Harlem rapper A$AP Rocky’s Live.Love.A$AP mixtape became one of the most impressive and distinguished mixtapes of 2011 with only R&B singers The Weeknd and Frank Ocean matching his musical esteem.
Over a year later, Rocky finally delivers his precious debut album, Long.Live.A$AP.
Boasting production by Rocky’s favorite producers, Clams Casino, Hit-Boy, A$AP Ty Beats, and the introduction of EDM producer Skrillex to the hip-hop world, Long.Live.A$AP’s production prowess is unrivaled.
Encompassing the charisma and infectious fervor Rocky possesses, Long.Live.A$AP invites the listener to sonically ride alongside Rocky’s musical ebb and flow.
Rocky’s admiration for Houston’s chopped and screwed technique has yet to waver.
Tracks like “PMW,” “LVL,” and “Pain” entrap the listener in a paralyzing state of euphoria plagued by cosmic waves of Rocky’s hypnotic infusions of rhyme and reason.
While most of the album will have the listener vigorously incapacitated, grittier tracks like the weighty seven man lineup, “1 Train” and bonus track “Ghetto Symphony” revive the listener by capturing the quintessential essence of New York City’s savage underground epicenter.
Despite the album’s countless highs, the album does possess a few lows.
The seemingly shallow track, “Fashion Killa,” is disposable, which is where the album’s lull begins.
The myriad of European designers Rocky spews bar-for-bar become dizzying for those who can’t pronounce the 15-letter surnames of shoe designers.
Lines like, “I see your Jil Sanders, Oliver Peoples/Costume National, your Ann Demeuelemeester/See Visvim be the sneaker, Lanvin or Balmain,” or “Goyard by the trunk, her Isabel Marant/I love your Linda Farrow, I adore your Dior/Your Damir Doma, Vena Cava from the store,” highlight how oblivious the fashion-obsessed rapper is on how intangible it is for the listener to digest the concept of possessing an ungodly expensive pair of tailored pants.
Overly calm tracks like “Phoenix” and “Suddenly” share deeply personal memoirs of Rocky’s far from fairytale life, but the tidbits of honesty come as a buzz kill from high-riding tracks like “F*ckin Problems” and “Wild For The Night.”
Overall, the album is unquestionably engaging, but it fails to meet the indescribable temperament of a unequivocally praised collection of adulation.
Long.Live.A$AP is a project most will enjoy, but Rocky’s inability to generate the same feverish energy throughout the entire body of work may rob him of accolades in the months to come.
Although Rocky’s career is undoubtedly on the rise, uncertainty surrounding the album looms.
A$AP Rocky’s presence in this game of gamble is very clear, but it’s unclear if Long.Live.A$AP will live forever in the minds of our amnesia-suffering generation.
