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This album was released on October 4th in 2005. As I said in the review for Seven’s Travels, I’m really starting to get tired of Atmosphere’s music. This one probably won’t be as difficult tho since it’s Atmosphere’s shortest album so far. It’s thankfully only 13 tracks long. I’m not gonna waste any time by trying to think of shit to ramble about before I actually start reviewing the album. I’m just gonna start this shit now. Every song is produced by Ant.

Track 1: The Arrival

Alright, here we go. It’s starting now. This beat is dope af. This is probably one of the better beats that Ant has ever made up to this point. Goddamn. Slug’s rappin’ his fuckin’ ass off right now. I don’t know which lines I should quote. “They’ve arrived, so fix the beef; quit actin’ like a sheep / Either spit your speak or sit there and grit your teeth / They’ve arrived to spread the info to the kin folk / Fuckin’ with the climate on the inside of the windows / They’ve arrived they’re here; the baby farmer / Gonna take it farther, make a mark and break apart your fake martyrs.” He’s just goin’ the fuck in on one long ass verse. This is awesome. I guess Atmosphere has always had really great intros now that I think about it. This is a really hard-hitting track. I don’t have any problems with it. This is dope af to me. 5/5

Track 2: Panic Attack

Damn. This beat is really rough and old school sounding. It’s dope af. Slug’s flow on this first verse is great. Man, this is really fuckin’ good so far. I guess since it’s only 13 tracks there’s no room for filler on this album. The first verse from Slug was fantastic. It sounds like he’s rapping about some woman with severe anxiety. This is REALLY old school sounding. I love it. The hook is dope. The second verse was great. This song is awesome. It actually sounds different compared to their other work. I really hope the rest of the album is as good as these first two tracks. This is dope af. 5/5

Track 3: Watch Out

This beat kinda has that same rough, old school aesthetic. It’s dope af. The first verse was awesome. “Turn your mic off, and turn the lights off / Whoever put your record out must have needed write-offs / Who they play when the game’s in a tight spot? / Slug; you can find me in the A’s of your iPod.” The second verse was dope af too. I’m REALLY enjoying the fuck outta this shit. This just sounds so much dustier than the majority of Atmosphere’s other work. In a good way tho. I guess I’m what the RapGenius community would describe as a “dusthead.” It kinda reminds me of Overcast!, but even that album didn’t sound as old school as this. Slug killed the second verse. “Besides police, I’ve got no beef / Just me, my beliefs and my bad teeth / A cargo van and some Ant beats / Enough boom bap to slap you to last week.” I even fuck with this hook “When you open up your mouth I can smell that you don’t know what you’re talking about.” The final verse was great too. This is another fantastic song. I definitely fuck with this shit. This is dope af. 5/5

Track 4: Musical Chairs

This beat is dope. It doesn’t really sound as dusty as the previous two beats tho. The first verse was pretty good. The hook isn’t bad. The second verse was nice. Slug did his thing on that 8-bar verse at the end. This is a good song. As you can probably tell from my lack of excitement, I didn’t like this one quite as much as the first three songs. I still enjoyed it tho. It just sounds like another typical Atmosphere song. This song isn’t gonna blow anyone away, especially if they’re familiar with Atmosphere’s sound. It’s a dope song tho. I fuck with this. 4/5

Track 5: Say Hey There

This beat is dope. This is another song directed towards Lucy Ford. The first verse was cool. The hook isn’t bad. The second verse was nice. The final verse was pretty good. This is a good song, but it’s just not blowing me away. It sounds like another Atmosphere song. This song could’ve appeared on any Atmosphere album. Maybe not Overcast! I enjoyed this track, but it’s definitely not one of my favorites. It’s dope tho. 4/5

Track 6: Hockey Hair

This beat is pretty good. Slug’s spittin’ his ass off right now. I loved that line where he made fun of his predominately white fans. “Watch these white kids eat it up like it was mayonaisse.” This song is just one long ass verse. Slug killed this shit. I really liked how he referenced one of Spawn’s lines from the first Multiples song, which was on Overcast! Is there a fifth Multiples? That’d be cool if they made a Multiples song for the new album just for the sake of nostalgia. Actually, you know what’d be really cool? What if he had a song that featured Spawn, Sab The Artist, Mr. Gene Poole, and every other rapper who’s been featured on an Atmosphere album? That’d be awesome. They probably wouldn’t do it tho because it’d be way too depressing without Eyedea… Anyway, lemme quit ramblin’ about this shit. The song was awesome. It was just one awesome verse over a dope beat. This is dope af to me. 5/5

Track 7: Bam

I usually don’t like when songs start this abruptly, but this one actually works for me. It might have something to do with him sustaining the energy and momentum for the rest of the whole song. It doesn’t feel like a mistake. I love the fast pace of this track. Slug’s flow is great. This is another song with that old school aesthetic. This beat from Ant is simplistic & raw, and Slug’s delivery was really aggressive. It’s just a really hard hitting track. Hmmm. Should I give this a 4 or a 5? I think I like the fact that they’re doing something different more than the actual song itself. It’s still a really dope track tho. I fuck with this. This is dope. 4/5

Track 8: Pour Me Another (Another Poor Me)

Hmmm… This beat sounds REALLY familiar… Maybe it uses a popular sample. I’ve definitely heard this melody before plenty of times. The first verse was cool. He’s rapping about getting drunk so that he can forget about some chick. It’s not exactly the most relatable song for me personally since I don’t drink and I haven’t had a girl shit on me that hard yet. This sounds a lot like something that would’ve showed up on God Loves Ugly. It’s more emo shit. “Don’t wanna think no more, just let me drink some more / Pour me another ’cause I can still see the floor.” I enjoyed this song, but it’s definitely not one of my favorites. It’s cool tho. 4/5

