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This album was released on February 1st in 2001. As you can probably tell from the title, this is a compilation of some of Atmosphere’s EPs. The three extended plays that were included in this compilation are Ford One, Ford Two, and The Lucy EP. Again, the album cover is dope af. Atmosphere has some great covers. Look at this shit.

Anyway, I don’t have any reason to believe that this album won’t be great, so I’m really looking forward to it. Every song is produced by Ant, except where noted.

Track 1: Between The Lines

This beat is smooth as fuck. The first verse wasn’t bad. I wasn’t in love with Slug’s slightly melodic delivery. It wasn’t bad tho. I definitely liked it lyrically. He’s rapping about a police officer. Not a corrupt, evil, racist officer tho. He was just saying that he understands how hard it can be to be a police officer, but he ends the verse by saying “But if I see you as a threat to my seedling or my sibling / I’ll die to pull the plug on your machine.” The first verse is dope. The hook’s cool I guess. The second verse was nice. This one was about some weird chick who goes to theaters and has a really tough life. He doesn’t really talk about how or why her life is so much harder than everyone else’s. He just says that he’s surprised that she hasn’t gone on a killing spree yet. He’s rapping about himself in third person on this third verse. “He used to write his rhymes and recite his lines all the time / Sometimes he’d make them up right off the top of his mind / After doing shows for years, getting respect from peers / Killed the ego; looking at these people like they’re weird.” The way he describes himself is pretty similar to the way he described the woman in the second verse, except instead of going on a killing spree, he just kills himself. I enjoyed the song. It’s not amazing or anything, but it’s definitely above average. This is dope to me. 4/5

Track 2: Like Today

“Woke up, got up near eleven o’clock / Butt naked except I was wearing my socks / And that’s cool, ’cause most the time this floor is cold.” So far he’s literally just saying exactly what happened on a normal morning. The beat’s dope. “Well, what do we have here? / It appears as if a piece of me has got motivation / Ain’t nothin’ wrong with a little morning masturbation.” Okay, I just listened to the whole story. It’s pathetic. In a cool way tho. I enjoyed it. He tells this long ass story of him just doing every day shit, then he’s about to smash some random woman, but it turns out to be a dream. I think Slug’s pretty good at telling stories in his music, but a lot of the times the ending turns out to be really underwhelming. I enjoyed this track tho. His flow on these first couple of songs is really laid back so far. I don’t really mind it that much tho. This song is dope to me. 4/5

Track 3: Tears For The Sheep

This beat is dope. Okay, here we go. Slug’s flow on this shit is awesome. He killed that first verse. “When the smoke evaporated and the damage was assessed / The casualties were counted as they looked upon the mess / As they focused their eyes on the horizon, who’d’ve guessed? / All that stood on top the hill was number seven’s silhouette.” The hook’s not bad. This is awesome. He’s goin’ the fuck in on this second verse. “They say a picture’s worth a thousand words / Well, I beg a thousand pardons for each word I’ve used for personal gain / But the letters that float through my head to mold my sentences / Could never be contained by a simple picture frame.” The third verse was great too. All I can say is that Slug was spittin’ his fuckin’ ass off. I definitely fuck with this shit. This is dope af. 5/5

Track 4: Guns & Cigarettes

This beat’s cool I guess. I’m not in love with it, but it’s not really bad. The first verse was cool. The hook’s decent. The second verse was dope. I don’t know. I’m definitely enjoying the song, but it’s kinda boring. Maybe the beat actually is bad. I liked the verses. This is just a really sonically underwhelming song. The lyrics from Slug were kinda funny, but aside from that this track just isn’t really doin’ much for me. It’s alright I guess. 3/5

Track 5: Don’t Ever Fucking Question That

This beat’s cool. The first verse wasn’t bad. Hmm… I don’t know how I feel about this hook. It’s not bad, but it’s kinda hard to take seriously. It feels a bit overdramatic… “I LOVE you! Don’t EVER fucking question that!” Not gonna lie… I cringed a little bit. The second verse was really well written, but… I don’t know. This just isn’t for me. I don’t really think it’s a bad song, but I seriously doubt that I’d ever have the desire to listen to this again. It’s just not my cup of tea. It’s a decent song, but I don’t really fuck with it personally. It’s alright. 3/5

