This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Great cities should produce great art, so it seems fitting that Salt Lake has rapper Atheist, whose song about the Avenues neighborhood is currently featured in a Belgian commercial.
The song "Party in the Avenues" provides the sound track for a commercial by fashion company Essential Antwerp. It comes from the album "Topanga," which Scott Knopf released earlier this year under his stage name Atheist. The song is all about Salt Lake City's "eclectic" Avenues neighborhood and, obviously, partying.
(A big H/T to Colin Wolf at City Weekly for noticing this video. Wolf's blog post has background on how the song was chosen for the commercial and a link to an Atheist album review.)
I saw Atheist earlier this year at the Shred Shed — on the recommendation of Provo-based rapper Chance Lewis — and the show was absolutely fantastic. It exceeded my expectations for the show itself as well as for Salt Lake-based hip hop.
So, hopefully, this new Belgian commercial is a sign of even more, bigger things on the horizon for Atheist.
Jim Dalrymple II
Twitter: @jimmycdii