Indie rapper's new disc a bit stale
Matt Zaloga
Issue date: 4/30/08 Section: Opinion
Indie hip-hop music has been gaining popularity, in the same fashion that all underground musician's rise to popularity eventually. It happened to punk in the 70s and alt-rock in the 90s, and now it's underground hip-hop. And much in the same way that punk lost its energy when it broke, and alt-rock became Breaking Benjamin, many of the underground rappers have lost some of their steam.
Minnesota natives Atmosphere have fallen into this trap, which is very unfortunate. My first experience with indie rap was listening to Atmosphere's "God Loves Ugly" album. Before I listened to that album, most of the hip-hop I had encountered was about cash, grass and women. When I discovered MC Slug and DJ Ant, I realized that the flow of hip-hop can be used to relate more realistic images of life and personal experiences, much like folk music.
What first drew me into Atmosphere's sound, and in turn into the indie rap scene, was the lyrical content. Slug tends to write rhymes that are based on his own personal experiences, which had nothing to do with street life. It felt a bit more accessible to me. Personal relationships, disdain for the nine to five workday and a sense of alienation from "normal" society are all themes that flow through Atmosphere's work.
Although Atmosphere is still able to continue this on their new release, "When Life Gives You Lemons…," there is something about the album that seems a bit stale. The album got excellent reviews from critics, but there is still something about it that irks me.
Granted, the album is a huge improvement over 2005's "You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having," which compared to their previous work is a disgrace. The album's sound is logical when you look at the progression of their sound since 2005.
After the last full-length, the rap duo put out three EPs, "Sad Clown Bad Summer," "Sad Clown Bad Fall," and "Sad Clown Bad Winter." The "Summer" EP allowed Slug to show that he had matured quite a bit as an MC, as well as let Ant experiment with some different beats and instrumentation. The other two were similar, but did not capture the true essence of Atmosphere like the "Summer" one.
Minnesota natives Atmosphere have fallen into this trap, which is very unfortunate. My first experience with indie rap was listening to Atmosphere's "God Loves Ugly" album. Before I listened to that album, most of the hip-hop I had encountered was about cash, grass and women. When I discovered MC Slug and DJ Ant, I realized that the flow of hip-hop can be used to relate more realistic images of life and personal experiences, much like folk music.
What first drew me into Atmosphere's sound, and in turn into the indie rap scene, was the lyrical content. Slug tends to write rhymes that are based on his own personal experiences, which had nothing to do with street life. It felt a bit more accessible to me. Personal relationships, disdain for the nine to five workday and a sense of alienation from "normal" society are all themes that flow through Atmosphere's work.
Although Atmosphere is still able to continue this on their new release, "When Life Gives You Lemons…," there is something about the album that seems a bit stale. The album got excellent reviews from critics, but there is still something about it that irks me.
Granted, the album is a huge improvement over 2005's "You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having," which compared to their previous work is a disgrace. The album's sound is logical when you look at the progression of their sound since 2005.
After the last full-length, the rap duo put out three EPs, "Sad Clown Bad Summer," "Sad Clown Bad Fall," and "Sad Clown Bad Winter." The "Summer" EP allowed Slug to show that he had matured quite a bit as an MC, as well as let Ant experiment with some different beats and instrumentation. The other two were similar, but did not capture the true essence of Atmosphere like the "Summer" one.
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