Atmosphere mashed up with 50 Cent

There's Slug again on the cover of Urb, between DJ Craze and Princess Superstar (click photo to enlarge). Meanwhile, MTVu is filming an episode of Backstage Pass with Atmosphere at SXSW next week (submit your own questions via the show's link). Even better (and beyond this bit of previously reported mashup), some of Ant's tracks for Atmosphere and Felt have been variously combined with Amerie, Gwen Stefani, and 50 Cent on DJ Five & Pizzo's recent Backpack Thugs 2005 Megamix (buy here or here; read about it here). Listen here to Fitty rapping "Just a Lil Bit" over "Smart Went Crazy" as we round up other local rap news: Rhymesayers labelmate P.O.S. is getting nationwide press play for his new album (reviewed here in City Pages; scroll down)--including an "A-" in Spin. I missed his show a couple weeks ago in New Orleans, but my friend Machelle told me he faced a crowd of less than a hundred at the Howlin' Wolf, and made the event special by getting down offstage and performing his whole set on the floor. (Check out photos from the San Francisco show.) Closer to home, Truthmaze's Saturday Varsity set was well-attended and fun as hell, while the Unknown Prophets' ID show the same night at the Triple Rock was sold-out chaos (at one point, DJ Willy Lose appeared in a chicken suit--'nuff said). Oh, and Trama is going into the studio this week with Cheap Cologne to work on a new album.