee dance. Slug is underrated as an MC, I think. It's never appreciated enough to lay it all out. Atmosphere are pretty damned popular in the hip-hop world, but all the same. Remember to remember. I can't value enough that he went into himself and was so conscious of what kind of prints he'd be leaving behind. I love this kind of music.
Seven Years with Atmosphere & Rhymesayers is a book of photographs taken by Dan Monick. He pretty much stuck to them like another guy living in the van and going from place to place. Sleep, crash, work and make some art and hope it's not all just work. I had seen a lot of these photos before over the years. A google search proved that Monick took a lot of other hip-hop photos I've seen. I can't seem to remember who was taking proof when someone was hoping it wasn't all work.
There are pages throughout of an interview with Monick, Slug and other Rhymesayers people about the photographs. This part is like listening to an audio commentary of a favorite film. It can be interesting but it's not going to make you remember to remember that going place feeling when something that meant something to someone else meant a whole lot to you too. Well, yeah the audio commentary thing. I don't listen to those that often because I start to try to listen to the audio track without all of the "Oh yeah, on this day that thing happened. Remember that, lead actor?" Monick talks a lot about a punk rock lifestyle. I wish he didn't have to justify why he spent so many years (the book says seven but it had to have been more like ten) taking pictures of Slug and the others. The behind the scenes scene. I got a sense of hoping they were doing something in the shots. They are good photographs for capturing a balance of "This is what I want to show" posing and "I hope we're doing something good" at work. I always liked best the photos of The Beatles that you didn't know their publicists sent them on a fake beach holiday for some pervy short short photos. I can't see that ever happening to anyone on Rhymesayers. God loves ugly. I liked reading about the album art process. God loves making it cool to not remember to close your mouth when they say cheese. Rhymesayers is a great record label (home to Aesop Rock now that Def Jux is on hold for the foreseeable future). Their music videos, the work that goes into everything. I guess I'd compare it to reading a book on an ereader or buying an mp3 as opposed to holding it in your hands. They make the case for holding it in your hands. It's a nostalgic feeling to look through these photos and see shots of starting up. It's like looking back and going, "I remember when I was young. Was I ever that young?" Slug has a look so often like he could be a prize fighter in the ring. Don't tell me to take a dive! I like that about him. It was sad to see photographs of Eyedea. He died in 2010. I can't remember if it was before or after this book was published. He is interviewed about some of the photographs too. He has this smile that makes me sad (like his song "Smile". No matter how hard he hits the ground he'll still smile). When he says he took years to get a handle on living that life I can believe it when coming on his ghost again. He wasn't there to remember it.
I wish that I had a scanner so I could put up my favorite photographs and write what I mean about this. There's a young one of Aesop Rock with red eyes. He reminds me of the old Tom Waits days. They can say "enough" and move on from that and I have no idea how. I can live the music and maybe living the toll of spreading it far I don't want. I can see back into night after night and year after year of city after city and bus after bus. There's a youtube video I like of Aesop Rock and artist Jeremy Fish going to visit artist Alex Pardee because they were both stunted after days of nothing but shitty work. Let's go visit Alex! He isn't in the feels like work place. Maybe looking at photographs of rappers on a day that might have been when they said that thing that made someone else want to say their own thing is like when Fish and Aes went to visit Pardee. That's what I think, anyway. I don't know about what Monick says about punk rock, like there's some code of life or work ethic that's hard that you gotta have to keep it real. I didn't feel that from the photos. It's better than that. I think I liked better the photograph part of this book than the audio commentary interviews... There's a line in an Illogic song (he's not on Rhymesayers. He's worked with Slug, though, of course) that goes: "If a picture's worth a thousand words I'll paint a thousand pictures". I kind of like the pictures that the words paint. I need the songs more. Something about working for it.
