Info Album :
Atmosphere
Album: When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Sh*t Gold
Label: Rhymesayers Entertainment
Genre: Hip-Hop
Release Date: 4/22/08
Review Album :
Atmosphere 'When Life Gives You Lemons You Paint That S**t Gold' (Rhymesayers)
'When Life Gives You Lemons' is Brave and Inspiring
About.com Rating 
By Henry Adaso, About.com
Brimming with the clever lyrics and colorful production we've come to expect from Slug and Ant, When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That S**t Gold is Atmosphere at its radical apex. You might want to break out the headphones for this one, but I'll get to that in a moment.
Allow Slug to Reintroduce Himself
Slug feels tangibly less-irritated on Atmosphere's sixth go-round, a mood-shift that’s left him comfortably exploring new ideas. This is best exemplified on the solemn opener "Like the Rest of Us," in which Slug calmly emphasizes the art of controlling the uncontrollable: "You gotta let people be hypocrites. Count your blessings and mind your business." You've probably heard the album's single, "Shoulda Known," a torrid narrative about drug addiction.
Lemons is split into three acts: Us, You, and Me. A slaphappy tune titled "You" kicks off the second section. Not too far behind is the album's most personal song, the reflective "Yesterday" where Slug shares distant memories of a lost relative (it'll make more sense when he reveals the identity of the person at the end). "We can sit and reminisce about the ol' school, maybe share a cigarette cause we're both fools," he grieves, but not without finding the slightest ray of light in his misery, "I can't even get mad that you're gone. Leaving me was the best thing you ever taught me." It's a brief reminder that contrast is Atmosphere's bread and butter. After all, their last album was titled You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having, yet the cover featured a glum-looking Slug with his left hand clasped on his head.
Headphone Music
Indeed, Atmosphere's new work is headphone music at its peak. Whereas Slug's been preoccupied with conflict in the past, Lemons reflects his newfangled obsession with optimism and resolutions. The rhymes are honest, hopeful, rich with mesmerizing oratory (often delivered with a minister-esque cadence), and sure to keep you hanging on every line. Sorta like an Obama speech.
Colorful Production
As he did on Brother Ali's Undisputed Truth, Atmosphere producer Ant gives musical form to rage, desire, candor, ultra-realism. Every song takes on its own unique identity. The guitar solo on "Guarantees," for instance, adds drama to a sense of escapism. After a rough day, Slug arrives at his favorite pub in search of company. He finds the bar empty, so he resorts to monologue. "I don't want to go home yet. So I'mma talk to my cigarette and that television set. It doesn't matter what brand or station. Just anything to take away from my current situation." Notice how the guitar plucks get increasingly louder as the tension in his voice rises.
Juicy From Start to Finish
Loaded with all the elements that define a great rap album (but rarely move units) -- compelling storytelling, experimental production, and unbridled vulnerability, Lemons will keep playing even after you turn off the music. When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade; just listen to Atmosphere.
Track Listing:
1. Like The Rest Of Us
2. Puppets
3. The Skinny
4. Dreamer
5. Shoulda Know
6. You
7. Painting
8. Your Glasshouse
9. Yesterday
10. Guarantees
11. Me
12. Wild Wild Horses
13. Can't Break
14. The Waitress
15. In Her Music Box
Atmosphere "Puppets/Shoulda Known" Live San Francisco 5.8.08, Video
Shoulda Know lyrics
Naked in the bathtub
Sittin’ on the porcelain
Waiting for that little hurricane to pull your torso in
The water don’t run, just drips like rain
Still drips like a painkiller drips to the veins
Fill it up
With a bag of that happy stuff
Cuz the way she runs out, you can tell she ain’t had enough
Good times goddess
My goodness
Got finger nail polish autopilot foot prints
With a smile that’s stitched to the fabric of bedtime tales and
Keep them tits out of the attic
The mouth of madness
Loud and manic
The motive of the bird going south on the Atmos’
Picture a hole
Put your hero in
Envision the gold
Now zero in
Been watching your night train track for the last few stops
With no desire to hop it
How did we end up in your apartment
Pocket full of gossip says this ain’t smart
When it’s all said and done, can’t get restart
But I’ll be damned if I don’t wanna kiss you--
Hard
[chorus]
Shoulda known better not to f**k wit’ you
Ain’t got nothin’ but too much to lose
Lost in the rush don’t know what to do
That drug got you like I want you
Shoulda known better not to f**k wit’ you
Ain’t got nothin’ but too much to lose
Lost in the rush don’t know what to do
That drug got you like I want you
I’ve got a restraining order
Against Satan’s daughter
And I keep it at the bottom of this Jamison and water
And when we get there
You can sit there and stare
From behind your mascara and your thick hair
I’m aware of that pain you harbor
The same negative game to the names you martyr
Apart from the details and substance and whatnot
That hunger of love pistol and gut rot
Bloodshot
Give me one shot, my shot
Hopped up on enough talk to make time stop
The lines of chalk that benjamin might cop
Killed the illustrations on the neighborhood sidewalks
Then all of a sudden she got silent
Pupils like marbles, hide behind the eyelids
Get away sticks go limping hole place
The smile sucked up most of her face
Truly you beat the scene so surreal
And each criticism becomes redeemed
Swallow my words
No more judgment it’s true
Cuz you look like what I feel like when I’m with you
Shoulda known better not to f**k wit’ you
Ain’t got nothin’ but too much to lose
Lost in the rush don’t know what to do
That drug got you like I want you
Shoulda known better not to f**k wit’ you
Ain’t got nothin’ but too much to lose
Lost in the rush don’t know what to do
That drug got you like I want you
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