Rating:
  Review Date: April 28, 2008
  Website: Atmosphere Website
  Label: Rhymesayers

Atmosphere “When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold” Album Review
There’s a lot I can say about Atmosphere’s “When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold.” But the first thing that comes to mind is that this album exactly what I hoped to get from Slug and Ant this time around. In my review for the duo’s last major release, “You Can’t Imagine How Much Fun We’re Having,” I had just two complaints. One, I felt that maybe it was time for Slug to get off the whole self-abusive anger kick; and two, maybe it was time for Ant to try a different sound – something like the live band feel they were touring with at the time. Well, I am happy to say that Atmosphere accomplished both with the release of “When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold.”  

Production
The live band feel makes a huge impact on this album. Over half of the songs contain live instrumentation, mainly piano and guitar-based rhythms, and a couple drop the beat completely to let Slug flow a capella with the help of a stand alone piano, guitar and/or simple snare beat. Like the Rest of Us, Puppets, and my personal favorite Yesterday all feature soft piano and singing on the choruses – which often creates more of a gospel-ish feel to Slug’s rhyming. On the other hand, You, Guarantees, and my other favorite Me all revolve around guitar strums for a more punk-ish sort of vibe. Overall, Ant did a great job incorporating new sounds into the production of this album.

Lyrics
But as always, the lyrical content of this album was what really caught my ear. Most of Atmosphere’s past albums have been based on Slug rehashing his past hardships, including the familial troubles, heartache, and alienation of his youth. This project, however, presented his life in a more positive light. As represented in the title, Slug took the lemons he was given and painted them gold – and that positive vibe is demonstrated throughout the course of the album.

Yesterday is a great song that basically forgives Slug’s dad for any issues they had while he was alive (click here to listen to the track and read along with the lyrics). Wild Wild Horses show’s Slug’s increased understanding of the relationship drama he has experienced, and encourages women to “go ahead and chase your dreams and your freedom.” And Me is a brilliant one-verse song that pretty breaks down Slug’s psychiatric thought process about love. The following lyrics show how he’s been able to step back and look at his past and how it influenced his mind state:

The child in the mirror was homely/
So he learned early on how to switch into low key/
Little person observant and accurate/
Grew the skills to argue and the passion to back it with/
 Kick over the blocks just to rebuild them/
‘Cause mom and pops used to pop – sound familiar?/
Daddy had to leave, but mama kept hurtin’/
So he stepped up to help be an anger and a burden/
And right around the same time/
He started noticing girls, but they wouldn’t pay him any mind/
And if they ever did he got nervous/
You shoulda seen him practice on his hand for his first kiss/
Even though he was too young to hunt and gather/
Hungry puppy had to learn how to front and swagger/
It didn’t matter, it was all self-esteem/
At sixteen you only needed one on your team/
And mom and dad was never getting back together/
So he was on some ‘Baby we gon’ make it last forever’/

The other thing that made this album great for me was the storytelling. Slug has always been a great storyteller, but always dedicated the majority of his verses to his own stories. “When Life Gives You Lemons” features many more stories about other people, and makes for a very entertaining listen.

The Skinny is a story about a crack addict told metaphorically (misinterpreted – see comments!). Your Glass House is the story of an alcoholic who wakes up in a strange place, only to find out that she is in her own apartment. In Her Music Box is the story of a little girl forced to witness a dysfunctional relationship between her parents.

And Dreamer is a well-articulated song about a woman who remained positive despite the hardships she faced as a mother and woman. The following verse gives a great depiction of the decisions she was faced with:

Two years later – two months pregnant/
Same daddy, same broke ass situation/
This time the doc said her heart might break/
Praise God that the job got her health benefits straight/
She believes in the right to choice/
But she loves baby girl and she wants a boy/
Makes more nowadays on the day shift/
Balance that with night classes/
Take some time and space and make it all fit/
The apartment they now live in is overcrowded/
Raised her voice and made her point/
Told that boy ‘Go get employed’/
He put on his best shirt/
Said he wasn’t coming back ‘til he gets work/
She knew what that part meant/
So she swept every piece out that apartment/
Peace out, keep out – take the scenic route/
Rather only have to feed three mouths/
She adapts to everything now/
And nobody asks what she dreams about/

Whether in terms of lyrics or production, Atmosphere’s “When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold” is a major accomplishment, and definitely one of the must have hip-hop albums of the year. I highly recommend picking up a copy. Peace.

Album Track Listing:

1. Like the Rest of Us
2. Puppets
3. The Skinny
4. Dreamer
5. Shoulda Known
6. You
7. Painting
8. Your Glasshouse
9. Yesterday
10. Guarantees
11. Mesmorized (B Rock Remix)
12. Wild Wild Horses
13. Can’t Break
14. The Waitress
15. In Her Music Box