"Feelin' like I finally figured out my escape plan
Take it all in the day started off all wrong
But somehow now that hangover is all gone
Ain't nothing like the sound of the leaves
When the breeze penetrates these southside trees
Leanin' up against one watching the vibe
Forgettin' all about the stress, thankin' God I'm alive
It's so simple
I had to keep the song simple
And when I get home I'm gonna open all the windows
Feelin' alright stopped at a stop sign
A car pulled up bumpin' Fresh Prince's Summertime." Atmosphere's 'Sunshine'
Oh yeah, I forgot. If you like Atmosphere and Rhymesayers then you'll like this if you like to try and "be there" in the past and pretend you could be there for sunlight that's already gone down. If you really, really like them then you'll really, really like this book like how it's gonna come back. On and on and day and day and seven years and so on. It's really more like ten and really more than that. Three stars for thirty three.
P.s. I forgot to mention the stuff about when Slug became "Slug" and how he was "Sean" in the early days. The bigger they got the more he became Slug. He is Sean and Slug on the songs. The same person. It's because it's gotta be times when it's not work. Art is living, right? Like looking at yourself in an old photograph and going: "That's me." And I don't remember when that happened...
one for the cannabis
and two for your diuretics
three for your reasoning
and four for those that try and get it
five for your love
and six for the stress
and seven for the day that i climbed into this mess." Atmosphere's "God's Bathroom Floor"
Seven Years With Atmosphere & Rhymesayers by Dan Monick was my birthday present to myself. It's pricey. I don't remember exactly, but it seems right that it was thirty-three like my years. I usually get my books from used sellers. I abuse books. Dog-earing relevant pages. Laying them face down! (We're closer, me and books, if I don't have to be tender.) This costs more used. If you got it back in the day (I'm thinking 2010. I'm old now so I can't remember these things anymore) it came with a vinyl record. I've forgotten which, but I know it was collected from the eps. Mine has a cd sampler from the Rhymesayers record label in the back. There's some good stuff on here going by the tracklisting. Mostly Atmosphere, some Musab (I can't remember but I think he hasn't released anything with them in a long time. I can't remember but I think his was their first release), P.O.S., Brother Ali, Felt and Eyedea & Abilities. If you got it back in the day you could get the book signed on one of their tour stops. There are some expensive used copies of this book. I guess people needed money or they don't like Atmosphere anymore. I'm going to treat this book right. I don't love it enough to abuse it, but it's mine. You don't give back presents to yourself. I'm grown up now so it's going to be different. I won't even smudge the photo pages with my fingers. Did you know that finger prints aren't formed until your body is out in the world for the first time? Some chick told my twin that we weren't really identical because we don't have the same fingerprints. I call bullshit on that. Insides count and inside out no one is the same. But you can look back. I love an older Atmosphere record "godlovesugly". If you could throw yourself out into the world and it meets you to make those fingerprints on contact. It could be ugly and loved because you're too close to be gentle. No one has all of the same experiences so no one is going to have the same fingerprints, or leave the same marks when they handle everyone else's fragile pages. I could listen to that album and it's back in the day again. I can remember to remember the wisdom of MC Slug aka Sean Daley because it's back in the day and more days of mental bullshit rain hasn't beaten down on my skull/roof enough yet. I love Atmosphere. I have a soft spot for those old Slug raps when he was in his own head on rainy days. I love when he's trying to make it easier for other's to do the pee dance. Slug is underrated as an MC, I think. It's never appreciated enough to lay it all out. Atmosphere are pretty damned popular in the hip-hop world, but all the same. Remember to remember. I can't value enough that he went into himself and was so conscious of what kind of prints he'd be leaving behind. I love this kind of music.
Seven Years with Atmosphere & Rhymesayers is a book of photographs taken by Dan Monick. He pretty much stuck to them like another guy living in the van and going from place to place. Sleep, crash, work and make some art and hope it's not all just work. I had seen a lot of these photos before over the years. A google search proved that Monick took a lot of other hip-hop photos I've seen. I can't seem to remember who was taking proof when someone was hoping it wasn't all work.
