Atllas

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Atllas
Background information
Birth name	Lloyd Hopkins
Origin	Phoenix, Arizona
Genre(s)	Hip Hop
Years active	2003 – Present
Label(s)	Fire Flock Entertainment
Website	http://atllasonline.com

Atllas (born Lloyd Hopkins in Denver, Colorado) is a rapper based in Phoenix, Arizona. Self-proclaimed as the "King of AZ", Atllas is one of the most successful independent recording artists in Arizona, having sold tens of thousands of albums in the Southwest.

1 Biography
2 Discography
- 2.1 Albums
- 2.2 Mixtapes
3 References

[edit] Biography

Born in Denver, Atllas and his family moved to the Maryvale section of Phoenix, Arizona in the early 1990s. As a fan of Michael Jordan, Hopkins originally dreamt of being an NBA star. He began focusing on music while attending Maryvale High School. Atllas and a group of friends began booking shows around the Phoenix Metropolitan Area, but received little success. Atllas used the money from the bookings to invest in studio time, and began recording with his new local crew named the Phoenix Sector, also including Lyracist and Capum C.

In 2003, Atllas started his own independent record company, Fire Flock Entertainment. His first independent album, The King of AZ, was released that year. The single "Hood Famous" became a local success, winning Power 92's "War at 4" eight consecutive times, making him the only Phoenix rapper played in competition with national artists. On the strength of the single, the King of AZ album was able to push over 8,000 units in Arizona. Atllas followed up in 2004 with a mixtape titled Let's Eat, which managed to sell over 7,000 copies throughout the Southwest.

By 2005, Atllas had become one of the most popular local artists in Arizona. His second album, Hunger and Starvation, released in the summer of 2005, managed to sell over 40,000 copies in the Southwest, making it a highly successful independent release. The success led to wider exposure, as Atllas began opening for a number of prominent rap acts, including The Roots, Obie Trice, DJ Quik, Boot Camp Clik, Paul Wall, Dem Franchize Boyz, Cappadonna, Ludacris, Xzibit and P. Diddy. More national exposure came in 2006. In January, Atllas was featured as a Coach on an episode of MTV's Made, in which a teenage girl from Sedona wished to become a rapper. Along with his TV appearance, Atllas' music began to receive more widespread attention. Due to his relationship with legendary DJ Kayslay, the rapper's music received rotation on New York's Hot 97. Kayslay also hosted a 2006 Atllas mixtape titled The Birth of a Caesar. In turn, the rapper made an appearance on the DJ's 2006 album The Champions.

Following his MTV appearance, Atllas received attention from numerous media sources. In May 2006, Atllas was featured in issues of both The Source and XXL, appearing in the former's Independent Album Review section, and the latter's Show & Prove section. Atllas is currently recording material for his third album, titled Say Hello to the Crook, scheduled for release in early 2007. The album's lead single, "We Here to Party", received rotation in over 20 cities in late 2006. He is also working on two separate film projects, a documentary titled The Chronicles of a Hustler and a film titled Hood Famous, which will both feature original soundtracks.