Lizzie Irwin

A$AP Rocky, thus far, has survived on a classically Harlem persona of syrup drinking, weed smoking and slow drawled raps that sound as though his brain has most definitely been affected by leisure. Despite doubts of his rapping abilities, A$AP consistently comes through with hip hop anthems that quickly translate into signature phrases, the idiotic ‘Purple Swag’ become a animal call for A$AP fans and the blessed out ‘WASSUP’ bred lines such as “see me in da club the gangsta’s sayin’ wassup (wassup)”. There was plenty of doubt that without the immaculate production on each of these tracks, A$AP’s rap career could easily be relegated to the dusty shelves of JB HiFi in no time. However, the unbearably infectious buzz surrounding his full length release LongLiveA$AP (which is funnily enough tattooed on ex-girlfriend Iggy Azalea’s knuckles now #noregrets) had a hold on me…several times in fact, as it’s release date was continuously pushed back from July 4th to September 11th to October 31st and eventually, ‘sometime’ in December.

Finally, on January the 2nd RCA released the record and as a bittersweet testament to A$AP’s determination, business mind and sheer talent: the buzz is yet to subside. The album is a textbook example of A$AP’s finest drawls and inspiring production moves, it’s a scrapbook of his influences past and present and upgrades his sound from effortlessly hazy to burgeoning worldwide superstar.

Horrified fans shook their heads at the notion of A$AP reverting his blissed out, sludgy electronic haze into dubstep with the introduction of Skrillex on production credits. BUT even with puzzling moves like this on the dizzying ‘Wild for the Night’ A$AP is a genius decision maker. On a beat that seems impossible to tame with the quaint rhymes of Rocky, he reigns supreme, it’s a puzzling combination of video game sound effects crossed with a Planetarium light show soundtrack that could almost lift old mate Skrillex from the dregs of drug fuelled electronic festival line ups and awkwardly repetitive, quintessentially obnoxious bass drops. Other big names pop by to revel in the light of a Harlem rookie. Santigold is a less surprising entrant onto the features list on ‘Hell’ where close friends of A$AP, Clams Casino, are back with the more predictable but utterly appreciated beats on the album. As if they were predecessor’s to the infamously deep and droney ‘Goldie’ the two Clams Casino tracks are destined to keep old fans from jumping ship after the mention of he who shall not be named by underground hip hop fans * shudders * …Skrillex.

The thing is for every seemingly DUMB decision Rocky makes, is a very calculated and professional move. A$AP Rocky was quoted recently saying that he knew ‘Purple Swag’ was stupid and kitschy, but loves it anyhow. He’s got a point, you know? For every conscious Tupac inspired rap anthem there’s got to be a foolish ‘Check Yourself’, ‘Drop It Like It’s Hot’, ‘What’s Golden?’ and ‘Ignition’ type champagne fuelled anthem so as not to isolate those fans struggling with attention span. LongLiveA$AP flawlessly stands as a testament to this golden rule and in turn is refreshingly ambitious for a young hip hopper. Old fella, ‘Lord Flacko’ himself gives a hand producing on the track ‘Suddenly’, it’s not awe-inspiring or even worthy of a re-spin but it sure as hell deserves accolades. As Long as A$AP Lives there’s a reason to get excited about the new direction hip hop and production is taking.