As a teenager, Slug (Sean Daley) became entranced with hip-hop, graffiti, and breakdancing, forming the Rhymesayers label and collective (originally known as Headshots) with two high-school friends, Siddiq Ali (Stress) and Derek Turner (Spawn). After some early gigs as Urban Atmosphere -- where Slug DJed behind Spawn's rhyming -- the pair hooked up with producer Ant (Anthony Davis), as well as like-minded locals such as MC Musab, Mr. Gene Poole, and the Abstract Pack, forming an underground hip-hop clique dedicated to freestyling and clever lyricism. In 1997, Atmosphere released their debut album, Overcast!, which received college radio airplay and earned an underground hip-hop following thanks to Slug's deeply personal, poetic musings, as well as Ant's bare-bones -- but inventive -- production.
Atmosphere participated in the supergroup the Dynospectrum (who released a self-titled album on Rhymesayers in 1998) and Slug contributed to another supergroup, Anticon's Deep Puddle Dynamics (whose full-length The Taste of Rain...Why Kneel appeared in 1999). The Headshots collective concluded their series of underground cassettes with a seventh volume in 1999, later reissued as an Atmosphere release called Headshots: Se7en. The group also began a series of limited releases (often sold exclusively on tour) titled Sad Clown Bad Dub, beginning with an extremely scarce 1999 cassette.
A year later, Atmosphere (then down to the duo of Slug and Ant) released the Ford One and Ford Two EPs, followed by the Lucy EP in 2001. Collected as the 2001 full-length Lucy Ford: The Atmosphere EPs, the three EPs were built around the theme of Slug's complicated relationship with his ex-girlfriend, the lost love of his life. As Atmosphere's following increased beyond underground hip-hop circles, they toured consistently, both at home and overseas; while Ant usually didn't accompany the group on the road, Mr. Dibbs of the group 1200 Hobos often joined in behind the turntables while Slug was assisted on the mike by young rappers like the teenaged Eyedea. In June 2002, Atmosphere unleashed God Loves Ugly, an 18-track effort that returned to previous themes ("F*@k You Lucy"), but also contained the group's pop-friendly single "Modern Man's Hustle," which reached the Top 20 of the U.S. rap singles chart.
By this time indie rap superstars, Atmosphere returned with their fourth album, Seven's Travels, in 2003, followed two years later by You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having. Following the record's success, Ant began regularly touring with the group. They continued to put music out during the next couple of years, including the free download Strictly Leakage in late 2007, a near-party album that they followed up with When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold in April 2008. The record featured plenty of live instrumentation and guest background vocal spots from Tom Waits and TV on the Radio's Tunde Adebimpe; it was also their highest-charting album, hitting number five on the Billboard 200. The "double EP" To All My Friends: Blood Makes the Blade Holy appeared in 2010, with the full-length album The Family Sign following in 2011.
In 2014, the group released the album Southsiders, which featured the single "Bitter" and became another Top Ten-charting hit. The following year, Atmosphere celebrated the ten-year anniversary of You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having by reissuing the album as a four-LP set (including instrumental versions of all the album's songs), in addition to The Fun EP, a picture-disc vinyl issue of an EP of You Can't Imagine outtakes that was originally released as a promo CD in 2006. In 2016, they returned with Fishing Blues, an album that featured the single "Ringo" along with guest appearances from MF Doom, Kool Keith, and Aesop Rock. While the set peaked just outside the Top 20 on the Billboard 200, it became their second album to top the U.S. indie chart. Mi Vida Local, an urgent reflection on middle age, appeared in 2018, followed a year later by the full-length Whenever. The Day Before Halloween arrived on that exact date in 2020, with Atmosphere unexpectedly switching to sci-fi/horror-informed themes over spooky, synth-heavy backdrops. Nearly a year later, Ant and Slug swerved back to their signature sound with Word?, which included guests such as Evidence, Aesop Rock, Sa-Roc, and MF Doom.
