Time for an interview. The particular person of the day is somebody who I met a long time ago (or as you humans describe as high school). A man who loves pop culture and sci-fi, as well as loving rasslin just as much as us over here on the Freakin Awesome Network. We’re gonna find out why he hung up his boots and decided to rumble with his opponents in rap battles instead. And most importantly why he dropped on us such a kick ass album for free. Time to chat with the MC known as Atheist.
G: First off, let me say great to have you here. You have been a major wrestling fan for a long time, so you are already among brethren on this site.
A: I saw my first wrestling match when I was a little kid staying at my grandma’s house. It was The Bushwackers vs. some jobbers. They were stomping around the ring, throwing these guys around. I was hooked. In high school, I watched wrestling religiously. WWF, WCW, ECW, AAA, IWA, anything I could get my hands on. My friends and I started a backyard wrestling fed which led to me going to wrestling school and doing some indy wrestling. Now I’m getting ready to shoot my first music video and I’m going back to my roots. We’re shooting part of it with a great fed from Salt Lake City named UCW Zero. I’m really excited to make this happen.
G: So your decision to rap started from participating in rap battles. What made you want to pick up the mic and duel with other MCs?
A: When I was 18, I entered a freestyle battle. It was my first time battling ever and I had no idea what I was doing. They paired me up against a guy named Thesaurus. For anyone into battle rapping, they know exactly who I’m talking about. Thesaurus went on to become the “2-Time Champion of Everything.” He’s easily in the Top 10 Battle Rappers of all-time. He wasn’t famous yet and I was nothing but a stepping-stone on his was to the top, haha. It took me a while to get back into battling after that but I’ve never lost that bad again.
G: Why the very direct and blatant name Atheist? Instead of something like “the logical lyricists” (I’m keeping that name)
A: When I moved to Salt Lake, the biggest hip-hop station in Utah was hosting rap battles on Tuesday nights. I got a spot on the show and when I showed up, they needed something to call me. I picked “Atheist” because I thought it was memorable. Turns out, it was. I ended up doing a lot of battles with that name and then people started asking if I had any music. I’ve always wanted to make music but never had the opportunity. When I was making “Thanks for the Burgers,” I thought about changing my name but it’s how everyone knew me. Guess I’m stuck with it.
G: Where did the name of album come from and why release it for free?
A: The first rap album I ever bought was the soundtrack to Dangerous Minds. I’ve listened to that album more times in my life than any other. It was a staple of my childhood. My favorite song on the album was by Bay Area rap legend, Rappin’ 4-Tay. Fast-forward seventeen years and I’m at the studio, making my first album, and my producer says that we’d have to put the session on hold because Rappin’ 4-Tay was coming in to record. He’d done a show in town the night before and was rapping a guest verse on a local artist’s track. He and his entourage showed up and 4-Tay started writing his verse. The guys were hungry but everything was closed (Sunday is a slow day in Utah) so I offered to drive across town and pick them up some burgers. In return, he offered to record something for my album. So that’s how I got Rappin’ 4-Tay on my intro. One of my favorite musicians of all-time introduced my album because I knew where to buy the burgers. “Thanks for the Burgers” was born.
G: My favorite track of course is Sleazy (which I put into one of my video reviews). How’d you come up with that song?
A: I love posse cuts (songs with lots of rappers on them). I knew that’s how I wanted to close out the album. So I contacted a lot of the rappers I’ve met at the battles and sent them the beat with my first verse recorded over it. The second I heard the beat, I knew what the song had to be about. And each guy who showed up completely understood the satirical style I was looking for. It’s all about how sleazy we are but it’s a joke and all for fun.
G: What’s your take on the movement in hip hop known as nerdcore? Do you see yourself related to that?
A: I’m definitely a nerdy rapper but I’ve hesitated to classify myself as “nerdcore” because I’m not overly familiar with popular nerdcore music. I don’t listen to a lot of it. Nothing against it, it’s just not my background. But I make songs about Ninja Turtles and Star Trek so I guess I ought to familiarize myself a bit more with the genre. I’m hoping to work with a couple nerdcore artists on my next album.
G: Back in the day you seem destined to make a name for yourself in the squared circle. What made you want to set that career path aside?
A: I was really lucky to work with an indy fed that sold out their shows. At my peak, I was wrestling in packed middle school gymnasiums. Standing room only. The cards had guys like Juventud Guerrera, Vic Grimes, and Halloween/Ciclope on them. It was great. But wrestling school was really demanding and I was never in the type of shape that would make it to the big leagues. At a point, I just decided to pursue some of my other interests. Moved to San Francisco, went to film school, and ended up in Utah as a rapper. I’m as surprised as you are.
G: Any particular wrestler you are currently rooting for?
A: It’s a great time to be a wrestling fan. Guys like CM Punk and Daniel Bryan have made their way from the indies to the top of the big leagues. The Shield just debuted. Bray Wyatt might be called up soon. And even though the writing’s been lacking lately, and the PG shows makes me miss the Attitude Era, it’s easy to see the talent that’s being featured right now. I’ve always been a fan of the cruiserweights so Kofi Kingston is probably who I’ve been rooting for the most this year.
G: It’s been cool hearing your answers. Thanks for stopping by and keeping it real.
A: Thanks for interviewing me. If I can give myself a quick plug, my album can be downloaded for free (clearing the samples would have been a nightmare) at: http://801atheist.bandcamp.com
A big thanks to my pal here for his time. Make sure to check out Atheist’s free album at the link provided above. Go on the message board and tell me what you think.
photos property of JennDoe Photography.
About the author: Glitch is a digital demon from planet Fanboy, and is here to teach us humans a thing or two. You can find more of his reviews(and nonsense) over at http://www.youtube.com/takenoutofcontext, https://www.facebook.com/takenoutofcontext