Track 9: Smart Went Crazy

I don’t know how I feel about this beat. It’s a well produced song objectively, but the actual melody and instrumentation just don’t appeal to me personally. The first verse was cool. The hook is decent. The second verse was really good, but I just really wasn’t feelin’ this beat… It’s alright tho. I guess. I think most Atmosphere fans would like this song. I don’t like guitars tho. This guitar driven beat was wack to me personally. The song’s okay. 3/5

Track 10: Angelface

What the fuck? Rap Genius has this song labeled as Multiples 5. I don’t see anyone else calling it Multiples 5 tho. Whatever. It’s starting now. The beat is cool I guess. I just listened to the whole song. I don’t know how I feel about it. It’s definitely not wack or anything, and I like it more than the previous track, but I still don’t know whether or not I’d ever wanna return to it. Slug’s just rapping about a bunch of his miscellaneous sexual encounters across the country. It’s not something that really interests me. I guess his verse was well written & well performed from an objective standpoint, but I don’t really give a shit about what he’s saying personally. Also, whoever tried to sell this as a 5th Multiples song is very unintelligent. It’s a decent song tho. 3/5

Track 11: That Night

Oh shitfuck… This beat is really dope, and the way Slug is rhymin’ over it is awesome. I love his calm, toned down delivery. Oh… Oh God… Apparently this song was written about a 16 year old girl who was raped and murdered by a janitor at one of Atmosphere’s concerts… It doesn’t even feel right to call this song dope… I like it tho. I mean, it’s really fucked up. How am I supposed to describe art like this? How do I explain the entertainment that I get as a result of someone being raped and murdered? Jesus Christ. I feel awful right now… Maybe I’m looking at this the wrong way. I mean, I know why they made the song. I respect what they did. I really like the song. This is some REALLY fucked up stuff tho. The second verse was fantastic. “Don’t know what I’m trying to write / But there’s a part of me that keeps dying at night / And when I think about her mother / I become another number that wants you to suffer.” It was directed towards the murderer. “You’re locked up for now / You have no more chances to steal the children’s laughs / And if you ever find God / Better pray to her and ask that we never cross paths.” I definitely fuck with this song. I feel kinda shitty for enjoying this, but to be honest I’d probably feel even worse if I didn’t like it. It’s a great song. I just wish it wasn’t based on a true story. 5/5

Track 12: Get Fly

This beat is kinda corny. I feel like I’m sitting in my dad’s church. That’s not a good thing. Oh shit. When I said “my Dad’s church” I didn’t mean a church that my dad owns. I meant the church that he goes to. Just thought I should clear that up… Anyway, the hook to this song isn’t bad I guess. The first verse was dope. The second verse was cool. Meh. It’s a cool song, but… I don’t know. I’d probably like this if it weren’t for the production. The beat wasn’t even bad; it just kinda made me feel like I was in church. I don’t think this is a bad song, but I doubt I’d ever wanna hear it again. It’s alright. 3/5

Track 13: Little Man

This beat sounds kinda familiar. I know I’ve heard this sample before. Oh yeah, it was in All Get Right by Nipsey Hussle. The way the sample is chopped up is different enough for me to enjoy both songs without feeling like I’m listening to the same shit. I prefer the All Get Right beat, but Nipsey Hussle is trash compared to Slug. Oh shit… “I’m proud of you man / You’re growing up to be the best man that you possibly can / I know you understand / Why I go out of town / I also know my days are colder when you’re not around.“

This song is directed towards Slug’s son. Well, the first verse is at least. I wish ScHoolboy Q would make a song like this. I always like it when he makes music about his daughter. This song is awesome so far. Holy fuck I’m so hungry right now. I’m not gonna get anything to eat until I’m finished with this review tho. “It trips me out how you pick up all my traits / From the way that you spit to the fists that you make / I watch the way you try to keep your mom happy / Daddy learned that from you; you’re supposed to learn that from daddy.” God. This is so fucking dope. “You’re doing good little man; that’s all I really meant / I love you / You’re my best friend; thanks for listening.” Oh shit. The second verse is directed towards his father. Wow. This song is fucking incredible to me. FUUUUCK. FUCK EVERYTHING. I just started the song over by accident. That’s so fucking annoying. It’s ’cause the play/pause button is right next to the rewind button on my computer. God damnit. Alright, I’m back to where I was before. The second verse is dope af. “I’m afraid of my fate; don’t wanna turn out like you / I’ve never hit a woman / I won’t do coke / And for that alone I love you, and I want to thank you, old man.” Yeesssss. Now he’s sending himself a direct message on this final verse. This song is fucking fantastic. I love the way he did this. This is dope af to me. 5/5

Final Thoughts:

Wow. I’m kinda impressed by myself right now. I woke up at like 6 AM to start this review and now I’m about to post it at 1:15 PM. That’s neither here nor there tho. This album is great. This is a big step up from the previous album in my opinion. A lot of that has to do with the shorter length. It never feels like it’s overstaying it’s welcome. I don’t love every single track, but this album was very solid for the most part. It did kinda go downhill towards the end, but it was only a handful of tracks. At this point if you’ve heard Atmosphere’s prior work you should know what to expect. Aside from some slight variation in the production style and subject matter, this is just another typical Atmosphere album. All you really need to know is that it’s more solid Atmosphere music. I think they work really well with that dusty, old school sound too. I loved it when they did that shit at the beginning of this project. I wouldn’t mind hearing more shit like that. I don’t think there are really any consistent flaws. Again, it’s just more good Atmosphere music. I fuck with this album. It’s dope.

Favorite Song: Little Man

Least Favorite Song: Smart Went Crazy

Verdict:

84%

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