When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold
The title of this album is hilarious, but try to think of it from an academic point of view. The original adage goes: When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. Obviously, Slug and Ant went another direction with it that is very symbolic in their music. Their last album was titled You Can’t Imagine How Much Fun We’re Having and while they are having fun, they are unleashing important messages that most artist never attempt to display. Take the title as you want; it could be a jab at the ‘Bling Era’ of hip hop, it could be taking a situation and completely changing it as opposed to making the best of it, or it could just be Slug and Ant messing around for no good reason. Whatever it is, it works for me. The pre-listening doesn’t end there, the deluxe edition comes with a great children’s story written by Slug that obviously has an adult message and has relevance to the album.
What makes the talk about the title and booklet so important is that they all play a part in the Atmosphere listening experience. Great music from these guys is expected as they’ve been on fire as of late with one of the most consistent track records in hip hop, as well as Slug becoming everyone’s favourite MC along everyone else’s favourite MC, Murs, on the Felt albums. When it comes to authenticity, none are more authentic than Slug. He pretty much puts everything on the table. He tells you his life story and describes it in such poetic and artistic form that listening to each track is like unraveling a mystery. Ant, the producer, has an extremely impressive production resume ranging from “Felt Volume 2″ and all three main Brother Ali releases. Add on to that the long list of Atmosphere works and you have an experienced hip hop veteran. His musical styles transitioned to the live instrument stage with “Lemons”, which had a heavy focus on being musically different from their last albums. While it was experimental, it proved to be a great piece.
“Puppets” starts off with a simple beat with great storytelling from Slug regarding the puppets and puppeteers in the hip hop industry. It draws you in with its simplicity and as a collective, it is seemingly effortless. “The Skinny” could’ve been one of the most misogynistic songs you’d hear in a while, when in fact it is about a pimp that has millions of “hoes” worldwide. Slug twists this rather simplistic story about the tobacco filled pimps that slap the human race around when given the chance.
“You” is one of the more musically different tracks on the album (even though there is so much variety) and tells the story of a character that is later relevant in “The Waitress” (and possibly throughout the entire album?). The storytelling once again is top notch and Slug keeps your attention all through the song and the whole album. “Guarantees” is the first single and is an obvious stand out track due to its mood and delivery. What begins as a mellow acoustic turns into a song heavily about depression, rage, and the misfortunes of life:
My better half is mad at making magic out of canned goods / My tax bracket status gotta questioning my man hood / My shorty got caught smoking weed at a concert /And if I smack em everybody treats me like a monster /My neighbors aint doing much better
And we making competition instead of sticking together
“Me”, “In Her Music Box”, and “The Waitress” are all musically beautiful tracks especially the latter, which tells a story from the perspective of a homeless man that admires a waitress inside the restaurant. The addictive flute throughout the track is sure to grab everyone’s attention along with Slug’s story. Lyrically, by now, it is evident that Slug controls the microphone with such skills and precision that the stories throughout the album are so thorough, thought out, and well executed.
The only problem with this album is that there is too much variety. Songs like “Wild Wild Horses” and “Shoulda Known” may turn away some listeners and others like “You” and “Painting” may prove too outside of the genre for some. Also, patience is certainly necessary when listening to this album because many of the songs will not hit hard until the forth or fifth listens. It was difficult to adjust to the new Atmosphere sound and Atmospheraholics might find themselves conflicted throughout their listening. Regardless, it is extremely hard to find flaws in a song like “Yesterday”, which might be one of the most personal and emotional songs hip hop has heard all year.
The album charted extremely well for an independent release (Rhymesayers- Top 5 on the Billboard 200) and apparently people are paying attention. Slug fans are growing in numbers quite rapidly and Ant newcomers are starting to take notice. Production here certainly shows his versatility, but an album like Brother Ali’s Undisputed Truth would probably do him more justice. Also, read the track listing in order. Yeah, everything Slug and Ant do is a story.
Overall Score: 77/100
Standout Tracks:
“Guarantees”
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“Yesterday”
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“The Waitress”
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