Designer, Muralist. Rapper, Radio Host, Pugs Atomz is a true Hip Hop
renaissance man. His Art and Music has been featured in TV Shows, movies, commercials, sporting events and video games. He has been able to tour the world performing his deep catalog, solo and with frequent collaborator DJ Vadim (The Electric, UK). His inspiration for all this stems from growing up in Englewood, where he would witness the performers on the Green Line train and see the murals and Graffiti art in his neighborhood.
His mother was Artistic Director of The Blvd Art Center and did Art
programming for the youth in Englewood and the southside of Chicago. Which was a foundational starting point for Gallery 37, a precursor for what is now known as After School Matters in Chicago. Pugs Worked in both programs and eventually taught with After School Matters for 10 years.
Hip Hop Culture has always been his battery, so it was no surprise when he started a collective called The Nacrobats, in the mid 90's. From that point, he began releasing albums from the collective and mixtapes frequently. By throwing parties and concerts at The Blvd Art Center and The Point Field House, Pugs solidified himself in the hip-hop scene. Some stand out members of that collective were: Mc's - Open Mike Eagle, Psalm One and Thaione Davis, Pianist/Producer - Kenny Keys, Painters - Hebru Brantley, Statik RK, Damon Reed and Max Sansing to name a few.
After years of painting and freestyling during the 90s and attending the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Atomz realized he wanted to be a musician and dropped his debut album in 2000. It was followed shortly by 2002 "24 Years Later", which fostered an international tour with stops in London, Amsterdam, and Germany. 2005 "Playing with Matches" was a 17-track effort documenting his life as a Graffiti Artist, that featured an art show and a storefront installation event reminiscent of "Beat Street.” In 2007 Atomz released “Conversation with a Chamelion.” This album took him on a 38 city tour with DJ Vadim around the US and Canada. As the need for tour merch increased, Pugs delved into fashion, designing clothing and fitted hats with the likes of American Needle and Afro Wear. After a rise in violence in Chicago schools, in 2008, Mr. Atomz wrote the song “Me and You” addressing it. This led to his involvement with Coalmine Music, and Krs One's, Stop the Violence movement in the Chicago..
Soon after, Pugs and DJ Vadim formed a band called "The Electric" that sparked a 2 year tour playing shows from Brazil to Russia non-stop. Pugs moved to London to ease his tour schedule, and fell in love with the fashion scene there. Going to Design houses, Fashion shows, and meeting designers and photographers really pushed him to take it more seriously. So upon his return to Chicago he hit the ground running, collaborating with local Streetwear brands, releasing mixtapes with popular blogs like DJ Booth and Fakeshore Drive, and dropping albums with labels BBE and Tokyo Dawn.
Atomz eventually became a designer and Creative Director for the innovative www.iridiumclothingc.com, with two brick-and-mortar locations in Chicago and a digital/cultural following worldwide. He helped to develop the clothing brand in a direction that attracted various celebrities (Usher, Justin Bieber, Gucci Mane, Chris Brown, and Whoopi Goldberg to name a few). On top of that, it has become an incubator for upcoming photographers, models, artists and designers. Pugs has also started his own brand called www.usuwe93.com, with a bevy of Art inspired prints, clothing and accessories. Today you can find him designing for various brands and working on Public Art projects with his cofounded www,EnglewoodArtsCollective,com and The @Muralsrus crew around the USA.