Patience is key. A saying that I have to remind myself of when it comes to
these new age rappers. It takes time for most of them to develop and perfect
their craft. So I need to pretty much be patient with them. I did that with
A$AP Rocky and I could honestly say it worked out. Nobody has truly grown on me
over the course of these last few years more. Not just as an artist but as a
trendsetter and a person who dares to be different. I definitely see him as one
of the leading faces of this hip hop generation. One of my biggest anticipations
of the year is now here. This is his sophomore album At.Long.Last.A$AP.
Although I was quietly anticipating this, I really didn't have any
expectations. Besides what Rocky usually gives. I just thought it would be a
continuation of his 2013 debut Long.Live.A$AP. Which I did like after it grew
on me. But I could honestly say I am quite shocked here. This album was way
better than I could have ever anticipated. This is in large part due to the
outstanding production. Rocky's music is known for having that psychedelic,
chopped and screwed Houston inspired sound. But here there's a lot more
experimenting with it. From various instrumentation to genre blending. Not to
mention a who's who of guest features that give added fuel to these tracks.
Granted the album is very lengthy (eighteen tracks). But the way this album
plays out, the way each song transitions into the next and how smoothly it
runs, it doesn't even feel like it's that long. Well now...here's the break
down:
1. Holy Ghost (featuring Joe Fox)
We begin here with a very relaxed sounding track. Almost too relaxed for an
intro. Filled with mellow guitar strings and slow drums. The overall production
is good but I just don't like it for an intro song. Of course lyrically he's
not talking about much here (or any of these songs really). But there's plenty
of religious undertones here to go with the songs theme. Joe Fox, who was the
stand out of all the features, drops some dope haunting like vocals. Again, not
something I'd choose for an intro but not a bad song in general.
2. Canal St. (featuring Bones)
Here's an ode to the popular street in Manhattan, NY (also known as
Chinatown). This one has a lot more energy in it with a much doper beat. A$AP
always delivers when it comes to these hard beats with very slow pacing. Production
is outstanding here. Kudos to Hector Delgado and Frans Merdick on the beat.
Bones was cool on the hook as well. That's pretty much it. Just a trunk song
with great production.
3. Fine Whine (featuring M.I.A. and Future)
Now here is what A$AP Rocky fans are more used to. Him warping his voice to
the chopped-n-screwed sound. Over what begins as a very slow paced beat with
slow but heavy drums. But then the beat picks up pace and gets faster You start
hearing a mixture of a lot of drums. This is when M.I.A. gets on and drops only
a few lines. But the real surprise is Future. normally I can't take hearing him
on these features but he was tolerable here. He wasn't all over the place as he
normally is and he seem to mesh well with this production. Cool song.
4. L$D
By far the most...interesting song on the album to say the least. Of every
song on the album, this is the very definition of psychedelic music. It's so
slow, dreary and eerie sounding. The perfect acid trip. Then Rocky raps...well
sings with this super drugged sounding voice. Like he was on LSD when recording
this song. It feels like this song just takes you into another dimension. A
dimension filled with the "love, sex and dreams" that he mentions.
This is perfect for you stoners.
5. Excuse Me
Okay now the pace is picking up. The production is pretty simple here (I do
like the beat break down on the hook though). But what shines is his flow over
this beat. Which by the way Rocky has stepped that part of his game up
tremendously on this album. Anyway as I mentioned, the hook is kinda catchy and
goes well with the tone of the beat break down. Lyrically he's just spitting
some regular New York street talk. Nothing major. I like this.
6. JD
Pretty much a minute and a half prelude to the next track. Wish it could
have been more though because this was a pretty good beat wasted on a short
interlude.
7. Lord Pretty Flacko Jodye 2 (LPFJ 2)
The prelude then transitions well into this song. Much more energetic and
much more catchy that the prelude though. Big kudos to SlamCorp for this
awesome production. The thumping bass line is perfect to destroy your car
speakers. On the hook he kinda does the third person thing where it's him and
this Flacko Jodye gimmick and he's talking to him. What I did find weird about
this is the prelude is a little over a minute and this song is two minutes. So
really both tracks is one whole three and a half minute song. Don't know why he
didn't just make it one track instead of separating it. Could have cut back on
these eighteen tracks.
