The Rythm Is Going To Get You

The first thing that grabs me this morning is the beat. This beat is sick. This is just a slow grooving, seat back, windows down, arm hanging out the side, slow driving beat. If one smoked it wouldn't be a bad idea to light up a butt and drive 20 mph around and around a traffic circle while blasting this. If I didn't have to go to work this morning there is a slight chance that I would have done this (the honest answer here is no I wouldn't. I don't smoke anymore and I'm not cool enough to pull stuff like that off. But for the sake of the post lets all pretend that I would do that, and that it would help certify me as a badass. Thanks) I listened to the song three times this morning because the first time I was just focused on the beat. Sometimes when in my car (and only in my car with my windows up) I try to blank out the rap part of the song and listen to the beat. Then I drop the sickest freestyle you've ever heard. I'm telling you I could have done 8 Mile, that's how good I am. Challenge me I dares you!!! (Author's Note: I don't accept freestyle challenges...not since the incident).

What makes Atmosphere so much better then other hip hop or rap groups out there is Slug's ability to tell a story. Not all of the songs are autobiographical some of them (like today's Rftc) have stories with characters and messages. Gasp! A hip hop song with characters and messages?! Shouldn't these songs be filled with rhymes concerning bitches, ho's, drugs, and guns? Isn't it awful what the 50 Cents of the hip hop world have done to this genre of music?

Atmosphere is able to take hip hop and bring it back to it's roots. Slug tells stories that speak to people and grab your attention. Yes this morning my initial thought was to focus on the beat, but when I played it again I got caught up in the story. Slug paints these pictures that suck you in and caring about the outcome. Kind of like reading a novel. It's a lyrical movie. The kid in this story slings drugs and is out at night and hears a noise and sees a flashlight so he takes off. Ditching his tough guy exterior he hides in a garbage can. He eventually decides to confront his pursuer and finds it's a cop and not a security guard. He pictures himself getting dragged off to jail when a curve ball gets thrown. The cop is a hip hop kid so he ignores the drugs and the garbage pale kid and lets him go. An interesting ending but it keeps you involved the entire time despite the strange ending.

I also love how Slug lends his rhythm to the beat. He never tries to be more then the beat, he adjusts his flow to fit it perfectly. His ability to match up with the rhythm helps to keep the song flowing, there is nothing worse in a hip hop song where the rapper doesn't pay attention to the beat. It just becomes this four minute mess. It's like taking paint and just throwing it against the wall aimlessly. Yes it's fun but it looks like shit. So why should we listen to rappers who are just "throwing paint against the wall"? The answer is we shouldn't. Listen to more Atmosphere, it's good for you.