There are pages throughout of an interview with Monick, Slug and other Rhymesayers people about the photographs. This part is like listening to an audio commentary of a favorite film. It can be interesting but it's not going to make you remember to remember that going place feeling when something that meant something to someone else meant a whole lot to you too. Well, yeah the audio commentary thing. I don't listen to those that often because I start to try to listen to the audio track without all of the "Oh yeah, on this day that thing happened. Remember that, lead actor?" Monick talks a lot about a punk rock lifestyle. I wish he didn't have to justify why he spent so many years (the book says seven but it had to have been more like ten) taking pictures of Slug and the others. The behind the scenes scene. I got a sense of hoping they were doing something in the shots. They are good photographs for capturing a balance of "This is what I want to show" posing and "I hope we're doing something good" at work. I always liked best the photos of The Beatles that you didn't know their publicists sent them on a fake beach holiday for some pervy short short photos. I can't see that ever happening to anyone on Rhymesayers. God loves ugly. I liked reading about the album art process. God loves making it cool to not remember to close your mouth when they say cheese. Rhymesayers is a great record label (home to Aesop Rock now that Def Jux is on hold for the foreseeable future). Their music videos, the work that goes into everything. I guess I'd compare it to reading a book on an ereader or buying an mp3 as opposed to holding it in your hands. They make the case for holding it in your hands. It's a nostalgic feeling to look through these photos and see shots of starting up. It's like looking back and going, "I remember when I was young. Was I ever that young?" Slug has a look so often like he could be a prize fighter in the ring. Don't tell me to take a dive! I like that about him. It was sad to see photographs of Eyedea. He died in 2010. I can't remember if it was before or after this book was published. He is interviewed about some of the photographs too. He has this smile that makes me sad (like his song "Smile". No matter how hard he hits the ground he'll still smile). When he says he took years to get a handle on living that life I can believe it when coming on his ghost again. He wasn't there to remember it.
I wish that I had a scanner so I could put up my favorite photographs and write what I mean about this. There's a young one of Aesop Rock with red eyes. He reminds me of the old Tom Waits days. They can say "enough" and move on from that and I have no idea how. I can live the music and maybe living the toll of spreading it far I don't want. I can see back into night after night and year after year of city after city and bus after bus. There's a youtube video I like of Aesop Rock and artist Jeremy Fish going to visit artist Alex Pardee because they were both stunted after days of nothing but shitty work. Let's go visit Alex! He isn't in the feels like work place. Maybe looking at photographs of rappers on a day that might have been when they said that thing that made someone else want to say their own thing is like when Fish and Aes went to visit Pardee. That's what I think, anyway. I don't know about what Monick says about punk rock, like there's some code of life or work ethic that's hard that you gotta have to keep it real. I didn't feel that from the photos. It's better than that. I think I liked better the photograph part of this book than the audio commentary interviews... There's a line in an Illogic song (he's not on Rhymesayers. He's worked with Slug, though, of course) that goes: "If a picture's worth a thousand words I'll paint a thousand pictures". I kind of like the pictures that the words paint. I need the songs more. Something about working for it.
"Feelin' like I finally figured out my escape plan
Take it all in the day started off all wrong
But somehow now that hangover is all gone
Ain't nothing like the sound of the leaves
When the breeze penetrates these southside trees
Leanin' up against one watching the vibe
Forgettin' all about the stress, thankin' God I'm alive
It's so simple
I had to keep the song simple
And when I get home I'm gonna open all the windows
Feelin' alright stopped at a stop sign
A car pulled up bumpin' Fresh Prince's Summertime." Atmosphere's 'Sunshine'
Oh yeah, I forgot. If you like Atmosphere and Rhymesayers then you'll like this if you like to try and "be there" in the past and pretend you could be there for sunlight that's already gone down. If you really, really like them then you'll really, really like this book like how it's gonna come back. On and on and day and day and seven years and so on. It's really more like ten and really more than that. Three stars for thirty three.
P.s. I forgot to mention the stuff about when Slug became "Slug" and how he was "Sean" in the early days. The bigger they got the more he became Slug. He is Sean and Slug on the songs. The same person. It's because it's gotta be times when it's not work. Art is living, right? Like looking at yourself in an old photograph and going: "That's me." And I don't remember when that happened...
Displaying 1 of 1 review