Rapper finds atmosphere he thrives in

When you think of famously musical cities, you might settle on Detroit, home of Motown, or New York City. Possibly even the Beatles’ Liverpool. Minneapolis probably isn’t the first to leap to mind, but consider that influential alt-punk bands like Hüsker Dü and the Replacements came from there, and that Prince survived the Twin Cities winters to become one of the biggest performers of all time.

The frontman for the popular rap duo Atmosphere, Sean Daley (stage name Slug) was born and raised in Minneapolis, and he’s still there, writing and recording music in various basement studios. It’s the kind of environment he says he thrives in, and that the eclectic nature of the local music scene defines what he creates.

“It’s an amazing city to be a musician in,” Daley said. “A lot of places have these pockets where there’s a regional sound, and this town doesn’t have that. … You could go from house to house – in my house, it sounds like underground rap; at the house next door, it’s trap rap. Then there’s a band that hates the Replacements, and next door there’s a band trying to be the Replacements.

“I’ve been to a lot of ’em, and I can’t think of another city I’d prefer to live in.”

Atmosphere has gone through various names and iterations since its initial formation in 1989, when Daley and his first collaborator Derek “D-Spawn” Turner were still in high school. Now with producer and DJ Anthony “Ant” David, Daley has cultivated a devoted cult following, and Atmosphere will perform at the Knitting Factory this Sunday on the heels of a string of sold-out shows in California and Oregon.

On the particular day we spoke, Daley’s not doing anything remotely rock ’n’ roll – he’s taking his kids to the dentist. That seems about right, since Atmosphere’s latest album, “Southsiders,” deals with themes of domesticity, settling down and growing older, kicking alcohol and nicotine and surviving a hardscrabble, blue-collar existence.

“I still kick it with angels,” Slug raps on “Camera Thief,” the album’s opener. “The only difference is instead of at the bar / I’m at my kitchen table.” It sounds autobiographical, but even Daley is a bit unclear as to whether he’s writing about himself or from the perspectives of characters he’s created.

“I personified my thoughts and my experiences and my perspectives through quote-unquote fictional characters,” he said. “It got me to wonder if it’s even possible to write fiction. … Everything that I could possibly make up is informed by things that actually did happen.”

But there’s no doubt that Atmosphere’s music is deeply personal, and Daley’s lyrics function as a form of therapy. “Arthur’s Song,” for instance, can’t be about anything other than Daley’s long career as a musician: It’s all about facing criticism and preserving your essence in your art, ending with the refrain “You gotta write your way through.”

“With this record, I think I was more focused on playing with my own ideas of what fiction is and isn’t, and also focused on trying not to have every song necessarily be some sort of desperate message that I needed to get out to my listeners,” Daley said. “My songs are way too self-aware, way too self-important at times. … I’m trying to Easter egg it now.”

He’s open about the creative mistakes he’s made in the past and which of his earlier works he doesn’t like – “The one thing that I’m cautious of is to not become a caricature of myself ever again,” he said – and if the content on “Southsiders” is any indication, Atmosphere’s material will continue to mature along with its creator.

“Now I want to be a songwriter,” Daley said. “I want to grow up and be a songwriter, and not just a guy who complains in rhyme form.”