Biography by Dan LeRoy
There are other artists with the same name:
2) A Polish rock group, established in 1993 in Leszno, Poland, with Marcin Rozynek as a vocalist. In 1994 the group appeared at Mokotowska Jesień Muzyczna, where they were runners-up just behind Myslovitz. Two years later they won competition Marlboro Rock In. In 1997, Atmosphere released their self-titled debut album, Atmosphere, and in 1999 released Europa Naftowa. Atmosphere was awarded the Album debut of the year 1997 by magazine Tylko Rock and was nominated for the award Fryderyk in 1998 in the category Debut of the Year. In 1998, Atmosphere appeared at the National Festival of Polish Song in Opole with song Niewielki Skrawek Ziemi. Disbanded after Marcin Rozynek departure for a solo career. However, Atmosphere regrouped recently with a new line-up and is recording a new album.
3) An obscure one hit wonder Italo-disco group of the early 80’s. The group was produced by Franco & Venise Scopinich, and their one single “Swede’s Scandal” was realased on Superradio Reccords (label owned by Franco & Venise Scopinich).
4) A thrash metal band of the same name from Vietnam who have released two demo's.
In Her Music Box
Atmosphere Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The same one as yesterday, the same one as last week
Surrounded by her favorite favorites,
Elmo, Barbie, her purple baby blanket
And that little match box looks just like dads car
Its fast on the lever, pretends its Nascar
It jumps over Elmo cause it can fly that far
With daddy in the front seat frontin' like a rapstar
Hey girl, oh girl daddy's the greatest
He knows the words to everything on the radio playlist
He fakes the accent even makes all the faces
And when he raises his voice it makes him feel like he's famous
Yea papa got his lean on
Weavin' down lake street tryin' to get his scene on
Stop in the whip to say somethin' out the window
Bobbin' his head to the beat on the radio
Good daddy wont smoke no weed
Until the bass cradles her back to sleep
But he can steak his mack while she takes a nap
To the sweet pretty sounds of the gangster rap
The high hats are angels voices
They keep her distracted from the strangest voices
Escape is a paradox, because the childhood is locked in that music box
[Chorus: x2]
Daddy's drive around, mommy's work night shifts
Sweet dreams, sleep little precious
Lay down in that music box, escape in the sound of that music box
Yea, daddy knows people hes important
The guy with the suit and tie they see at the court
And it seems like he ain't tryin' to talk to police
But at the car wash they treat him like the star of the she sees
They like papas big wheels
And the lollipop she gets makes her feel like a big deal
Not allowed to have it yet, gotta sit still
Like the toy that she knows is gonna come with the kids meal
She loves drive-thru food
Health conscious dad, he buys her the juice
A little sip of soda, builds the pride
Go ahead baby girl don't spill those fries
Nuh uh papa cant roll a messy office
Compulsive in the way she laid them napkins all across the seat
Never puts her feet up on the upholstery
Just kicks em side to side to the beat... On the radio
She sings along like dad does
She knows all the words but she leaves out the bad ones
Except bitch, she always sings the word bitch
Cause it makes her daddy laugh, its her magic trick
And when daddy picks mommy up they fight
They fights about money they fight about life
So she concentrates so so hard on the music
And loses herself inside of the bass and the movement
[Chorus: x2]
Turn that Buick off.
Atmosphere's song "In Her Music Box" tells the story of a young girl and her father on a drive. The girl is in the backseat with her favorite toys and her purple baby blanket as she has a recurring bad dream. The little girl's father tries to comfort her with her favorite things and her toy car that looks a lot like her dad's. The father plays his rap music, raising his voice and making faces, even pretending he's famous, to help his daughter fall asleep. The rap music is a paradox because though the little girl is able to escape reality through it and it acts as a distraction from the fighting between her parents, it also represents the locked away childhood in the music box. The father himself is trying to escape having to face reality, which is made evident as he tries to create a make-believe world in which he's famous and everyone loves him. The car ride itself becomes a comforting place that keeps them safe from the dysfunctional family life.
The song speaks to the strength of music as a coping mechanism and a safe space created by the car ride. The music allows the characters to escape reality in a safe environment, and within that environment, the father can become a hero and his daughter can forget about the things that scare her. However, the song also has an underlying sadness, as the little girl is only able to feel safe and happy within the confined space of the car and her father seems to be in denial about the reality of his life at home.
Line by Line Meaning
She had a bad dream in the back seat
The girl had a nightmare while sitting in the backseat of the car.
The same one as yesterday, the same one as last week
Her nightmare seems to be recurring.
Surrounded by her favorite favorites,
She is surrounded by her favorite things such as toys, blankets, and matchbox cars.
