Listen to Good Hip-Hop: Atmosphere
You’ll you either love or hate Atmosphere. As it’s known today, the group consists of producer Anthony Davis and lyricist Sean Daily or “Slug.” The moniker is telling in that his lyrics often center on a Dave Eggers’ like self-awareness that generally morphs not so subtly into a masochism with which we’re all familiar. The music is grimy, emotional and very real.
A self-described “white boy from Minnesota,” you won’t hear Slug rhyming about any ghettoes or hard-knocks. Rather he’ll speak to you about heartbreak and self-loathing in a way that often hits a little too close to home. The melodic but sometimes raw-edged beats make the perfect complement in that they evoke a broken emotional state infused with a touch of self-conscious irony.
I realize that, thus far, I’ve given you little reason to want to subject yourself to his sometimes wrenching commentary, and the more I think about it, I’ve got little to say on that topic except: Trust Me.
You’ll laugh, you’ll cry (um, that’s true only if you’re as emotionally fragile as I am) you’ll crank it up and let Slug articulate all the bullshit that you can’t seem to get out. (”All she wanted was a little bit of solid.”) Okay, well, this is getting a little personal here; but I guess that speaks to exactly why I love Atmosphere so much. Slug reminds me of a particular ex-boyfriend: drunk, manipulative but oh so soulful. [And everyone in his life would mistake it as love.]
Some of my favorite lyrics:
Fuck You Lucy:
And I travel with feels so I can deal with touch/ It’s like that/ Thank you very much/ Fuck you very much/ And everyone in his life would mistake it as love.
Little Man:
I know there’s gotta be something kickin’ your bruises/ How’s the love? How’s the music? How’s the self-abusiveness?
A girl named Hope:
And that’s the sound that a dog will make /When he’s just been hit by a car.
The Woman With The Tattooed Hands:
There’s good and evil in each individual fire/ identifies needs and feeds our desires/ as long as we keep our spirit inspired/ she can bite her bottom lip all she wants.
My favorite albums are: God Loves Ugly, Seven’s Travels and You Can’t Imagine How Much Fun We’re Having. Check them out!
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