Atmosphere, When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold – Last one of the forgotten 2008 picks. I promise. Plus I have a few from ’09 that are already classics. Nevertheless, Atmosphere’s latest release is a pleasant reminder of why I like Minneapolis and how crazy the cold will make you.
Atmosphere has steadily released a litany of emo hip-hop that has found a distinctive following not only from Minneapolis underground fans but also hip hop snobs around the world that are tired of “money, girls and bling” rhymes. Myself included. Instead, we tend to gravitate towards the “my life is falling apart and I can’t pick up the pieces” effect of Slug and Ant’s timeless melancholy. When they hurt, I hurt. Somewhat. Usually they add a hint of aggression or (God help them) happiness to temper the overall negativity which makes a whole album of vice, addiction and loss tolerable when not in a deep depression. However, Lemons has less of this levity and suffers from it. Sonically, it is a beautiful work. The production is thoughtful, cohesive. Lyrically, the skill is still there – maybe a bit redundant after 6 albums but I still get sucked in. What I have a hard time with is the lack of… you know…fun. It doesn’t have to be bubbly (even Portishead put in a ukelele song) and you don’t have to sell out to a collaboration . But there has to be SOME hope involved. There needs to be scale to the heaviness presented to really appreciate its weight. Still, I give them thumbs up for another easy on the ears story rap album full of thought provoking rhymes. Maybe an ice cream cone from Sebastian Joe’s or a banana split from Town Talk will cheer you up, Slug.
Burn by Ray LaMontagne