Track 6: It Goes

This beat is dope af. The first verse was pretty good. The hook’s not bad. The second verse was dope. Oh. It just ended. Well, it’s not really that short of a song, but I guess I don’t really have much to say since the structure is so simple. I think I liked Ant’s work on this song more than Slug’s, but they both did a really good job. That’s pretty much all I’ve got to say for this one. This is a good song. I’m not blown away by it, but I definitely enjoyed it a lot more than the previous few tracks. I fuck with this one. This is dope to me. 4/5

Track 7: If I Was Santa Claus

Oh my gawd. This beat is dope af. This first verse is really poetic & well-written. I feel like the way Slug raps has really changed since the first album. On Overcast! it felt like every song was just him talking about how he’s the greatest MC, and how he murders wack rappers. He’s definitely gotten better at writing actual songs instead of just rapping about random shit. He still does that from time to time tho. I guess his lyrics can come off kinda angsty and emo… “How often must I ask myself why I exist? / I feel like a freak; this world is a circus / Just trying to find myself as well as my purpose.” I don’t really mind it tho. I think he does it well. The second verse was dope af. I don’t have any problems with this song. I really fuck with this track. It’s dope af to me. 5/5

Track 8: Aspiring Sociopath

This beat is dope. It sounds kinda fucked up. Kinda like a Horrorcore beat. Slug’s telling a story in second person about some random guy. Everything seems pretty normal so far, aside from the dramatic and cynical narration from Slug. Oh. It just ended. Did… Did I just listen to a song about some guy who listens to the radio in his car? That’s literally all that happens. He just gets in his car and sings along to the radio. I don’t know… Everything that happened in this song just seemed really average and anticlimactic to me. Maybe that means I’m a sociopath… What would you do if someone observed you getting in your car and singing along to the radio, and then called you a sociopath? I mean, I think I enjoyed the song… It just seems a little weird to me. Slug’s delivery felt really overdramatic. I don’t think it’s that bad of a song, but I don’t know if I’d wanna come back to this… It’s alright I guess. 3/5

Track 9: Free Or Dead (Prod. Jel)

I wonder why Ant didn’t produce every track. Maybe they’re just songs that Slug had laying around, and he didn’t wanna make a full solo project with them. This one’s starting now. I’m hungry. I’m gonna take a break after this song and go get some pizza. “I do believe in God ’cause I keep comin’ across all these fine women.” I don’t know if I just didn’t notice it before, but Slug seems REALLY thirsty on this album. I feel like every other song has had at least one line about some attractive girl that Slug wishes he could smash. The beat from Jel is cool. The first verse wasn’t bad. This second verse is really dope. The little break in the middle of the second verse was pretty funny. This is just a really lighthearted, goofy track. I wasn’t that impressed at first, but the more I listen to it the more I realize how entertained I am. This is dope af to me. 5/5

Track 10: Party For The Fight To Write

This beat is cool. The first verse was dope. The hook isn’t bad. I just listened to the whole song. It’s dope, but there weren’t really that many quotable lines that stood out to me. I mean, that Outsiders reference was cool. There just weren’t a lot of standout lines for me. The verses were definitely good tho. I like the song. I love how short the hook is, and Slug’s flow was nice on this one. It’s not one of my favorites, but I definitely fuck with this. This is dope to me. 4/5

Track 11: Mama Had A Baby & His Head Popped Off

This beat is dope. The first verse was cool. I’m not really sure, but I think this song is about Slug going insane. It’s kinda hard to tell. The second verse was dope. As you can probably see from the title of the song, the lyrics are pretty morbid. “Mama had a baby and his head popped off / We did all that we could to try and reattach it / I couldn’t do it so I picked it up and threw it / Off the building just to see if all the children / Were quick enough to catch it.” The hook isn’t bad. The final verse was cool. I enjoyed the song. It’s not the greatest song I’ve ever heard in my life, but I fuck with it. This is dope to me. 4/5

