For this special edition of our Crate Digging series, we’re celebrating the 50th anniversary of hip-hop by chatting with Atmosphere’s Ant about 10 underrated hip-hop albums. Check out his picks below, and be sure to see our exclusive merch featuring our Hip-Hop 50 design at the Consequence Shop.
Coming out of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Atmosphere producer Ant knows there’s a gigantic, purple elephant in the room when it comes to talking about the music of his hometown. “Prince is obviously going to be the main factor whenever you mention Minneapolis, it just goes without saying,” he tells Consequence over Zoom. “So it’s almost like why bother mentioning him? You know what I mean? But you have to, because it’s how it goes, right?”
Which is not to say he’s not a fan of the revolutionary artist (spoilers for his Crate Digging picks, he emphatically is), but rather that there’s a smattering of talented Minnesotans that not only influenced his own work, but the work of hip-hop artists across the globe. From the legendary producers Terry Lewis and Jimmy Jam to Prince collaborator Morris Day, the northern state has plenty more to offer. Luckily, he’s here to shine a spotlight on a couple of these overlooked artists.
For good measure, Ant also throws in a few of his favorites from the elsewhere in the country, as he details the influence records like MC Shan’s Born to Be Wild or Smif-N-Wessun’s The Shining have had on his creative approach.
“It’s one of those records that I can skip around, and I’ll be inspired to make something pretty fast,” he says of the latter. “Obviously, I end up making something completely different, but I mean, it gets me in a mood if I’m not in the mood, you know?”
Check out all of his picks below for a selection of great-sounding, scratch-heavy, underrated hip-hop albums. Atmosphere is also currently on tour off the back of the recently released So Many Other Realities Exist Simultaneously. You can grab tickets to a show near you here. In addition, be sure to check out the exclusive Hip-Hop 50 merch available now at the Consequence Shop.
