Harlem, New York rapper, songwriter, actor, producer, model & fashion designer A$AP Rocky returning to music after 8 long years. A prominent member of the A$AP Mob, his only mixtape LIVE.LOVE.A$AP is one of the greatest tapes of the previous decade & his debut album LONG.LIVE.A$AP under RCA Records came during my sophomore year of high school to further acclaim. The sophomore effort AT.LONG.LAST.A$AP came the week of my high school graduation was highly praised too, going for an experimental direction with Testing & has finally dropped Don’t Be Dumb after starting a family with Rihanna.
“Order of Protection” begins Flacko Season with a drumless loop with some hi-hats incorporated at the halfway point talking about being back in his bag whereas the 2nd & final single “Helicopter$”goes for a Memphis vibe instrumentally homaging the Petey Pablo single “Raise Up”. After the “Interrogation” skit, “Stole Ya Flow” blends industrial hip hop & trap speculated to be a jab at Drake when he said in a recent interview that isn’t the case leading into the pop rap/R&B fusion “Stay Here 4 Life” featuring & produced by Brent Faiyaz.
Thundercat jumps behind the boards for the cloudy trap highlight “Playa” advising not to stare when the diamonds be goin’ on & teaching others how to ball just before the hypnotic “No Trespassing” suggests he might move out to Texas & shut down anyone who enters his property without permission. “Stop Snitching” samples “Give This Love a Try” by Leroy Hutson talking about going through it all from the start while “STFU” featuring the Slay Squad gives off an electro vibe to the beat sending a message to those who don’t know when to shut up.
“Punk Rocky” combines post-punk revival, neo-psychedelia, psychedelic pop, indie surf, dream pop & rap rock alongside Ging pleading for him not to be left heartbroken while “Air Force (Black DeMarco)” talks about driving a Ferrari like it’s stolen & I have to admit Digital Nas or Digital Nazi cooked up one of the album’s craziest instrumentals although he’s a ragebaiting Twitter troll. Clams Casino reunites with Rocky during the jazzy “Whiskey (Release Me)” trying to get high as possible while “Robbery” featuring Doechiireferences WWE Hall of Famer Mr. T continuing to carry over the jazz elements.
The title track embraces a happier atmosphere singing that he’d do anything to stay in Rihanna’s good graces prior to “Trip Baby” shaking it up with a chipmunk soul sample courtesy of Harry Fraud warning that anyone who fucks around near him will get clicked. “The End” featuring Jessica Pratt & will.i.am flips both “The Rip” by Portishead & “Ebony Glass” by Nancy Priddy drumlessly envisioning the apocalypse while “SWAT Team” talks about the Mob being rich thieves over a horror-inspired trap beat Take a Daytrip made.
“Fish n Steak” by WANG$AP hooks up a prominent flute so they can speak of slowing the world down from the 713 to the 718 while “Sundress” starts the deluxe run having Danger Mouse sampling “Why Won’t You Make Up Your Mind?” by Tame Impala telling his ex she flat out fell in the wrong hands. “Babushka Boi” meshes Memphis rap & drift phonk for a song written about an experience where he had his face cut while “D.M.B. (Dat’$ Mah B!*$H)” talks about his love for drugs & women having both Skepta & Shlohmo helping him achieve a cloudy sound.
Outside the context of it opening the Need for Speed: Unbound soundtrack, “Shittin’ Me” directly asks why some would throw him under the bus when then they have no dirt on him whatsoever while the neo-psychedelically conscious “Same Problems?” remembers a number of artists who’ve passed away. Pharrell & Tyler, The Creator provide “Riot (Rowdy Pipe’n)” a lot of energy referencing the late WWE Hall of Famer, former WWE Intercontinental Champion, 3-time WWE United States Champion, WWE Tag Team Champion & 2-time WCW World Television Champion “Rowdy” Roddy Piper.
“Highjack” featuring Jessica Pratt collides cloud rap, trap, Memphis rap, neo-psychedelia, alternative R&B & neo-soul for a jab at Drake while “Tailor Swif” contains secondary influences of plugg talking about his agility. “Ruby Rosary”featuring J. Cole meshes jazz rap, cloud rap, drumless & illbient thanks to The Alchemist discussing their current artistic positions while DJ Dahi & James Blake sample “Time” by Hans Zimmer on the final bonus track “pray4dagang”tackling introspective subjects.
Testing nearly a decade later still contains some of my favorite A$AP Rocky tracks “Praise the Lord (Da Shine)” & “Gunz n Butter”, but Don’t Be Dumbmarks a celebratory comeback I’d have to put above it’s 2018 predecessor. The predominantly experimental trap production occasionally sprinkles hints of cloud rap, Memphis rap, neo-psychedelia, drumless, industrial hip hop, pop rap, R&B, post-punk revival, psychedelic pop, indie surf, dream pop, rap rock & chipmunk soul throughout the hour portraying the man he’s become whilst dissecting 6 different alter egos of his.
Score: 4/5
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