LiveLoveA$AP - ASAP Rocky

RAJ: The $3 million dollar deal that ASAP Rocky reportedly signed with RCA feels like as much of a throwback as the Houston-syrup sound of his debut mixtape LiveLoveA$AP. It's the kind of blind-faith corporate adoption that isn't supposed to happen anymore¹, since labels now can just wait for hustling-for-free internet rappers to distinguish themselves first before stepping in (Drake had two mixtapes out before he was signed - Rocky had two singles).

If anything can explain all this, it's that label A&R executives may have sensed a kindred spirit in Rocky, who arguably is more skilled as a talent scout than as a rapper. Rocky isn't a bad rapper by any means - he has a relaxed charisma and a dazzling ability to bounce between straightforward flows and sing-songy double-time cadences - but he is somewhat bland lyrically. ASAP's only unique lyrical ambition beyond obligatory (and here not particularly witty) drug/girl/drugged girl talk is trying to be more foppish than Kanye - his self-declared nickname is "that pretty mothafucka" and he brags that the "only thing bigger than my ego is my mirror".

But LiveLoveA$AP is front-to-back fire as a beat collection, which is remarkable considering that most of the producers here are relative unknowns (no one's going to be particularly surprised that the Clams Casino beats are great, although ASAP is the rare rapper who doesn't sound completely overwhelmed by that kind of dense backing track). Beautiful Lou's track "Trilla" is too perfect as a Dirty South UGK homage, Spaceghostpurrp's "Keep it G" manages to make a trunk-rattler out of smooth jazz, and Lyle's "Brand New Guy" is the kind of aggressive, hallucinogenic sound that would greatly please Salem. There's a polished, consistent aesthetic here that you rarely find in rap albums period, let alone on career rap debuts, and it bodes well for whatever Rocky ends up doing in the big leagues.

¹There is a case to be made that it didn't - the only person to have reported that figure is Rocky himself, and Rocky has proven to be A) a guy who is remarkably canny at knowing how to get bloggers talking and B) a guy who is pretty consistently stoned.

ANDY: I'd agree with Raj that Rocky's lyrics themselves aren't spectacular, it's his ability to deftly switch up the rhythms of his flows that are his main strength, especially when paired with such monolithic Clams Casino beats. The switch-up on tape opener "Palace" is a perfect example, where Rocky admits his syrup-influenced love for Houston micro-genre Screw Music, then issues a rapidfire verse that pairs nicely with Clams's skittering snares, right as we are tiring of his slower rhymes. "Leaf" is another spot where Rocky flaunts his ability to skip around Clams's droning background beat.

On the back half of the tape, DJ Burn One (featured in the SRS 420 Showcase) also delivers a couple slick beats, most notably on "Roll One Up", allowing for a little more lucidity than Clams's megafuzz. At the end of the day Rocky's drug-addled rhymes are paired with such undeniably strong production that this mixtape might sneak on to some 2011 best-of lists.



P.S. I am no fan of Drake, and wouldn't usually think to compare an artist like ASAP Rocky with him (internet beginnings aside). But I wonder if Rocky's syrup tinged rhymes would have made a better guest verse than Drake's on the stellar mixtape that The Weeknd dropped a few months back. Seems to me The Weeknd's penchant for drugs and sex wouldn't appeal to a squeaky clean aww-shucks-I'm famous rapper like Drake. Jussayin', Rocky should call The Weeknd up for a collabo, I'd listen to that shit.