The Rundown: ASAP Rocky, Long.Live.ASAP
Did the Harlem rapper live up to the hype?
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The Rundown: ASAP Rocky, Long.Live.ASAP - Hype is a hell of a drug and A$AP Rocky is no doubt high out of his mind right now. The Harlem rapper rode a tidal wave of acclaim after his 2011 mixtape Live.Love.ASAP to a still shocking $3 million deal with RCA. The price tag only increased the expectations for Rocky's major label debut; the repeated delays, meanwhile, which have the album dropping more than a year after the ink dried, amplified the doubts that he'd deliver. But lovers and haters need wait no more — after an early leak, A$AP Rocky's Long.Live.ASAP, his major label debut, is finally here. Click on to read BET.com's track by track review and find out whether Rocky lived up to the deafening buzz. (Photo: Interscope Records)
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"Long Live A$AP" - A$AP quickly puts to rest any question of whether he'd abandon his spacey, artsy sounds of his breakthrough mixtape with the album's title track. The beat switches from insistent 808s and piano tinkles that sound like they're from the score to Eyes Wide Shut, transforming into a spooky chorus anchored by guitars and an ethereal sung hook. Rocky remains as charismatic and unflappable as ever, sticking to his usual boasts. The effect is like Three-Six Mafia moving to Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in the year 2050. (Photo: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
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"Goldie" - Months after it first surfaced, "Goldie" sounds just as banging, even if it never picked up the commercial success it deserved. A$AP sums up his mix of high art and Harlem swag perfectly when he brags that he chases Ace of Spades champagne with malt liquor. Hit-Boy unfolds and evolves beautifully with new drum sounds, new unexpected sounds, new chords and new funky drum rolls emerging every few bars. (Photo: Shareif Ziyadat/FilmMagic)
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"PMW" feat. Schoolboy Q - If you're familiar with A$AP, it shouldn't take you long to figure out what "PMW" stands for. In some ways, given the album's subject matter, this should've been the title track. With fellow hedonist and frequent collaborator Schoolboy Q and a slinky beat from T-Minus backing him up, A$AP shows off surprisingly agile double-time flows, showing skeptics he can flat-out rap when he wants to. (Photos from left: Awais, PacificCoastNews.com, Gary Gershoff/Getty Images)
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"LVL" - A$AP tips his hat to his old signature sound once again here, linking with lo-fi ambient-rap master Clams Casino for one of his trademark murky beats that sound like they were recorded in a cloud. A$AP shows off two of his finest vocal gifts, switching from quick rhymes to slow, melodic sing-song. A 24-year-old rapper from Harlem who sounds like Bone Thugs-N-Harmony — and pulls it off? Who'd have thought. (Photo: John Ricard / BET)
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"Hell" feat. Santigold - Over another wispy offering from Clams Casino, A$AP Rocky links up with fellow blog favorite Santigold. He sounds at home, but when Santi strays from the catchy chorus, she doesn't — delivering perhaps mostly off-pitch singing. We have a feeling it might have been on purpose, but that doesn't make it sound any better. (Photos from left: C Flanigan/WireImage, Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)
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"Pain" feat. Overdoz - For most of Long.Live.ASAP Rocky successfully updates and improves upon the sound of his earlier mixtape work. But here he sticks to the script a little too strictly; this song sounds remarkably similar to "Get Lit," from Live.Love.ASAP. (Photos from left: John Ricard / BET, OverDoz/Facebook)
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"Problems" - Nearly one million people can sometimes be wrong, but this time they aren't. "Problems" is on its way to going platinum, thanks no doubt to the all-star lineup of contributors who sound like they're having a blast. But even with ridiculous verses from Drake and Kendrick Lamar, Rocky proves he belongs off the strength of his charm, style and playful wit. (Photos from left: John Ricard / BET, Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Samsung, Rick Diamond/Getty Images for BET, Jeff Daly/PictureGroup)
