In August 2011, Rocky's single " Peso" was leaked online and within weeks received radio airplay. He is a member of the hip hop collective A$AP Mob, from which he adopted his moniker.
The instrumentals are atmospheric at times, reminiscent of early ASAP Rocky projects like “Live Long ASAP” mixtape under the production of Clams Casino, or just pure heavy trap which Rocky do excel in.Īn album that would live to tell its tale, for sure.Rakim Athelaston Mayers (born October 3, 1988), known professionally as ASAP Rocky (stylized as A$AP Rocky / ˈ eɪ s æ p/, AY-sap), is an American rapper and record producer from Manhattan. ASAP Rocky has always been one of the most innovative artists in the rap game right now, from the track “L$D” where he first shows his crooning instead of rapping to this entire album right here, where he does not just aim to showcase his rapping but also his voice in general and how he is able to complement the instrumentals and vice versa. If there is one thing Rocky proves through this album, it is not his rap or flow but his artistry. This is especially so when compared with tracks like “CALLDrops” where it seems more of an experimental track to rope in Kodak Black just for the sake of it. However, with the exception of songs like “Praise The Lord(The Shine” and “Black Tux, White Collar” where either Rocky’s flow or Skepta’s for the former, or his lyrical content as in the latter where he talks about fake people and sticking to yourself (“Fuck fake people, I’ma go ahead and address it ( fuck ’em)/ Fuck you too just because you never said it ( yeah)/ God hate evil, you just blowin’ all your blessings/ Black tux, white collar formal on the wedding ( yeah)” makes the individual tracks stand out more. In “CALLDrops”, “Buckshots” and almost the rest of the album, they all appear to me more like short skits of a song rather than a whole song. What makes this song more interesting is the FKA Twigs feature and an instrumental which sounds so eerie that it could be actually be considered an FKA Twigs song. The chorus “Fuck home, fuck sleep, come clean, zonin’/Can’t forget that I’m golden, can’t forget where I’m going/ Fuck popo, police, enemies, fake homies/ Can’t forget that I’m a OG, better act like you know it” like ‘Tony Tone’ is very slick and smooth despite the staccato delivery on every “Fukk” he utters. On “Fukk Sleep”, Rocky is proving more and more to be a very chorus-driven rapper on this album. Though the Puff Daddy feature seems unnecessary, nevertheless, it is fresh to have an OG rapper as an ad-lib or skit feature. Rocky’s flows well with “Stoned-stoned when I’m in my zoney-zone” that just sounds like it rolls off his tongue quickly and complements the instrumentals really well. Next, “Tony Tone” features a heavy trap bass layered below a repeating instrumental loop. This is definitely a memorable one off the album. At the same time, Kid Cudi’s feature as well as Moby’s silky vocals were great accompaniment to the track. The percussion beats are the highlight: the booming bass drum, the resonant clap and the bright Hi-Hat. It kicks off with the instrumental in the coda where ASAP Rocky says “Gang”, after which, a peaceful string section kicks in followed by the standard percussion beats. The next track “ASAP Forever” is a banger. It only gets more experimental from hereon. It was an interesting track but one which lacked much lyrical-magical geniuses one could expect from Rocky.
In the chorus, as Rocky repeats “Distorted Records”, the vocals are chopped to enhance the effect of distortion on the track as a whole. Subsequently, the self-titled Lord Pretty Flocka Joyde carries on his usual braggadocio, asserting to listeners that “Like if I’m in your top 10, mine’s better be the first name”. Rocky then makes his entrance with an “Uh”. For the first 30 seconds or so of the track, you are exposed to this low, humming and minute Synth bass, which sounds penetrating, before it is replaced by a more hard-hitting and aggressive “bitecrusher” sound. Rocky kicks off the album with the track “Distorted Records” which unsurprisingly sounds like a distorted record. ASAP Rocky’s third studio album released in May this year proves to be less of an album and more of a titular “Testing” demo tape.
0 kommentar(er)
