Movers and Shakers: The 40 Most Exciting Soulful Artists of 2003

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Atmosphere street poets
Minneapolis? Atmosphere?a variable crew led by rapper Slug (Sean Daley)?is one outfit that appeals not just to b-boys and suburban kids, but to poetry lovers. Like other independent hip-hoppers?El-P, DoseOne, Sage Francis?Atmosphere creates street poetry with a human face. On their latest album, God Loves Ugly, Ant (Anthony Davis) handles the dense, catchy beats, while word-man Slug makes assertions of love, hate, and human fallibility: ?Riding the public transit, I study the blank stares to answer my questions / of how and why I got so many gray hairs,? he muses, in an urgent voice like no other rapper?s.
Slug?s paradoxical persona is the real key to Atmosphere?s appeal. In the midst of introspection, he?ll suddenly snap into tough-guy mode??Work for food, rent, sex, money, or water / I don?t know what else you have to offer / Your first-born daughter? No need, already got her??as if warning us not to assume we?ve figured him out. God Loves Ugly (Rhymesayers Entertainment)
?ABBIE JARMAN

Paul Hillier Vocal advocate
Modern ?trance? music would be hard-pressed to match the hypnotic power of the human voice as Paul Hillier presents it. The singer and master choral director has spent his life exploring the voice?s profound expressiveness, turning exhalation into exultation in the process.
Forgoing the fusty airs of some early-music devotees, the British-born Hillier champions the work of contemporary composers such as Steve Reich and Arvo P?rt, even while resurrecting the great a cappella hits of the 13th century. Having made a mark as co-founder and director of the large-scale Hilliard Ensemble, he now funnels his considerable energies into directing the more intimate Theatre of Voices, running the Early Music Institute at Indiana University?s famous School of Music, writing and editing scholarly music tomes, and generally reminding the world of choral music?s richness and wonder. Theater of Voices, Fragments (Harmonia Mundi)
?KEITH GOETZMAN

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