Review: A$AP Rocky- Long Live A$AP

By Lawrence Burney in Reviews 1 Comment Tags: , , , ,

2012 was a weird year for Rocky. He spent the better part of the year opening for Drake’s Club Paradise Tour, doing random shows then capping the summer with the A$AP Mob tour. But after storming hip-hop with his debut LiveLoveA$AP mixtape in late 2011, there were barely any new tunes to match his headlines—leaving a slight feeling that his fame may have started to take a front seat to his music.  His RCA debut, initially set to release on 9/11, was first pushed back to Halloween, then there were some rumors that it may be released in December, which never happened. All of this with “Goldie” being his only new solo cut circulating. But, on December 3rd the release of “Fuckin’ Problems” came with a real release date, adding to the almost insurmountable level of hype around the Harlem emcee.

Essentially, Long Live A$AP, is LiveLoveA$AP on steroids, $3 million steroids. And it doesn’t take Rocky long to convince you that the upgrade in quality is real. The album’s intro, “Long Live A$AP”, is, in part, shit-talking and swaggering at it’s regal apex. The money put into the mixing and mastering leaves room for no comment other than, “Damn!” upon first listen. But what’s notable about the first track and is a recurring theme throughout Long Live is the presence of the come up story. To a certain point, Rocky’s saying “I’m here and ain’t shit you can do about it” with that trademark grin. He opens with “I thought I’d probably die in prison” and goes on throughout the song to say: “Ain’t have no pot to piss in, no my sink is full of dishes” and “There’s killers in my town, making hits, sniffing lines/Out committing crimes, wait for shit to simmer down.” The reality of where he could have ended up is always present and he’s just taking this victory lap to celebrate evading those pitfalls.

“Goldie” is the oldest cut on the album, produced by Hit-Boy who showed that his production style is limited to no singular artist with the tailor-made slowed down sound he crafted for Rocky. This early in the album, Rocky begins with what makes him such a fun guy to root for in rap right now; he continues to establish relationships with other underground artists and seems willing work with anyone that he’s a fan of. “PMW (All I Really Need)” deepens his catalog with Schoolboy Q (or A$AP Q) and continues to give listeners the chance of seeing the two’s camaraderie improve with every new collab. When they come together, they make good summertime cookout music, and there’s still a space for that in hip-hop. Clams Casino’s debut on the album is “LVL” and further builds on the trill cathedral sonic wave that he created for Rocky on “Palace”. What’s unlike any other song on the album in this one is Rocky’s lyrical conviction. In a capsule, Rocky is showing that he’s cognizant of his place in rap and whether or not that place makes you uncomfortable, sit back and watch. “Get your popcorn, juice snacks./It’s a movie nigga, with a new cast/Get a news flash, that the truth back/This is boom bap, mixed with new raps.” He then goes back to solidifying his come up . “All this talk of illuminati, aint got a clue about me/Bitch I’m Trill-miluminati and got my crew behind me.”

Even songs that would be painful to hear from other artists become tolerbale within the context of Rocky’s persona. “Hell” is a song featuring Santigold where Rocky describes himself and the rest of A$AP Mob as “sophisticated goons”. Maybe that label would explain his motivation behind making the least bearable track on the album, “Fashion Killa”—an airy pop track dedicated  to name-dropping as many high-fashion labels as possible (someone check Guinness for the record). Even still, the concept isn’t completely foreign to hip-hop (see Jay’s first verse on “I Just Wanna Love U”). The Skrillex-produced dance track “Wild For The Night” was surprisingly executed even better than Mykki Blanco’s Gobby-produced “Riot”—an artist whose music actually fits into that mold. “Pain” featuring OverDoz is a decent cut as well and takes on the new chill West Coast sound. The most monumental of tracks is “1 Train”—a posse cut featuring a good chunk of the best underground emcees in the game right now. Rocky’s willingness to create a platform for all his favorite upcoming rappers (Kendrick Lamar, Joey Bada$$, Yelawolf, Danny Brown, Action Bronson and Big K.R.I.T.) says a lot about what direction he wants to see the rap game to go. Kendrick, Danny Brown and K.R.I.T. especially went hard.
Long Live A$AP ends with a grand closing. The Danger Mouse-produced “Phoenix” is a tribute to Rocky’s rise to fame despite constant criticism and judgement by media. He references the deaths of Michael Jackson, Kurt Cobain and Jesus as a way to give some idea of how that criticism can get to him. “Suddenly” , Rocky’s production debut, is a perfect capping off to the album. “I swear this famous shit just happened overnight/For sure these hoes was so uptight, but now they so uptight.” is how he opens the track and it’s essentially an overview. He talks about having “disrespectful roaches”, sitting on the project benches playing checkers and cookouts from his childhood in Harlem.  Perhaps as a metaphor for how his career has gone, the track leaves you on edge when listening in anticipation for the beat the drop. A minute in, it still doesn’t, but gives a tease. Then a little over half into the song it drops and Rocky switches into a sped-up flow. “I only got one vision, that’s for kids in every color, religion/ That listen, you gotta beat the system, stay the fuck out the prisons,” is the song’s bridge and one of Rocky’s many quotes intended as motivation for anyone who can relate to his story. Along with “Long Live A$AP”, “Suddenly” bookmarks the album with great execution. Make no mistake, Rocky is still trill, still rocks gold slugs and is still about high fashion. But before this rise to superstardom, he was Rakim Mayers—a kid from the projects in Harlem, studying Bone Thugs, UGK, Three 6 Mafia and a host of New York rappers in an effort to get out of that situation. Long Live A$AP shows that a kid a lot more than what we’re used to seeing.

One Comment

  1. MadKow

    Nice review. I actually think the album is a 2.5, where as Live.Love.ASAP would be a 3.5. I personally just dont like the direction he went in production-wise. Also his lyrics are very shallow, as usual, so unless your bumpin it in the car, his lyrics sound painfully elementary. Suddenly is my favorite track. Im glad to see his album sold well, as with any rap artist.

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