This album starts off with “Distorted Records”, and yes right off the bat it certainly sounds like an A$AP Rocky track. It’s got gigantic bass and some artsy flair that he was showing off on his last album. This one does pick up nicely though, almost into a sort of Experimental Rap tune. It’s surprisingly noisy and aggressive as far as the beat goes. But it works for Rocky, and he just sounds refreshed and energetic as ever. Now, I do have to say though this much more left-field approach to Rocky’s music is pretty different than what we’ve been used to so far, and it’s new for him too. Which to an extent, you can tell, because there is a few moments here where it sounds like he’s still getting used to this sound. But still, this is a solid intro. On the other hand, “A$AP Forever” does some really amazing things for Rocky. T.I. has just such a cool voice and is such a good narrator, so he instantly fits. Here, Rocky doesn’t sound shake on this sound, he sounds like a pro. I love just how hazy this beat is, and overall I feel like this track is just such a great medium for A$AP. And his performance here is just so youthful and wildly energetic, and most importantly exciting. And Kid Cudi on the hook sounds like his usual, smooth self. For a few short minutes, Rocky doesn’t sound like a follower of this sound, he sounds like a pioneer of it. And that beat switch-up is absolutely nuts, leading to some beautiful moments to say the least. Then we have “Tony Tone”, which sadly shows just how clueless Rocky still is when it comes to this sound. His verses here, if you want to call them that, are absolutely a low point of the album. I’m down for some mindless fun any day of the week. But here, Rocky sound just plain goofy. Thankfully, this one has a banging beat to keep my attention. But outside of that this is way too mindless for me. Rocky’s made a career on this cloudy, laid-back rap. But there comes a time where it’s just way too much. Now, “Fukk Sleep” featuring FKA Twigs on the other hand actually has some cool ideas to it. Twigs always has such a way of making the most normal tracks haunting, and that’s exactly what she’s up to here. Here, at the very least Rocky comes off as charismatic and energetic. And sure, this track is once again super hazy and dreamy. But here it comes off as an interesting alternative to what’s going on in Rap right now. Plus, Twigs alongside of making this track much more haunting, gives this track an artsy feel that I can’t deny at all. Even her verse comes off otherworldly. This whole track is just so chilly and intriguing, and a really interesting path for Rocky. Meanwhile, the beat on ““Praise the Lord (Da Shine)” is a real shot out of left field. It’s so much more playful and not nearly as dripping in effects. But without all the dreaminess, the cloudy beats and all that, this just comes off like any other faceless MC sadly. Skepta doesn’t sound terrible here, he’s a talented dude and all. But I just can’t shake the feeling that this one is just too generic for me. In an album that so far has been nothing but Rocky trying to expand his sound, this does the exact opposite.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNzc6hG3yN4
Then we have “CALLDROPS” featuring the one and freakin’ only Kodak Black. On the other hand, this track has all of the exact opposite problems as other tracks. Here, Rocky goes overboard trying to be artsy. And the result is just laughable and bizarre, and 2-minutes of wasted time. Who OK’d this interlude? And FUCK Kodak Black. Thankfully, the synth beat blasting off on “Buck Shots” is just so energetic and interesting. It’s different for Rocky, even though it does keep that very syrupy atmosphere. It’s just so intense and upbeat, it’s in moments like this that Rock comes off at his most confident. Not to mention, it’s one of the shortest tracks here, proving we don’t need a 6-minute odyssey. Then we have “Guns N Butter”, a Flour Rap banger that sounds like it would have landed nicely on one of his early releases. His very sleepy verse here comes off just as tasteful as you would expect, and I can’t help but get hyped up listening to Rocky’s verse. Not to mention, Juicy J when he does it right, can be an awesome hype man. And here, he’s on point. Not to mention, some of Rocky’s lines are surprisingly current and refreshing. All around, this may not be the artsy vibe that he’s been going for, but it works. But then we get the massive curveball of “Brotha Man”, which is a depressive and gloomy track that’s pretty deep for this album. It’s once again, something very different for Rocky. It’s refreshing to hear some emotion, and the very lavish production here is fantastic. Like, I mean there are some seriously elegant moments here between these very sweet harmonies and this breezy beat. All around, “Brotha Man’ is a refreshing tune and a great sound for Rocky. But with every track like that, we get a track like “OG Beeper” which makes me question if Rocky is really all in on this new sound. There’s no reason why he shouldn’t be, he’s proven that he can do some interesting stuff. But this track is so generic that it comes off like practically a cover. There’s nothing about this one that tells me this is an A$AP Rocky tune even. Not to mention, this beat is such a shallow attempt to make an “artsy” beat. This one at the end of the day, just confuses me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYbWAgF02no