Track 12: They’re All Gonna Laugh At You

I’m not really sure how I feel about this beat. I liked it a lot at first, but I realized that I kinda stopped enjoying it as soon as Slug started rapping over it. I mean, I still like it. I just enjoyed it more before Slug started rapping. It sounds like he’s rapping about someone with heroin addiction. “If I’m forced to watch you touch that torch to that spoon even one more time, I swear to God I’m gonna implode.” Okay, this beat’s starting to grow on me again. Yeah, I definitely fuck with this beat. It’s dope af. Slug’s rapping about… Dawg, what the hell is this fool talking about? He’s definitely not rapping about the heroin addict anymore… It kinda just sounds like an angsty teenager saying “I’m sick of this life, and I’m sick of this world!”  Actually… Okay, never mind I think I know what he’s rapping about. It sounds like he’s having an argument with God. “Proceeded to ask God to give me one good reason why we shouldn’t perish / She says ‘as careless as we are, unstable as we seem / Selected few of y’all have found something to cherish.‘” This is actually a really cool song lyrically. I wasn’t in love with Slug’s flow and delivery, but the lyrics were really interesting and the beat was fantastic. I definitely fuck with this one. This is dope af. 5/5

Track 13: Lost & Found (Prod. Jel)

This beat is cool. The first verse was dope. He’s basically rapping about surviving as a homeless man by committing petty crimes. He said he was gonna steal vegetables from someone’s farm just so he’d have something to eat for dinner. I think Slug was legitimately homeless when he made this album, so that probably explains why the shit he’s rapping about in this song is so believable. The beat wasn’t that impressive, and I wasn’t in love with Slug’s delivery on this track, but the shit he was saying was pretty goddamn interesting. I felt like I was actually spending a day with a homeless guy. This is dope. 4/5

Track 14: The Woman With The Tattooed Hands

This beat is dope. What the fuck… That verse was crazy… I mean, his flow and delivery were pretty standard, but the story he told was just insane. It was fuckin’ awesome tho. Maybe I shouldn’t spoil it… Nah. I’m gonna tell you what happened. Basically the woman with the tattooed hands got fucked by Satan and God at the same time. I mean, that’s not exactly what happens, but… Well, you should just listen to the song for yourself. I wasn’t in love with the vocals at the end, but it’s not bad enough for me to penalize the song. This shit is dope af. 5/5

Track 15: Nothing But Sunshine (Prod. Moodswing9)

This beat is dope af. Goddamn. I think I’m about to love this song. “When my mother died I had to take it in stride / There ain’t no room for pride in watching your father cry / And dad made it until maybe a year later / When they found his suicide inside of a grain elevator.” This first verse was awesome. He’s just rapping about his childhood. “Now here I am; the shy type, and I think I’m doing alright / Considering what it was like living my life.” The hook is dope. Seriously this is so fucking awesome. “It’s been 17 summers since I’ve seen my mother / But every night I see her smile inside my dreams / When I was younger I didn’t actually see the accident happen / But every night I see her smile as it shatters against the screams.“

There’s a skit towards the end of the song in which Slug murders an innocent cow. Kinda wish I didn’t hear that. I still enjoyed the fuck outta this song tho. This is dope af to me. 5/5

Track 16: Homecoming Feat. El-P (Prod. El-P)

This was a hidden track on the physical version of this album. YEEESSS. YOOO. This beat is fucking incredible. The first verse from El-P was dope. He was rappin’ about growing up in New York. Kinda like how Slug was rhymin’ about his childhood in the previous track. This one is way less dark tho. The hook is cool. Slug’s verse was dope. Hmm… Should I give this a 4 or a 5? I guess I’ll give it a four. I don’t think it’s an incredible song or anything, but I really enjoyed it. Nothing about it is bad. I fuck with this song. This is dope to me. 4/5

Final Thoughts:

This is a great album. I think this is my least favorite Atmosphere album so far, but it’s still a great project. I mentioned this earlier, but Slug has definitely improved as an actual songwriter. He’s writing full songs rather than just spitting about random shit. His songs actually have concepts and unique subject matter. That wasn’t really the case for his first album. I mean, it’s not like every single track was the same lyrically on the first album, but it’s definitely a lot more unique on this project in particular. I think that’s a good thing. I think… To be honest, I DO kinda miss that shit where he was just rapping about how he murders wack rappers. I think if he had a good balance of that shit and the more content driven tracks, that’d be ideal for me personally. This album is great tho. I fuck with this album. It’s dope.

Favorite Song: The Woman With The Tattooed Hands

Least Favorite Song: Don’t Ever Fucking Question That

Verdict:

83%

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