10 Rap Songs That Sampled Classical Music
4. The River - Atmosphere (2000)
Sample: Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven
Producer: Ant
Ant and Beethoven are at it again, and no less was needed to help Slug get off his chest some of the heaviest words he would ever have to. Atmosphere famously stopped performing this song live after he had a bad experience one night, breaking down in tears on stage.
Moonlight Sonata is one of the Beethoven's most atmospheric (pun intended) and intense works, and it's sure matched by Slug's powerful and highly metaphoric story.
His first lines describe a graphic and peculiar dawn (or sunset), hinting at something unexpected happening, and repeating the colours indicates how distinctly he remembers the event. The second line immediately ticks the solitude box with its singling out of a certain Bryan, out of a crowd Slug is hostile to ("the same damn tune"). And so on and so forth.
It would be impossible to analyse in such short space a song so rich with symbolism and so masterfully written. All you need to know is that it's actually about the death of one of Slug’s close friends.
A cherished one amongst Atmosphere's connoisseurs, and a perfect example of the magic that happens when Slug and Ant are at their best.