Atmosphere Show Brings Out Souls Of Mischief & Other Legends

Atmosphere headlined the historic Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado on Sunday night (September 17)—and the legends came out in more ways than one. Beginning with a set from Breakbeat Lou, the show boasted a stacked lineup that also included Mr. Dibbs, Souls of Mischief—who are in the midst of playing more than 105 dates on the 93 Til Infinity 30th anniversary tour—Danny Brown and Living Legends’ The Grouch and Eligh.

But meandering through the crowd backstage, there were some other familiar faces that made the experience that much sweeter, including Large Professor and former Tommy Boy and Elektra Records A&R Dante Ross.

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The number of people who knew each other made it feel like a family affair and everybody was in high spirits—whether literally or figuratively (or both). The Grouch and Eligh, who have done several projects under the G&E moniker, lit up the stage alongside DJ Fresh with songs like “The Bay To LA,” but those paying close attention likely noticed a special announcement posted up on the big screen behind them.

Not only did it unveil the cover art for the next Living Legends album, The Return, it also revealed a release date of October 27. Fans of the West Coast Hip-Hop collective haven’t had a proper Living Legends album since The Gathering, which was released in 2008. The lead single, “Lettermen,” arrived on September 9 (find it here). In a brief conversation backstage, Eligh told AllHipHop he truly believes it’s “the best one yet.”

After an intermission from Mr. Dibbs in all his tattooed glory, Souls of Mischief walked onstage to a nearly sold-out crowd screaming for their performance. Clearly well oiled from their massive global trek, A-Plus, Tajai, Phesto and Opio sounded as sharp as ever, sailing through live renditions of “Make Your Mind Up” and, of course, “93 Til Infinity” from the 1993 classic of the same name.

Following a month-long break, the Bay Area foursome will continue the tour overseas. Tajai mentioned he was “a little” tired, but it’s nothing he can’t handle. After all, he’s been on the road for more than three decades as part of Hieroglyphics, Souls of Mischief and other endeavors like Rap Noir.

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Atmosphere’s Slug, meanwhile, was busy running around, hyping up the audience and sharing hugs with everyone who’d come out to see him. Brown was nowhere to be found until it was time for his set. Par for the course, he performed several selections from his discography, including “Garbage Pale Kids,” “Real Nega” and “1539 N. Calvert.”

Slug and Ant shut the venue down with another expansive set, which pulled from 2002’s God Loves Ugly, 2003’s Sevens Travels, the duo’s most recent album, So Many Other Realities Exist Simultaneously, and many others from their 13-album discography. Find more snaps and video from the unforgettable event below, including Atmosphere’s closing performance of “Trying To Find A Balance” (courtesy of Dante Ross).