Atmosphere’s ‘Mi Vida Local Tour’ comes to Chico

Ricardo Tovar|March 12, 2019

Notable hip-hop names such as Tech N9ne, E-40 and Chief Keef have all stopped by Senator Theatre in downtown Chico over the past school year. This time around, rapper Slug and producer Ant, the duo that makes up Atmosphere and the owners of independent record label Rhymesayers Entertainment, came to Chico for the Second time in their legendary 23-year careers on Friday.

The Minneapolis-based pair did not come alone; they brought three other Minneapolis-based artists with them on their ‘Mi Vida Local’ tour. Dj Keezy, The Lioness and deM atlaS all came in and gave the bustling crowd a night of entertainment.

Dj Keezy set the tone for the night and made sure the crowd was always engaged in between sets. As more and more fans filled Senator, the show began to the roar of applause for the first act.

The Lioness was the first of the openers. Her fast-paced lyricism and smooth delivery made her the perfect way to begin the show. The Ms. Lauryn Hill & Queen Latifah-influenced artist captivated the crowd and gave the audience not even a second to rest; the goal was getting everyone in attendance energized and she did just that.

This fast-paced performance was the perfect compliment to the next opener, deM atlaS. The Rhymesayers artist came in and combined passionate vocals with rap that was insightful and pierced the soul with emotion.

It was deM atlas’ first time in Chico, and he gave the crowd a performance that showed why he was on The Village Voice’s list of “Five Rap Artists to Watch For in 2015.”

“I’ve never been here before,” deM atlaS said. “I love California, though, because ya’ll have everything: mountains, oceans, beaches, deserts. It’s really cool to be in Chico. I did some walking around today and it’s good to be here.”

After deM atlaS, it was headliner Atmosphere’s time to shine. The crowd seemed to grow three times in size as people, lights, smoke and applause filled the Senator.

Playing songs off their 2018 record ‘Mi Vida Local’ and mixing in hip-hop classics like ‘Sunshine,’ ‘Yesterday’ and ‘God Loves Ugly,’ the crowd was treated to songs from throughout the pairs’ discography.

“Y’all are so f*****g old, but that’s okay, we old as f***k too,” Slug said to the crowd.

For the most part, that was the case for attendees as Slug (46) and Ant (48) have gathered fans that have been along for their entire careers. Age didn’t slow the duo down as they played for nearly two hours and had the audience enthralled the entire time.

The night was full of great acts and was more than worthy of the four hours that it took to conclude. Atmosphere is a staple of hip-hop history and will look to keep audiences entertained for years to come, their stay in Chico was a welcomed one that was met with a ruckus crowd and love all around.

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The crowd was instantly energized as Atmosphere came to the stage Friday night at the Senator Theatre during their Mi Vida Local Tour. Photo credit: Brian Luong 

Ricardo Tovar can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @rtovarg13.