On the third installment of his album series titled after seasons, Portland rapper Illmac comes through with another helping of impressive penmanship. Sonically speaking, the aesthetic difference between Atmn, Sprng, and Smmr is minute. It’s completely conceivable that a song from one project could find it’s way on to another and still fit into the album as a whole. There are a few lyrical references to fall—leaves turning brown, hoodie season, the weather getting colder– throughout the tracklist, but it’s not a constant enough theme to have the project deemed a “concept album.” Rather than view these projects as albums to be listened to during a certain time of year, I think the listener should think of them more as time capsules, songs that were written during the titular season. From the release schedule of the albums, (Sprng being released at the beginning of summer, Atmn being released at the beginning of winter, etc) I think it can be inferred that all songs on a given installment were produced in the 3-month interim period.
Illmac Hat Tricks With His Third Season-Themed Album Atmn
As for the music on Atmn, Illmac shows listeners once again that he can rap absolute circles around a beat. Most songs on this project boast impressive word counts, and some lack a hook, leaving more time for verses upon verses upon verses. Several songs feature beat changes partway through and could have easily been split into multiple tracks. However, Ill seems to have a self-imposed requirement that each installment of the seasons series has exactly 12 tracks, so songs such as the opening track and “Condolences” have multiple song ideas featured on the same track.
As with previous installments of the season’s albums, Illmac spends these 12 tracks displaying his versatility as an artist. “Till It’s Over” shows Illmac sounding absolutely menacing and threatening on the beat. On “Rainclouds Over LA” Ill changes it up and shows off his singing voice. The result is much smoother and softer than many rappers who have attempted the same tone shift in the past.
My personal favorite track on Atmn would absolutely have to be “Corporate Ladder.” Illmac has clearly been in the rap game long enough to see many different artist waves come and go. He displays his wisdom on this track, using his status as an independent artist to speak on some of the grimmer, underbelly parts of the music industry saying,
“Promised the moon and stars, all we got was wounds and scars
Walk in a label let me talk to who’s in charge
Before you even see a dollar we recouping ours
A lot of y’all do anything to be a superstar.”
Later in the track, Ill reflects upon the perils of wealth saying,
“They say money changes people, nah that’s hearts and minds
Financial freedom just lets ‘em be who they are inside.”
Ill closes the track with some of my favorite bars on the whole album, where he honestly sounds as much like a life coach as a rapper.
The album ends with “Hell If I Don’t Change My Ways” a nocturnal, slow-burning, rather dreary cut, closing the album out well. Overall I think this is another really impressive show of talent from the Portland Emcee, and I’m excited to hear what he offers on the next and presumably final installment of this series, Wntr.
“Yeah I never lose, I either win or learn a lesson then improve
I give credit where credit’s due
If you blame everybody for failures except for you
You gotta give credit t somebody else for your successes too
But what’s life if you take away the challenges?
It’s not the situation it what you take away and balance it
I Embrace the hardship and made the pain my catalyst
Just remember nobody ever blamed they way to happiness.”
The album ends with “Hell If I Don’t Change My Ways” a nocturnal, slow-burning, rather dreary cut, closing the album out well. Overall I think this is another really impressive show of talent from the Portland MC, and I’m excited to hear what he offers on the next and presumably final installment of this series, Wntr.