Rap. Excellent rap. So very glad he'll be at ACL Fest, as I only got to see part of his show at Fun Fun Fun Fest a few years back, and wanted more. A$AP comes from Harlem, part of the A$AP Mob (including A$AP Ferg, "Master Bruce!"), and also buddies with Schoolboy Q. I forget how I first came across him, but he put out a mixtape in 2011 called Live Love A$AP, and that was one of the first DatPiff mixtapes I ever found.
Live.Love.A$AP has some amazing tracks - some of the best rap I have enjoyed in the past decade. The first four songs on that album (sadly the album isn't available to stream on Spotify, so you'll have to go to DatPiff or YouTube) all crush it. Top shelf beats and production from Clams Casino. in three of those first four. First, I give you "Peso," clocking in at over 31 million views.
The deep bass, that atmospheric tinkle of bells, then other sounds trickling in - plus Rocky's smooth as hell lyrics and fun wordplay. Then you've got the opening crush of "Palace," with this huge descending bass fade, screwed lyrics, chanting monks, and so much damn bravado for an opening track of an artist you've never even heard of:
He name checks his influences on there, and you can hear them - New Orleans, Tennessee, Houston - but he also spits a bar like Bone Thugs, name checks Master P and Kriss Kross, uses DJ Screw's Houston methods on his lyrics, and yet still represents Harlem. It is a thing of beauty. Before I leave that album, I have to show you "Wassup" as well.
That opening beat is so chill, and yet ominous when the bass comes in. And the flow of the lyrics over the top of that - the offbeat delivery is so kick ass. 15 million views. And what the hell, I showed you three of the first four tracks from the album, here is "Bass," the fourth that kicks so much ass.
Screwed again, and so very good.
You'll notice, on "Wassup," that he repeatedly calls himself that "pretty motherf**ker." This is a big part of his schtick, that he rocks the finest clothes and is all in on fashion. I don't even hear most of the references - I have no flipping clue who Raf Simons even is, but Rocky is apparently the man on fancy fashion. I could care less what he's wearing, I just know that he sounds freaking bad ass while wearing it.
Rocky's first real album was the confusingly titled Long.Live.A$AP, released in 2013. The initial single off of that album was called "Goldie," which has over 40 million spins on Spotify, and just so happens to have the beats per minute I use to jog. Stand up and jog to this:
17 million views, and so much swagger and solid flow. For me, it is just that combination - the beat is good, nothing groundbreaking, but when mixed in with the perfectly timed lyrics and then slowed down chorus, it just clicks perfectly. He's still repping the Houston sound and Master P, and you have to feel extremely cool when you can slur "bitchin' witcho bitch ass" or "errybody play the tough guy 'til shit pop off" repeatedly while listening to the track. I am sooo hard, yo.
Also on this album, A$AP's biggest hit without any doubt, is the collaboration with Drake, 2Chainz, and Kendrick Lamar, called F**ckin' Problems.
59.5 million YouTube views. 102 million Spotify spins. This is one of the most popular tracks I've reviewed so far for this year's artists. A ton of that traffic comes to this song because its got Drake and Kendrick Lamar on it, so take the popularity with a grain of salt (at least they knew well enough to keep 2Chainz to just the hook). Great beat, top notch guest verses, with a mediocre verse from Rocky himself, but still a hell of a track. The rest of the album is also good, with standout tracks "Long Live A$AP," the Skrillex-assisted "Wild for the Night," the posse cut "1Train," and the trippy-sounding "LVL."
And now, as of May 25/26, the new album is out. The original release date was supposed to be June 2, but it either leaked or he decided to stream it early. He has a ton of collaborators on here - Kanye, M.I.A., Future, Schoolboy Q, Juicy J, UGK, Lil Wayne, Mos Def. Oh, and Rod Stewart. WTF? I forget where I read it, but Rocky himself said there would not be any radio hits/singles on this album. He cited the Beatles, as artists who had been making popular tunes and then shifted into weird stuff without the pop feel, as an inspiration. I don't know how much of that is showmanship and trying to psych people out, but I think there are plenty of hits on this album. Frankly, I think he's full of shit. This album is just as chock full of well-crafted beats and his excellent sound as any others that came before it.
The most listened-to track from the new album (albeit based on early release as a single) is the strangely named "Lord Pretty Flacko Jodye 2" with just over nine million listens:
Dark, ominous, gritty, straight-forward for just 2 minutes. For reasons I'm not sure about, that video transitions from that song straight into the Lil Wayne-assisted "M'$" (second most listened to track on the new album) for the last minute. "M'$" is sweet as well, with a crusher of a beat, although I could leave the Lil' Wayne verse. "Max B" uses a slowed down sample of "Peter Piper" that is super cool as hell, even if it ends with a weird indie singer being sad. I looked up Max B, and that is apparently the stage name of an older Harlem rapper who is currently in prison on a 75 year sentence. According to this article, the guy singing that sad song is some rando English singer who appears on five of the songs on this album. Weird, but that beat in that song is fab. "Jukebox Joints," the Kanye track, has a tight, old school sample feel and a damn good Kanye verse. The Schoolboy Q collabo "Electric Body" is just waiting for strip joints to discover it. Album opener "Holy Ghost" is also a slowed down beat and Rocky just strutting all over it. "Wavybone," the one with UGK and Juicy J, has another laid-back soul sample and great verses from each of the rappers. Smooth, ready to be blared from the open top of a pimp daddy caddy down in H-town. After a few listens, this album is good stuff. I'm not going to go all "instant classic" on you, but I'm also going to keep listening to it for the rest of the day and maybe all of tomorrow.
Just because I think you ought to experience it, here is that Rod Stewart-assisted track, called "Everyday"
Not sure why they list Rod Stewart as though he is on the track. Maybe he is singing live, but that definitely sounds like just a sample (and according to the Internet, it is). Miguel has a great voice as well - I like the way he parrots the Stewart sample. Strange song that switches things up multiple times on the beat/sound, but it sounds cool anyway.
This guy is really great. I know that he doesn't match the mold of who I normally fawn over in rap, as he really doesn't do much story-telling in his raps. That being said, his style and rhythm over beats are just too smooth and perfect for me to ignore. And even if he's not weaving stories, he still uses clever wordplay to create slick couplets and verses that could make you groan, but more frequently make me smile. Definitely going to go see him do his thing.
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