In a perfect world, everyone would return reporters' calls — while the reporter is at his or her desk.

As we know, the world is far from perfect, and actually connecting with people by phone — especially touring rock stars with better things to do than to call some no-name reporter who's on Hawai'i Standard Time — is a rare occurrence.

This time, a phone connection with Slug of rap duo Atmosphere wasn't in the cards. Time zones and tour buses just didn't allow it. So we decided on the next best thing: e-mail.

The following is an e-mail convo between this reporter and Slug, who, using his BlackBerry, answered a list of questions submitted to him via e-mail.

On 11/14/08 4:52 p.m., "Kawehi Haug" (khaug@honoluluadvertiser.com) wrote:

Aloha Slug,

Kawehi Haug here, entertainment reporter for The Honolulu Advertiser. If you're reading this, it means you've agreed to answer a few questions for an article to be published in the newspaper.

Thanks so much for your time ... I really appreciate it, and I'm sorry we couldn't find a good time to talk on the phone. Maybe next time.

Please feel free to be candid with your answers. There are no rules, though I did think about asking you to make all your answers rhyme, you know, because you're so good at that, but I thought that would be too much to ask of someone I've never even met. Maybe next time.

On 11/15/08 12:31 p.m., "Sean Daly" wrote:

Where are you right now?

right now i am sitting on the back of a tour bus in a cold city named columbia, missouri.

Is there any other place you'd rather be?

there is no place i would rather be today.

I think it's pretty widely agreed on that you guys are a big deal. Your latest album debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard charts. So, do YOU guys think you're a big deal?

uh, no. i think we are lucky. my son thinks i'm a nerd. my girlfriend thinks i am attractive, but she's supposed to say (stuff) like that. my mom thinks i'm awesome. so i'm content.

How are you dealing with the sell-out Gestapo — all those people who get all indignant every time an indie outfit gets popular? Or haven't you experienced much popularity fallout?

just a little fall-out. i don't mind. i was 19 once too. and i know how important it is to indulge in an identity crisis when you are younger. so i'm just thankful that even as someone that they point a finger at and call names, i get to play a role in directing them down the path.

Tell me about Lucy. Does her recurrence in your work represent something deeper than what everyone thinks it does: A fictional woman on whom you work out your girl problems? Or is that it?

lucy is not a woman. lucy is the personification of codependency. whether you are struggling with alcohol, drugs, spirituality, the opposite sex, parenthood, whatever. lucy is whatever external entity you use to validate yourself.

How often are your own personal issues the inspiration for your music, if at all?

quite often i guess.

I think people like to believe that the lyrics of their favorite artists are true reflections of the artists' experiences. It makes us, the insignificant listeners, feel like we've got something on you. But seriously, if you had to take a guess, what percentage of your work would you say really is a reflection of your experiences?

yeah, in this faux-keep-it-real mentality that rap has pushed itself into, many kids think that my stories are true stories, much like they believe that gangster rap is true. but seriously, those rappers don't sell drugs, and i'd be dead from tequila poisoning if i had really lived through these episodes.

much like gangster-rap, my stories are fictional accounts based on true thoughts/feelings/observations. i don't see them as lies, i see them as stories that reflect my thoughts and experiences. i'd say about 20 percent are straight-up honest, and the rest are my observations of society.

besides, i don't really have the right to tell a story if it's gonna embarrass another person who may have been a part of the story. so i change things up before i get into the studio to protect the other people who may have been involved.

Are you what they call a "tortured artist"?

nope. no more tortured than the average american living beneath the patriot act.

Had you not become what you are, what would you have been?

truck driver. give me time, i may still find myself behind that wheel.

Read her blog, "Play. Eat. Repeat." at http://honolulu.metromix.com.