8. Electric Body (featuring Schoolboy Q)
Alright ladies...get your cameras and your favorite underwear to twerk in.
We got another one. First off, the production is one of the best on the album.
Very uptempo and has a big time get-up-and-dance feel. Hector Delgado did his
thing here on production. But it's because of the insanely catchy hook why I
call this the next twerk anthem. A common club chant telling the ladies to put
in work on the dance floor (or the pole possibly). Schoolboy Q gets on here and
does his usual outlandish thug thing. I don't know what it is but every time
Rocky and Q get together on a track the outcome is marvelous. From "Brand
New Guy", to "Hands On The Wheel", to "PMW", to now
this. They gotta do a full project together. Anyway, despite this being a dance
record for the females I like it. I'd be shocked if this doesnt become a
single.
9. Jukebox Joints (featuring Kanye West and Joe Fox)
Here's another favorite beat and sample of mine. There's no bass line or
drums. The beat is mostly the sample and the vocals what sounds like a small
choir. It has a strong soulful sound to it. It's also yet another beat Rocky
just flows so perfectly to it. Then the song switches up to a Smokey Robinson
sample before Kanye gets on. Now Kanye verse was honestly one of his best he's
done lately. Throwing out his usual braggadocios lyrics and some just for
shock ("they want to throw me under the white jail/cause I'm a black man
with the confidence of a white male). Rocky honestly couldn't have picked a
better person to feature on a track with this kind of dope sampling.
10. Max B (featuring Joe Fox)
First and foremost let me say that I never was a fan of Max B. I know he's
always had a huge following but I could never get into him. Anyway this was yet
another favorite beat of mine. I love the hard head knodding rhythm. It sounds
more like what A$AP Rocky is...east coast. But the hook was what was really
interesting. Joe Fox (at least I think it's him and not a sample) does this
weird distorted thing with his voice where it makes him sound like some
recording from the 1950's or something. It sounds very strange yet unique. If
this was some kind of salute to Max B, from one Harlem MC to another, it
certainly is an interesting one.
11. Pharsyde (featuring Joe Fox)
Here's some more of that slow, depressing, psychedelic music with the
chopped-n-screwed voice. Joe Fox does a similar thing with his voice as he did
on the previous song but not as bizarre. Now on this whole album Rocky doesn't
really talk about much lyrically. But here it sounds as if he's speaking on the
demons and the evils of the world that get his way and how he tries to avoid it
all. Don't know where I really stand with this song as of now.
12. Wavybone (featuring Juicy J and UGK)
No song on here made me hit the repeat button quicker than this one. The
production here is simply outstanding. It's has that southern trunk sound that
changes up the tempo in the middle of every one's verse. In which everyone
speeds up there raps. Dope. Big Kudos to Juicy J there. Everyone featured did
there thing here. Juicy J was cool on the hood blending with the sample and his
verse. Bun B brought his A game as well. His flow was dope on this beat. It was
really cool to see him get Pimp C on this track as well. It's crazy because I
know for a fact there aren't a lot of unused Pimp C verses floating around. So
it's kinda cool that Bun B gave Rocky the okay to do it. This song is a stand
out for more reasons than one. It's the only song on the album that sounds much
different in sound and theme. It's completely southern. Nonetheless, this maybe
my favorite track on this album.
13. Westside Highway (featuring James Fauntleroy)
This is another song that has some growing on me to do. I feel like this is
for the females but he's talking about so much other stuff it's hard to tell.
James Fauntleroy's hook is what makes me think this. It was a pretty good hook
too. He's probably the best person to get nowadays for tracks like this. But
overall, I gotta listen to this more I guess. Right now it's just...eh.
14. Better Things
So this song starts off very slow and trippy. Then out of nowhere, the beat
switches up to harder drums and heavier bass. Bringing it to life kinda. This
album is just filled with constant beat switch ups in the middle of songs.