“The Kids Turned Out Fine” on the other hand is a little bit more in the right direction. I do like how twisted this one is, the way it constantly sounds like it’s this much more cheery tune that’s constantly melting. Rocky sounds solid on his verse, and comes off so much more energetic than usual considering just how dreary this track is. It’s interesting, but I just wish Rocky would take this sound and take it so much further. A lot of these tracks have such a cool aesthetic and begin to get some great ideas flowing. But they also end before anything truly ballsy and left-field comes along. But tracks like “Hun43rd” featuring Dev Hynes make me want to eat those words completely. This once again, has that very dreary, Psychedelic vibe, much more than most of the tracks here. Trust me, this is one Psychedelic Rap tune, but it comes off brilliantly because of just how focused Rocky sounds. He honestly sounds right at home on this beat. And Dev Hynes of Blood Orange sounds absolutely incredible in this atmosphere. You see, here this is obviously an A$AP Rocky tune, between the cloudy beat and the chopped and screwed vocals. But this is taken so much further, is seriously creative, and one hell of a track. But for every genuinely good idea, I feel like Rocky comes back with one that’s equally half-baked and unfinished. “Changes” is the latter. This is literally Rocky’s attempt at a Psych Rock ballad, and it’s beyond awkward. It almost sounds like what Miguel mastered on his “Wildheart” album. But with Rocky, it just sounds like something he’s sort of curious in, not something he’s going to commit to. “Changes” is very sloppy. The beat that eventually rolls in is alright, and the last 2 minutes or so is much better than the last few. But sadly it’s just too late, Rocky comes off dreadfully unfocused. There are so many good ideas floating around here, snippets of them at least. But Rocky doesn’t seem like he’s ready to fully commit to any of them. And “Black Tux, White Collar” isn’t that much better. The highs to this album are wildly high, and may just be Rocky’s best tracks in years. But then I hear this and it’s unbearable and obnoxious. This is a totally different animal, with Rocky once again sounding faceless. It’s so bland, that Rocky ends up coming off like a rapper trying to rip off his own style from 6 years ago. And guess what, it absolutely sucks. Thankfully, A$AP ends off this album with “Purity” which is a genuinely experimental track in all of the best ways. It’s just as psychedelic, but it’s strangely beautiful in parts. And yes, it’s made even more beautiful by Frank Ocean’s contributions. Meanwhile, I’ve never even like Frank’s Rap verses, but here he sounds at home. In general, this track is another really great medium for Rocky. It’s interesting and left-field., but it’s also much more focused than anything here. Rocky doesn’t just have an idea here. He takes that idea, starts it, runs with it, and finished it too. Not to mention, while some tracks here have just been sort of shallow attempts at being experimental, this one is genuinely weird.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNzc6hG3yN4
Then we have “CALLDROPS” featuring the one and freakin’ only Kodak Black. On the other hand, this track has all of the exact opposite problems as other tracks. Here, Rocky goes overboard trying to be artsy. And the result is just laughable and bizarre, and 2-minutes of wasted time. Who OK’d this interlude? And FUCK Kodak Black. Thankfully, the synth beat blasting off on “Buck Shots” is just so energetic and interesting. It’s different for Rocky, even though it does keep that very syrupy atmosphere. It’s just so intense and upbeat, it’s in moments like this that Rock comes off at his most confident. Not to mention, it’s one of the shortest tracks here, proving we don’t need a 6-minute odyssey. Then we have “Guns N Butter”, a Flour Rap banger that sounds like it would have landed nicely on one of his early releases. His very sleepy verse here comes off just as tasteful as you would expect, and I can’t help but get hyped up listening to Rocky’s verse. Not to mention, Juicy J when he does it right, can be an awesome hype man. And here, he’s on point. Not to mention, some of Rocky’s lines are surprisingly current and refreshing. All around, this may not be the artsy vibe that he’s been going for, but it works. But then we get the massive curveball of “Brotha Man”, which is a depressive and gloomy track that’s pretty deep for this album. It’s once again, something very different for Rocky. It’s refreshing to hear some emotion, and the