Atak Releases Studio Album 'This Is Me'

On Sunday March 8th, Atak released his much anticipated studio album, This Is Me, on all streaming platforms. Confident and focused, Atak is finally making music the way he wants it to sound. He's one of the last OG rappers of 90s era West side Denver, a time when gang and drug violence ripped through local neighborhoods, inspiring countless newspaper headlines. By the early 2000s, much of the inner-city turbulence in Denver quieted.

Though the city changed immensely over the decade, Atak lost his best friend Rich in 2006 to medical complications after being shot around Thanksgiving 2005, when Atak was also shot twice, once in the face. Denver Westword published a story about the incident in Lower Downtown Denver (LoDo) January of 2006. Only a week after being shot, Atak still got on stage of a battle-of-the-bands contest at Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom and performed through clenched teeth, as his jaw was wired shut while he healed from facial reconstructive surgery and the metal rodule inserted into his leg. The rapper lost over 35 pounds in a little over the course of 30 days as a result, complicating his recovery even further.

At the time that the Westword story was published, Rich was alive, albeit that his injuries paralyzed him and doctors warned that he would never walk again. In May of 2006, however, Rich died of complications related to the bullet that was lodged his body. "I was with Rich the night everything happened," Atak told Westword. "I carry so much weight with me because of it. I'm a rider and I did the best I could that night. I tried to save everybody." He remembers his friend every day and focuses the pain he feels as a survivor of that fateful night into music.

Aside from a few features on This Is Me by Hustle Man, Kwony Ca$h, Lyssa, Felisa Latin Soul, and Dillon Duggan, Atak wrote the lyrics to give his fans an opportunity to get personal and up-close to the man he is today. He's a little older, a little wiser, and a lot more focused. Now as a proud father of 3, Atak put all the negativity behind him and is completely focused on his future in music-the one thing that helped him survive the struggles he endured all his life. On the title track and "Mista Peppa" he reflects on the struggles he experienced growing up and how they affect him as an adult. The music is what truly saved him. "I love the creative part the most," he said. "I get this feeling in the studio and I can't explain it, but I feel free and no pressure..."

He's shared the stage with big names such as Lil Skrappy, Chingo Bling, Young Buck, Baby Bash, Lil Rob, Gorilla Zoe, Slim of 112, and has an extensive catalogue of mixtapes available all over the internet. In the early 2010s, Atak relocated to Atlanta and made a significant impact on the city's music scene, as well. After coming back to the Mile High City to raise his family, he zoomed in on his craft and started recording.

He's one of the last of his generation in the music game who represent Latinos of the West side of Denver. He's owned multiple barbershops and other businesses in his communities and has wild stories of life in Denver before the gentrification of his old neighborhoods. Atak is a character that's larger than life and now he's back with possibly his best album yet.

Listen to the new album here:

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