Pugslee Atomz fills post-Nacrobats vacuum

MF Doom, gunkhole, Pugslee Atomz with Intel

and drawings created live by comic book artists Jim Mahfood, JoseGaribaldi, Dave Crosland and Mike Biance

*11 p.m. Saturday

*Metro, 3730 N. Clark

*Tickets, $17 (18-over show)

*(773) 549-0203

For a decade, Chicago rapper Pugslee Atomz was synonymous with theNacrobats, a hip-hop collective with a constantly shifting rosterthat would flux in numbers from dozens to few.

Last year, the Nacrobats disintegrated.

"It felt kind of weird at first because I was so used to thinkingabout a group of people," Pugslee says. "Everything would revolvearound making the group known, not just Pugslee and some people. It'sbeen kind of wild to be like, 'Practice! Oh, I can practice.' Becausenow all I need to practice is myself and [DJ] Intel. It's been a loteasier and there is more time to focus on my ideas."

Atomz has taken advantage of this freedom by putting together anew CD, becoming a television host and continuing his work on radio.

Later this month, Chicago-based Audio 8 Recordings will releasehis latest solo CD, "Playing with Matches," which chronicles theChicago graffiti scene of the early 1990s.

"I'm painting a picture of the everyday life of a graffiti writer,the trials and tribulations," he says. "It's kind of similar to how50 Cent is to gangster culture. I'm giving the inside scoop andtalking about how [graffiti] brings you to all of the hip-hopelements."

Atomz says he was inspired to do the project because he's seen asplintering in the hip-hop culture between the elements of DJ-ing,break dancing, MC-ing and graffiti writing.

"When I was a kid, everything went hand-in-hand. If you didgraffiti, you were into rhyming," he says. "Now everything is gettingbigger and there is corporate money. If they are giving money for DJbattles, some people might think it's not important anymore to lookat the other stuff. I had to bring it all back together."

Saturday's show at Metro is a pulling together of differentelements in its own right as Chicago hip-hop merges with the comicbook world of this weekend's Wizard World Chicago convention.

"It will be wild," Atomz says. "There will be classic guys like MFDoom [KMD, Madvillain] doing their thing onstage, while guys like JimMahfood [40 oz. Comics] are doing sketches live onstage and in thebalcony."

But Atomz isn't only focusing on his rhyme book. He recentlybecame host of "Barbershop Hip Hop," a Chicago cable-access programthat places a spotlight on local hip-hop and hip-hop artists who areplaying in Chicago.

Atomz says the creator of the show, Slim the Barber, asked him tocome on board as the host.

"I studied video in college and loved it," Atomz says. "So far,the reaction to the show has been really good."

Shot at the Model Barbershop at 3452 W. Irving Park, the nextepisode of the show airs on Saturday at 11:30 p.m. on Channel 19 inChicago. All episodes also can be seen online atwww.barbershophiphop.com.

His foray into TV hasn't interrupted Atomz's job as co-host of"CTA Radio" every Wednesday night from 9 p.m. to midnight on WHPK-FM(88.5). Atomz, Thaione Davis, DJ Verve and Cosmo Galactus take to theairwaves each week to promote fresh Chicago hip-hop.

"It's become a staple in South Side hip-hop," Atomz says. "We havea pretty open-door policy in terms of letting people get heard andget some feedback and criticism." Artists who would like to havetheir music played on the show can e-mail Atomz at ctaradio@hotmail.com.

Despite all of his new and continued work, Atomz has not ruled outreviving the Nacrobats name with new projects.

"There probably will be [a new Nacrobats], because it seems liketurnover in the roster has gone in two-year spurts since 1993," Atomzsays. "But I think it will be more like the traditional albums I usedto do, where it will just be a compilation of artists I like."

David Jakubiak is a local free-lance writer.