Sex. Money. Drugs.
These recurring themes in rap music return in A$AP Rocky’s debut studio album, “Long.Live.A$AP,” a follow-up to his 2011 mixtape, “Live.Love.A$AP.”
The album was released last week, although many fans got a hold of it when it leaked about a month ago.
“Long.Live.A$AP”topped the Billboard 200 albums chart, selling 139,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan and Billboard.com.
The name of the album is about as clever as the lyrics in it. It’s the same rehashed rap music you hear on the radio every day. It’s as if rappers completely gave up.
The song “PMW (All I Really Need),” which stands for “P---y Money Weed,” is the poster child for present-day rap.
As a whole, “Long.Live.A$AP” sounds like A$AP Rocky took a little bit of underground style, threw in some Lil Wayne-esque lyrics and called it a day.
It’s not as if A$AP Rocky is a bad rapper. He’s actually good. His words flow fluidly, and the lyrics are poetic.
The problem is the lyrical poetry sounds like A$AP Rocky took it from the pages of “Fifty Shades of Grey.”
The only good verses on the album come from the guest vocalists. Yet, the “big star” on the album, Drake in “F--kin’ Problems,” was an absolute failure. It seems he couldn’t think of anything original for his feature, so he grabs a lick from an old Nelly song: “Drop down and get your eagle on.”
The best song from the album, “Wild For the Night,” which Skrillex produced, is full of good vibes and flows smoothly. Sadly, though, the song plays like an Odd Future ripoff, using a deep vocal modifier that sounds extremely close to Tyler, The Creator’s therapist alter-ego from “Bastard” and “Goblin.”
“Wild For the Night” isn’t the only song to use the modifier, either. The album is flooded with it.
In the end, the album isn’t technically bad. The production and beats are pretty close to perfect throughout, and A$AP Rocky is a good rapper. At the same time, the album is bad. It’s the same lyrics you’ve heard again and again.
If you appreciate good rap production, pick this up. If you’re looking for something new, I’d skip this one, because “Long.Live.A$AP” won’t live long on top.
