It's now attributed to introspective (but popular) rappers like Mac Miller, jokesters like Yung Lean and dark oddities like Bones. It's aesthetically pleasing, it's layered, it's new, it's modern, it's influenced by all the things deemed "cool" by this generation: ambient electronic music, sex, booze, marijuana culture, flashy clothes etc. And critics and fans alike can agree on one thing it's fresh. It's one whose sound and visual style is rooted in modern internet culture, in tumblr and various blogs, and instagram. Though Rocky was not the first person to experiment with psychedelic, chopped & screwed beats with heavy bass, he was the one to cohesively conceptualize, brand and popularize the sound and movement. It's a term that's plagued hype-fueled blog articles, thinkpieces, youtube comments and TheNeedleDrop videos for a few years now, and though both loved and hated, its existence is more relevant now than ever, and it can be traced back to one individual: A$AP Rocky. He’s fully formed, a rapper who understands his talent in relation to that of his peers and that of his influences, unafraid of showing you his blueprint.Review Summary: For all the hype, it's.really good In part, that’s a red flag - Rocky isn’t yet the sort of full-fledged, bulletproof star who derives no benefit from sharing the stage with heavy hitters.īut he doesn’t absorb and repurpose his guests’ styles. There isn’t likely to be a more substantial and impressive array of guests on any hip-hop album this year. Dig deep in the credits and find that Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys plays guitar on one song, that Pablo Dylan (Bob’s grandson) assisted on another, and so on. The album is laden with samples, from soul to Southern rock to indie rock. “At.” is also a deeply curated affair - there are guest verses from Lil Wayne, Kanye West, Future, M.I.A., Yasiin Bey (formerly Mos Def) and UGK, including Pimp C, who died in 2007. A hip-hop producer before moving into dull hand-holding for rock bands, he’s an orchestral-minded producer, and the pacing of this album takes advantage of his gifts without being saddled by his weaknesses. It’s in moments like this that the guiding hand of Danger Mouse is evident. And “Excuse Me” moves with spaghetti western jitters.
There’s a nod to Baltimore club music on “Electric Body.” “Fine Whine” has the syrupy affect of Rocky’s early tracks, his vocals pitched down to a slur. “Lord Pretty Flacko Jodye 2 (LPFJ2)” has the maniacal tension of early Three 6 Mafia. It’s fleet and sparkly, and also weighted with better adapted guests (Drake, 2 Chainz, Kendrick Lamar). On those songs, too, he rapped slowly but deliberately, obscuring syllabic tricks underneath a narcotic haze.īut ASAP Rocky’s biggest hit - the profane title shortens to “Problems” - is also his least representative.
His earliest breakthroughs, “Purple Swag” and “Peso,” celebrated both directly and indirectly the chopped-and-screwed sound of Houston rap, and its attendant culture around prescription-strength cough syrup. Rocky has always preferred life in the ooze, and drug music is what got him here. “I look for ways to say, ‘I love you,’/But I ain’t into making love songs/Baby, I’m just rapping to this LSD,” Rocky sing-raps languidly, finding feelings inside the high but losing grip of them just as easily. The one true love song on the new ASAP Rocky album, “At.,” is called “LSD.” A wobbly, slightly morbid affair, “LSD” is about the drug and the love you make - or can’t make - on it.
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