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"Wild for the Night" feat. Skrillex - This song shouldn't work. Skrillex's name on the tracklist inspired many eye rolls — it seemed like a blatant, contrived ploy to touch on the already peaking dubstep craze from the subgenre's most prominent face. Until you hear it. A$AP and Skrillex wisely avoided dubstep's expected bass growls in favor of frenetic bending synths, reggae skanks and robot adlibs. It's an adrenaline burst, a much-needed respite from the album's syrupy dream state. (Photos from left: Christie Goodwin/Redferns via Getty Images, Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Samsung)
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"1 Train" feat. Kendrick Lamar, Danny Brown, Big K.R.I.T., Joey Bada$, Action Bronson and Yelawolf - Rocky's often been criticized by his proud hometowners for ignoring New York's traditional sound. But this highlight, which assembles a smorgasboard of underground favorites, recalls classic golden-era posse cuts. The verses and their sequencing seems a little random and uneven, but with that delightfully dusty, RZA-esque string loop and breakbeat hooked up by Hit-Boy, who's complaining? (Photo: Roger Kisby/Getty Images)
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"Fashion Killa" - A$AP Rocky shows his love for two of his favorite things — fashion and females — here over a dizzying but beautiful chopped-up vocal sample. He backs up his high fashion cred by name-dropping labels fellow rappers haven't touched yet and even pronouncing them correctly. It's A$AP's first love song but he doesn't lose his bearings, his signature aesthetic or his taste for great beats. (Photo: Lloyd Bishop/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank)
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"Phoenix" - A$AP Rocky surprises by hooking up with quirky producer Danger Mouse here. Sure enough, it's easy to picture his Gnarls Barkley partner Cee-Lo prosthetizing over the somber, soulful beat. Most importantly, Rocky finally diverges from his often superficial subjects — females, fashion, floss — if even for a second, showing that at least some of the time there's sadness and introspection behind that gold-tooth smile. (Photo: Awais, PacificCoastNews.com)
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"Suddenly" - A$AP Rocky winds down the official version of the album (keep clicking — the deluxe version features four more tracks) with this wisp of a song. Drums don't drop until more than two minutes in; until then, it's all echoes and a filtered, barely-there soul sample, which creeps in and out. Meanwhile, Rocky saves some surprisingly intricate rhyme patterns for last and once again reveals a deeper side. It's a surprisingly low-key ending to one of the most anticipated albums of the year from one of the most bombastic rappers. Sometimes you say more by doing less. (Photo: John Ricard / BET)
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"Jodye" - Three-6 Mafia's mid-'90s horror-core trap music is an obviously influential undercurrent throughout the album. But it really rears its head on the first creepy deluxe track, which can best be described as dungeon rap. Rocky shows a surprising athestic streak, which he hints at earlier on the album: "The Devil is a liar, biased preachers shall retire," he raps over a beat designed to haunt dreams. (Photo: Manuel Nauta /Landov)
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"Ghetto Symphony" feat. Gunplay and A$AP Ferg - We're not sure how Rocky managed to hold back this deluxe-edition banger from the regular album — it's a true standout, a straight haymaker to the jaw on an album more about jabbing, bobbing and weaving. For the first time, A$AP may get outshined by his guests here. Gunplay tones down his usual yelling, which emphasizes some truly sick rhyme patterns. Ferg, on the other hand, sounds truly unhinged, delivering his best performance to date and more than justifying his recent solo deal with RCA. (Photos from left: Karl Walter/Getty Images for Coachella, Courtesy of Myspace/Def Jam)
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"Angels" - A$AP Rocky returns to his creeping, trip-hop trap sound here, rhyming over yet another heavenly vocal sample from British electronica queen Imogen Heap ("Ghetto Symphony" samples "Psychobabble," by her now defunct duo Frou Frou). These kind of unexpected musical choices and juxtapositions, which seamlessly blend hood and high art, are Rocky's specialty. (Photo: Roger Kisby/Getty Images)