Picture this: you suddenly find yourself sitting on a couch next to your all-time favorite musician, whom you never imagined you would get to meet. You’ve been listening to his albums for years, and suddenly you’re having a conversation with him. He’s calling you by your name: “Hey Abby, pass me another Corona?”
I am hanging out with Slug, also known as Sean Daley, before his Atmosphere show at the Black Cat. The ambiance backstage is more tame than one might expect at a hip-hop concert. Rappers, managers, and friends of the group lounge in a smoke-filled room, drinking beer and enjoying some relaxation before the performance. There are no drugs, no loud music, and no groupie girls. Unless, of course, you count me.
I am determined to keep my cool and refrain from gushing the usual “Omigod, I’m, like, your biggest fan.” I sit back and let him do the talking, although this act becomes harder to pull off with my decreasing sobriety. Despite his growing popularity, he seems to think it humorous that anyone would want to write a newspaper article about him. When he gets up to go to the bathroom, he turns to me and smirks, “I gotta go pee. You wanna watch?”
At one point, Slug catches me ogling the extremely attractive, extremely shirtless Crescent Moon, a rapper from the opening act, Oddjobs. “Maybe you should write your article about him,” Slug suggests. Do I detect a hint of jealousy? Yeah, I wish.
Finally, it’s time for Atmosphere to take the stage. I push through the rowdy audience and manage to secure a spot close to the front. The group’s setlist is a balanced mix of old favorites and lots of material from their new album. The vibe is energetic, and much to my delight, Slug does multiple songs with (a still shirtless) Crescent Moon. The styles of the two rappers compliment each other nicely. I don’t know whether to be repulsed or elated when a few drops of Slug’s sweat land on my shirt, but one thing is for sure: the show does not disappoint.
A couple days later, Slug and I trade in our Coronas for a serious question-and-answer session over the phone. I begin by asking him what kind of music he listens to. “I like The Mars Volta,” he responds, “Also, a band called TV On the Radio. I listen to Outkast, Busta Rhymes, basically anyone that’s doing something original.”
This brings me to my next question: “Now that Atmosphere is getting radio play, are you worried that your fans may think you’re too mainstream?” After mulling my question over, he says that increasing exposure is a natural progression, and that he’s not worried about it. “Look at Bjork. She gets played on the radio, and indie kids still like her.”
I ask him if he likes to read. His response gets me laughing: “Reading? I quit,” he says decidedly.
“You quit reading? But you still smoke?”
“Yeah, Camels. I used to read, but I realized it was taking up too much of my time that should have been spent writing, so now I just read comic books.”
I ask him about a possible reunion with Spawn, another MC with whom he collaborated on his first album, Overcast . “That would be fresh,” he says, “but I’m more interested in getting back together with my ex-girlfriend right now. Besides, Spawn and I kind of went our separate ways a few years ago.”
I have a plethora of questions to ask about Atmosphere’s new album, Seven’s Travels, but the connection soon gets choppy. Slug feels badly that his cell is getting poor reception. “But you have to go to class soon anyway, right?” He asks. I say goodbye, disappointed that our conversation was cut short, but glowing from my brush with celebrity.
As I hang up the phone, I chuck his number into the trashcan. Although Slug might appreciate a late-night drunken phone call from yours truly, it would not be wise to tempt myself.