Elmo, Barbie, her purple baby blanket
These are some of the things surrounding her.
And that little match box looks just like dads car
The matchbox car resembles her father's car.
Its fast on the lever, pretends its Nascar
She imagines the matchbox car to be a race car.
It jumps over Elmo cause it can fly that far
She imagines that the matchbox car can jump over her toy Elmo because it can fly.
With daddy in the front seat frontin' like a rapstar
Her father, who is in the front seat, is pretending to be a rapper.
Hey girl, oh girl daddy's the greatest
The girl thinks that her daddy is the best.
He knows the words to everything on the radio playlist
Her father knows all the songs that play on the radio.
He fakes the accent even makes all the faces
Her father pretends to sing with an accent and makes silly faces.
And when he raises his voice it makes him feel like he's famous
When her father sings loudly, he feels like he's a famous singer.
Yea papa got his lean on
Her father is driving while leaning to one side.
Weavin' down lake street tryin' to get his scene on
He is driving on Lake Street while trying to fit in with the scene.
Stop in the whip to say somethin' out the window
He stops the car to say something out the window to someone.
Bobbin' his head to the beat on the radio
He is nodding his head to the music playing on the radio.
Good daddy wont smoke no weed
Her father doesn't smoke weed.
Until the bass cradles her back to sleep
He waits until the bass from the music soothes her to sleep.
But he can steak his mack while she takes a nap
He can still show off his style while she takes a nap.
To the sweet pretty sounds of the gangster rap
He listens to sweet and pretty sounding gangster rap music.
The high hats are angels voices
The girl imagines the sound of high hats to be angelic voices.
They keep her distracted from the strangest voices
The music keeps her mind from paying attention to strange sounds or voices outside the car.
Escape is a paradox, because the childhood is locked in that music box
Although the music helps her escape reality, it also locks her in her childhood memories.
[Chorus: x2] Daddy's drive around, mommy's work night shifts Sweet dreams, sleep little precious Lay down in that music box, escape in the sound of that music box
The chorus repeats a message of comfort for the girl to sleep well and listen to the music in her safe place, which is the car.
Yea, daddy knows people hes important
Her father knows important people.
The guy with the suit and tie they see at the court
One of the important people he knows is likely a lawyer who wears suits and goes to court.
And it seems like he ain't tryin' to talk to police
It seems like he doesn't want to talk to the police.
But at the car wash they treat him like the star of the she sees
However, at the car wash, he is treated like a star by employees.
They like papas big wheels
The employees like her father's car.
And the lollipop she gets makes her feel like a big deal
She feels special when she gets a lollipop at the car wash.
Not allowed to have it yet, gotta sit still
However, she cannot have it yet and has to wait patiently.
Like the toy that she knows is gonna come with the kids meal
She compares her situation to waiting for a toy which comes with the kids' meal at a fast food chain.
She loves drive-thru food
She enjoys fast food from drive-thrus.
Health conscious dad, he buys her the juice
Despite his love for fast food, he still wants her to have something healthy like juice.
A little sip of soda, builds the pride
She feels proud for being given a little sip of soda.
Go ahead baby girl don't spill those fries
Her father tells her to be careful not to spill her fries.
Nuh uh papa cant roll a messy office
The father cannot tolerate a messy car.
Compulsive in the way she laid them napkins all across the seat
He is obsessive about how the napkins are placed all over the seat.
Never puts her feet up on the upholstery
He doesn't let her put her feet on the car seat.
Just kicks em side to side to the beat... On the radio
Instead, she kicks her feet side to side along with the music from the radio.
She sings along like dad does
She sings along with the music just like her father does.
She knows all the words but she leaves out the bad ones
She knows all the lyrics to the song but censors out the inappropriate words.
Except bitch, she always sings the word bitch
However, she freely sings the word 'bitch', which makes her father laugh.
Cause it makes her daddy laugh, its her magic trick
Her ability to make her father laugh by singing the word 'bitch' is like her magic trick.
And when daddy picks mommy up they fight
When her father picks up her mother, they get into arguments.
They fights about money they fight about life
Their arguments are usually about money and life issues.
So she concentrates so so hard on the music
To ignore the fighting, she focuses intensely on the music.
And loses herself inside of the bass and the movement
She gets lost in the music's rhythm and beats.
Lyrics © UPSIDEDOWN HEART MUSIC
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