brendan2's Full Review: Lucy Ford by Atmosphere (Rap)
Hip-hop and I have never gotten along. Well, that's not true. Actually the first genre of music I ever liked was hip-hop. So maybe I should say recently hip-hop and I haven't gotten along, though all I've had to go on was the mainstream crap about guns, thugs, and hos. But thanks to MattA75's I'll Show You Mine If You Show Me Yours W/O and my undercover lover Eric, here I am reviewing a hip-hop album, Atmosphere's Lucy Ford.
Apparently, Atmosphere is a big name in underground hip-hop, but I'd never heard of them before (shows how much I know). I was a bit wary when I saw titles like "Mama Had A Baby And Its Head Popped Off" and "Guns and Cigarettes" (both two of the weaker tracks on the CD, incidentally), but overall I was impressed with this album. Actually, album's not the best word for it, as it's a collection of three originally vinyl-only EPs put on CD. As far as I can tell, Lucy Ford is rapper Slug's on-again, off-again lover. The other half of Atmosphere is Ant, who's responsible for most of the beats. If you want information about Atmosphere beyond that, you'll have to look elsewhere.
After tentatively placing the CD into the computer, I'm greeted with chants of Don't Ever Fucking Question That over a light, slow beat and backing vocals that sound like a choir. The song's basically about loving somebody so much you can't put it into words, and it comes across as alternately heartfelt and downright obsessive.
"I love you - don't ever fucking question that
that's why we'll probably never get along
if I was better at finding the right words to say
I wouldn't need to write these motherfucking songs"
Opener Between the Lines seems to be about a group of messed-up people, including a woman who plots a massacre in a movie theatre and an underground rapper who ends up slitting his wrists (hopefully that's not autobiographical). There's also a love/hate kinda thing going on, as Slug goes from hoping to love somebody to wanting to kill somebody.
Guns and Cigarettes is one of the more light-hearted tracks, with Slug declaring his ambitions to be "bigger than Jesus, bigger than wrestling, bigger than the Beatles, bigger than breast implants." Tears for the Sheep is an attack on humanity and its general lack of caring. It's one of the shortest tracks, but one that will make you think.
"All the self-proclaimed prophets dressed up to look like poets
Pretendin' to be martyrs that they're not...
Yo kill 'em all, and let God give 'em handcuffs
The flood has begun, and no one has been paired up
So I'ma take a second to beckon the downfall
of your so called civilized nation"
The first words of Party for the Fight to Write let you know this is a song you can clap along to, and the beat does sound very clappy (?) with some bass thrown in there for good measure. The slightly funky It Goes finds Slug in self-introspective mode as he laments, "I wear my heart on my sleeve when all I need to do is write a hit."
There's not much to say about Mama Had a Baby and His Head Popped Off; the title kinda says it all. Personally, I think it's one of the weaker songs, with the beat and the lyrics failing to capture my attention. But hey, someone else might love it. If I Was Santa Claus has this odd little twinkly sound, maybe a xylophone or bells or something. It's about social consciousness, making a difference, all that good stuff.
"And if I did have a choice
I'd never want to live forever
Just let me have a voice so I can make my points
I can't imagine running a race with no finish line
Just let me keep my pace and make the most of my time"
Free Or Dead is just kinda boring, to be honest. The chorus is something about his car being Slug's universe, but I haven't listened to it much because of the beat, which relies on a dully thumping bass and some other strange sounds. Some guy named Jel produced the beat for this one, so maybe that explains why it sounds so bad compared to the other tracks. Or maybe Jel is like a hip-hop god, and I've just made myself a whole bunch of enemies. In which case, everything in this paragraph was a lie.
Aspiring Sociopath is about trying to exist in this world, and it includes references to radio staples like "Pour Some Sugar On Me" and "Smells Like Teen Spirit." The simplistic beat leaves much to be desired, but it's worth listening to for the rhymes. The Woman With the Tattooed Hands has some nice piano in the background, but the main emphasis here is on the lyrics, as Slug tells a surreal story about a woman's tattoos coming to life and making love to her. I'm sure it's a metaphor for something, but I'm not sure what.
Nothing But Sunshine is the only song on the album produced by Moodswing9 (in case that means anything to you). The track is basically Slug describing his childhood over a light mostly piano beat. His childhood definitely wasn't happy, which makes the title and the happy voice he raps in doubly ironic.
"And on the surface I became a normal pre-teen
More afraid of nuclear war than snake bites and bee stings
My best friend was my TV
Game shows and cartoons substituted for puppies, rainbows, and balloons
Now here I am, the shy type, and I think I'm doing alright
Considering what it was like living my life"
Overall, I was really impressed with Lucy Ford. Sure, there were a few tracks that didn't WOW me, but generally, yeah, I liked it. Maybe this experience will inspire me to check out more hip-hop. Or at least not recoil in fear when it's mentioned. An open mind (and wallet) is key.
Repeat (songs I can never get enough of): The Woman With the Tattooed Hands, Between the Lines, It Goes, Nothing But Sunshine, If I Was Santa Claus
Skip (songs I have trouble listening to even once): none
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