very lavish production here is fantastic. Like, I mean there are some seriously elegant moments here between these very sweet harmonies and this breezy beat. All around, “Brotha Man’ is a refreshing tune and a great sound for Rocky. But with every track like that, we get a track like “OG Beeper” which makes me question if Rocky is really all in on this new sound. There’s no reason why he shouldn’t be, he’s proven that he can do some interesting stuff. But this track is so generic that it comes off like practically a cover. There’s nothing about this one that tells me this is an A$AP Rocky tune even. Not to mention, this beat is such a shallow attempt to make an “artsy” beat. This one at the end of the day, just confuses me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYbWAgF02no
“The Kids Turned Out Fine” on the other hand is a little bit more in the right direction. I do like how twisted this one is, the way it constantly sounds like it’s this much more cheery tune that’s constantly melting. Rocky sounds solid on his verse, and comes off so much more energetic than usual considering just how dreary this track is. It’s interesting, but I just wish Rocky would take this sound and take it so much further. A lot of these tracks have such a cool aesthetic and begin to get some great ideas flowing. But they also end before anything truly ballsy and left-field comes along. But tracks like “Hun43rd” featuring Dev Hynes make me want to eat those words completely. This once again, has that very dreary, Psychedelic vibe, much more than most of the tracks here. Trust me, this is one Psychedelic Rap tune, but it comes off brilliantly because of just how focused Rocky sounds. He honestly sounds right at home on this beat. And Dev Hynes of Blood Orange sounds absolutely incredible in this atmosphere. You see, here this is obviously an A$AP Rocky tune, between the cloudy beat and the chopped and screwed vocals. But this is taken so much further, is seriously creative, and one hell of a track. But for every genuinely good idea, I feel like Rocky comes back with one that’s equally half-baked and unfinished. “Changes” is the latter. This is literally Rocky’s attempt at a Psych Rock ballad, and it’s beyond awkward. It almost sounds like what Miguel mastered on his “Wildheart” album. But with Rocky, it just sounds like something he’s sort of curious in, not something he’s going to commit to. “Changes” is very sloppy. The beat that eventually rolls in is alright, and the last 2 minutes or so is much better than the last few. But sadly it’s just too late, Rocky comes off dreadfully unfocused. There are so many good ideas floating around here, snippets of them at least. But Rocky doesn’t seem like he’s ready to fully commit to any of them. And “Black Tux, White Collar” isn’t that much better. The highs to this album are wildly high, and may just be Rocky’s best tracks in years. But then I hear this and it’s unbearable and obnoxious. This is a totally different animal, with Rocky once again sounding faceless. It’s so bland, that Rocky ends up coming off like a rapper trying to rip off his own style from 6 years ago. And guess what, it absolutely sucks. Thankfully, A$AP ends off this album with “Purity” which is a genuinely experimental track in all of the best ways. It’s just as psychedelic, but it’s strangely beautiful in parts. And yes, it’s made even more beautiful by Frank Ocean’s contributions. Meanwhile, I’ve never even like Frank’s Rap verses, but here he sounds at home. In general, this track is another really great medium for Rocky. It’s interesting and left-field., but it’s also much more focused than anything here. Rocky doesn’t just have an idea here. He takes that idea, starts it, runs with it, and finished it too. Not to mention, while some tracks here have just been sort of shallow attempts at being experimental, this one is genuinely weird.
Rating: 7.1/10
Give A Listen To: “A$AP Forever”, “Brotha Man”, “Hun43rd”, "Purity"
Least Favorite Track: “CALLDROPS”
Genre: Art Rap / Cloud Rap / Rap / Experimental Rap
Overall Thoughts: A$AP Rocky returns after a few years with his most genuinely strange album to date, with mixed results. When this album is on, it has some of the most refreshing A$AP Rocky tunes since his debut mixtape. He's working with new production, new collaborators, and new beats that have him pushing out into some pretty experimental waters, which I like a lot. Or at the very least, it sounds good on paper. Because while this album has ridiculously good high points, when it's off Rocky sounds more awkward than anything. There are numerous tunes here that have Rocky sounding like a fish out of water in the Art Rap/Experimental Rap game. And some of these tunes are hilariously unfocused, with Rocky starting an idea with no hope of finishing them. Like I said though, when this album is good, it's great, and I just really want to hear Rocky focus and return to this sound with a more cohesive album.
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