American rapper and record producer Rakim Mayers, best known as A$AP Rocky, has finally dropped an album that lived up to the hype and fits in with his previous releases. These tracks have legendary beats, flowing lyrics and crazy good audio quality production.
The opening track, “ORDER OF PROTECTION,” immediately sets the tone with mean lyrics and high energy. A$AP acknowledges his absence from the music scene, but his flow proves that time hasn’t changed him. This track has nostalgic sounds and catchy lyrics that really remind me of his earlier albums “Long. Live. A$AP” (2011) and “Live. Love. A$AP” (2013).
Throughout the album, A$AP shows no signs of aging. In fact, he’s even more aggressive than usual. This is noticeable on “STOLE YA FLOW,” a disstrack toward Canadian rapper and singer Drake, who A$AP currently isn’t on good terms with. A$AP’s unapologetic bars on this track feel hard and remorseless: “First you stole my flow, so I stole your b–,” obviously talking about Rihanna. Then A$AP says “N– getting BBLs, lucky we don’t body shame.” Essentially, Drake got murdered.
Another song that stands out is “STAY HERE 4 LIFE,” with a sample of American singer and producer Brent Faiyaz’s song “full moon. (fall in tokyo).” Unlike Faiyaz’s sweet and emotional original song, A$AP’s is raunchy and reckless. Three minutes in, the track completely changes into a slowed, distorted beat that is genuinely cinema to my ears. The song ends with an audio clip of a man claiming he is “not a player,” which is pretty contradictory to what A$AP sings about this whole song, not to mention what he sings about in almost all his songs.
“PUNK ROCKY” is easily one of my least favorite tracks. It’s not even rap, it’s a pop electronic mess that feels awkward and out of place. Even though experimentation has always been part of A$AP’s career, this track feels less bold and more confusing. It disrupts the flow the album was making.
Am I the only one who didn’t like “FISH N STEAK (WHAT IT IS)?” Tyler the Creator wasn’t needed on that song; it did not fit the album. A lot of songs didn’t fit, and they were confusing and overwhelming. I mean, what in the “6-7” were some of these songs?
One song specifically, “THE END,” featuring American singer Jessica Pratt and American rapper and producer will.i.am, closed the album on a dark and unsettling note with a line, “This is the way the world ends” from the T. S. Eliot 1925 poem “The Hallow Men.” Then A$AP continues to say stuff like, “The Klan got too many members, this all the devil’s agenda.” Pratt then says, “Preachers got nothing to preach, teachers got nothing to teach, no kids play in the streets … no books for them to read, we’re all stuck to our screens.” will.i.am also says, “Don’t trip, keep calm, carry on now. Even though the wicked ones built the bomb now.” This specific song targets and questions problems with society and the government. It is a great song, don’t get me wrong, but maybe it just wasn’t the ending I was hoping for in an album as beautiful as this. It got me worrying that it’ll be another eight years until A$AP drops again.
Overall, the album is good, better than good, but not perfect. The first half of the album is strong, aggressive and exciting, reminding me exactly why A$AP is one of my favorite rappers in the first place. The newer sounds toward the end were not it for me, though. It was good for what it’s worth, but not my taste. Even so, A$AP proves that after years of silence, he can still deliver an album that is carefully crafted, well-written and revolutionary, which is exactly what a comeback album should do. 9.5/10.
