Album Review: A$AP Rocky-Long.Live.A$AP

There are only a few rappers in the history of hip-hop that have gained success as rapidly as A$AP Rocky has. It was only late 2011 when his debut mixtape LiveLoveA$AP was released. The mixtape was wildly successful critically and commercially (although it was a free release, it gained him a lot of internet hype) which paved the way for him getting signed to RCA/Sony Records. His debut full-length record, Long. Live. A$AP, see A$AP Rocky tightening up his style while retaining the qualities that made his mixtape successful.

Long. Live. A$AP is kind of a strange record for me to review. A$AP Rocky's music is undoubtedly dumb and he's not particularly gifted from a lyrical standpoint. At the same time, his music is a lot of fun and I just can't hate it. He embraces the simplicity and shallowness of his music with a supreme and undeniable confidence. Most mainstream rappers are full of shit, but A$AP Rocky is very sincere in his approach and lyrical topics (no matter how silly they are) that I have to respect him as an artist. Boosting the quality of his music is his great flow and solid production from an array of different producers including Hit-Boy, T-Minus, and frequent collaborator Clams Casino. A textbook example of the fun this record has to offer is the Skrillex-produced "Wild for the Night". The track is extremely catchy and with no room for his signature drops, Skrillex keeps his electronic seizure moments to a minimum and actually comes up with a pretty decent beat. I'm no psychic, but I can all but guarantee that "Wild for the Night" will be the official fratboy/  lax bro anthem of 2013. Much of the rest of the record  (The title track, "LVL", "Fashion Killa" and "PMW (All I Really Need)" in particular) offers up similar dumb fun with catchy hooks and memorable beats and a few stinkers for good measure ("Fuckin Problem" with an awful guest spot from Drake and 2 Chainz screaming his lungs out during the chorus, "Goldie", "Pain".) Long. Live. A$AP's one truly exceptional moment is the huge collaboration track "1 Train". "1 Train" sees A$AP being joined by currently lauded MC's Kendrick Lamar, Joey Bada$$, Yelawolf, Danny Brown, Action Bronson and Big K.R.I.T. Everyone (including the normally awful Yelawolf) delivers on this track, but this song belongs to Big K.R.I.T in my eyes. He goes against his normally laid-back southern style and unleashes an aggressive behemoth of a verse to close out the song. I hope he explores this style more in the future. He is just too damn good at hardcore hip-hop to not incorporate into his solo stuff at least every once and a while.

Long. Live. A$AP is far from great, but it's ability to provide mindless fun makes it worth the listen. I like to think of A$AP Rocky as the hip-hop equivalent of a B-movie: He may not be a great overall artist, but he is good at what he does. There is hardly any substance and that's completely fine. This record is a mindless good time and I believe that's exactly what A$AP Rocky intended it to be.

3/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1. 1 Train ft. Kendrick Lamar, Joey Bada$$, Yelawolf, Danny Brown, Action Bronson and Big K.R.I.T
2.Wild for the Night ft. Skrillex
3.LVL