Atmosphere – “Ringo” (Singles Going Steady)

Steve Horowitz: “Twin Cities, bitch!” Rhymesayers do it again. Atmosphere captures the humor and pathos of just trying to succeed when the deck is always stacked against you. The rap is grounded in the reality that failure really is funny, and as a fellow Minnesotan once said, “There’s no success like failure.” You don’t have to be as famous as Kanye to realize this. [8/10]

Chris Ingalls: From the Minneapolis duo’s new album, Fishing Blues, “Ringo” is a pleasant enough song. But that’s part of the problem — it has a happy-go-lucky feel that’ll have you bopping along with the beat, but I can’t help thinking of Smash Mouth. The lyrics are set apart from the best hip-hop in that they’re too repetitious and don’t have anything interesting or innovative to say. A fun, funky tune, but too bland and too disposable. [6/10]

Pryor Stroud: From Atmosphere’s Fishing Blues, “Ringo” is a tongue-in-cheek hip-hop indulgence that leans on a braggadocio lyric and a lilting, guitar-plus-snare beat. If you’re already a fan of Slug and Ant, the Minneapolis-bred duo who deal out muscularly daft alt-hop, then it will seem like a catchy, innocuous slice of revelry; if not, then it may seem grating, perhaps even frivolous. “I might’ve showed up when the party start / I might’ve got high with your bodyguard,” Slug raps, the words stumbling off of his lips with characteristic heft, and even if you have no desire to join the party he’s describing, it’s hard not to believe that it lightens up a bit upon his arrival. [5/10]

SCORE: 6.33