Anyway the beat is pretty cool. Another head knodder (a much slower head
knodder). On here he isn't speaking about much of course but what stands out is
some controversial shots thrown at singer Rita Ora. Which I'm not gonna get
into because that's another story. Anyway, this is pretty much a
"like" not "love" track for me.
15. M'$ (featuring Lil Wayne)
Car speakers haven't blown it's fuse yet? Well this track is sure to do it.
The bass line here is excellent to the point where I only prefer to hear it in a
car and not on my headphones. His flow on this beat was top notch too.
But...Lil Wayne. One of his best, yes best guest features in a while. Dare I
say it...he might even outdid Rocky on his own track. This song has already
grown on me due to the beat. I love it. By the way "M'$" is just
money in case you couldn't figure it out.
16. Dreams (interlude)
Eh...I really don't understand the point of this. It's just a two minute
interlude of him doing that acid trip rap like on "L$D". I just see
this as an album filler and/or a track that's just taking up space. Second
track like this on the album. Unnecessary in my opinion.
17. Everyday (featuring Rod Stewart, Miguel and Mark Ronson)
This is the first single that I think is all hook honestly. I mean, the
beat is okay. Filled with some snares and distinct organs at first then, yet
again, another beat switch up to something fast paced. But the hook by Rod
Stewart and Miguel is probably one of the dopest hooks on the radio right now.
Their voices mesh perfectly over the tune of this track. Cool song overall.
18. Black Home (featuring Mos Def, Acyde and A$AP Yams)
So the album ends with a track with much higher energy. The beat is more
uptempo than a lot of these tracks and has a tiny adrenaline rush feel to it.
The hook was off a bit for me. You can't even really hear it unless you have on
headphones. Mos Def verse was mad dope despite how short it was. A little
surprised Rocky reached out to someone like Mos Def for a project like this.
But a cool way to end an album that was filled with so much slow paced music.
Overall, I was thoroughly impressed and surprised by At.Long.Last.A$AP.
A$AP Rocky has totally stepped his game up from his flow, to his originality
and to his production especially. Which shines the most. I give this a final
grade of a A-. Like I mentioned, A$AP Rocky is a trendsetter. I feel like he is
about to start something big with this east coast meets Houston
chopped-n-screwed sound. This album alone shows how well it can be done if done
by the right kind of artists. He's totally killed the east coast stereotype. At
first I saw that as a bad thing but this album just showed me that it's not.
The game has changed...at long last. End.
Lyrics: B-
Production: A+
Collaboration: B+
Originality: A-
Concept(s): B
Final Grade: A-
CREDITS
Executive Producer
Rakim Mayers
Brian Burton
Steven Rodriguez
Lead Artist
Rakim Mayers
Production
Rakim Mayers
Brian Burton
Khalil Abdul-Rahman
Hector Delgado
Frans Mernick
Rameses Magnus-George
James Scheffer
Michael Mule
Isaac De Boni
Mario Loving
Nesbitt Wesonga
Teddy Walton
Kanye West
Che Pope
Dan Lynas
Jordan Houston
Carlton Mays, Jr.
Michael Dean
Mark Ronson
Emile Haynie
Jeff Bhasker
Ross Birchard
Tom Elmhirst
Malcolm Martin
Collaboration
Joseph Fox
Elmo O'Connor
Maya Arulpragasam
Nayvadius Wilburn
Quincy Hanley
Kanye West
Jordan Houston
Chad Butler
Bernard Freeman
James Fauntleroy
Dwayne Carter
Mark Ronson
Roderick Stewart
Miguel Pimentel
Dante Smith
Darryl Damien Washington
Label
A$AP Worldwide/Polo Grounds/RCA Records
Mic's Mixtape Of The Week
Don Trip
In The Meantime EP
Available now on DatPiff
Mic's Web Chick Of The Week
Snooky Hollyhood
Newburgh, NY
Instagram: @vampiyana
COMING SOON
God, Money, War - King Los
Dreams Worth More Than Money - Meek Mill
Wildheart - Miguel
Copyright 2015. Mic Navarro's Corner.
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