Today, Atmosphere released their sixth studio album, Southsiders. The duo, comprised of Ant and Slug, had already released two singles in “Bitter” and “Kanye West”, each offering glimpses into the body of work released today, and now that we have it, we can attest to just how refreshing a body of work it is. It's a slow-moving monolith composed of fifteen tracks, and, in classic Atmosphere fashion, contains no features. According to Slug, the album serves as a “shout-out to their native neighborhood” and a “natural progression” of his 2011 album, Family Sign. Here's more the man on the album: [do action="manual-block-quote"]“I’m starting to think, ‘What is post family man? What am I supposed to rap about now?’ I’m sticking to my roots, rapping about what I’m doing, what I think about. This record is much like the other ones: a very detailed look at my life.“[/do] The album does carry on from the previous album, albeit, with a more blunted feel. The contents of the rhymes are toned down from what we’ve heard from the Minnesota emcee in the past. Topics linger on touring, history, personal wants and needs, and, as Slug says, a closer look at his family life. That’s not to say that the lyricism isn’t on point, though; Slug comes through with clever rhymes and a unique voice, per usual. The slower cadence he takes with the album enables a lot more creativity to flourish, and he expertly crafts something worth listening to over, and over, and over again. The lyrical production is on point throughout, but the production is where the album really shines. Ant wields many different mediums to create something that is classic hip-hop and very modernistic at the same time. As always, he brings a style that is apparent in many Rhymesayers projects, as well as a staple of Northwest hip-hop. There is much more live instrumentation on this project, with deep bass, piano, and guitar mixed in with synths and electronic bass. Overall, the project is a phenomenal one, with Slug's lyricism well making up for the content. It’s an interesting and dynamic listen, as well as a look into the personal life of one of underground’s most prominent emcees. It’s also a showcase of some of Ant’s best work to date, production that has been honed throughout Atmospheres past projects to come to this point. It’s not to say that he hasn’t had incredible projects in the past, but this is a full exploration of his sound, being more unique, more live, and fuller sounding than ever before.
Atmosphere