Last Place A$AP ROCKY-A.L.L.A (4.9/10)
A$AP Rocky has been one of the more hyped rappers in recent years, and he certainly has some great "cloud" rap songs. Rocky has made a name for himself by making very whispy, chilled out rap songs that occasionally have a nice pop appeal. A$AP is not really the most talented lyricist or anything, but he certainly brings a unique style to the board which is probably what intrigues me the most about him. While A$AP has certainly found success on his prior two albums, I think it is evident there is nothing groundbreaking on these projects. I think even Rocky himself is aware of this simply because of the sharp turn in sonic attitude he made on this latest project: At Long Last ASAP. This album is a hodge podge group of songs that are often unconventional and are even sometimes just downright disturbing. While this was a great idea on paper in my opinion, I have to say the execution is beyond flawed. Some of the songs are just so lazy, and some of the lyrics/features really hinder the end result of this project. While I have never been a huge A$AP fan, I must admit he certainly stood apart from many other rappers in his field. He excelled at what he did, but on this project we just do not see this level of execution. A lot of these tracks are simply not very memorable and the whole thing really feels like it could have used a little more time to really solidify itself. If this album is as big as the title implies than I have to say I'm very disappointed. At Long Last ASAP implies that this is who he has always wanted to be, but frankly I think this is his least focused effort he has ever released.
Don't get me wrong this thing certainly has highlights. It opens up with the grimey sounding Holy Ghost. This song features A$AP spitting at his best, and it also has a very anthemic chorus. The whole thing feels very badass. Canal St. also is a very minimalistic beat which really allows A$AP to shine. This track is just that kind of hypnotic cloud rap we have known to love from Rocky. Great lyricism over a very eerie piece of music. Electric Body shows A$AP flowing like Lupe Fiasco over a pretty sinister beat. While the lyrics are pretty questionable it still is a lot more interesting than the Migos-esque flow we got on a lot of this album. Schoolboy Q also is just intimidating as all hell on this track, and he feels great over the sinister beat. Also I really like how the tone of the track just kinda twists towards the end. Jukebox Joints is a very soulful track that just feels right at home. It has that Kanye West College Dropout thing going on, which is definitely not coincidental because Kanye is on this track. A$AP spits on this track and so does Kanye, so I do not really have any complaints here. Wavybone is perhaps the best track on here. The track has a nice hook and oozes confidence, and it features a lot of great rapping, even from Juicy J. M'$ also is a dark as hell beat, and it features a great verse from Lil Wayne. This track is not fantastic, but it's beat if pretty intriguing with the staggering 808 pattern. Back Home is also a really nice closer that also really feels badass. The beat has that grimey feel to it again, and it also has A$AP Yams on it which really feels like an appropriate tribute to one of Rocky's close friends. This beat also kind of flips on itself halfway through and it turns into a very airy song, but the song ties up the album nicely so I cannot complain. Other than those songs, I really don't have a lot of good things to say. A lot of the flows on this album are just so generic and plain and do so little to draw in my attention. This really hurts because A$AP isn't really known to be a fantastic lyricist in the first place. Also, some of these songs are weird, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but I feel like they are weird for no reason. If you decide to have a sonic change that is fine, but you still have to have a sense of direction in your songs. Songs like LSD and Fine Whine really feel like good ideas that were lazily put together. These tracks have no direction, and they really have no purpose quite honestly. They don't have a lot of great qualities and I feel like the album would be better without these tracks. The tracks following these tracks also generally just feel lazy. Excuse Me is very bad lyrically and it just feels like A$AP so much more capable than this. Lord Pretty Flacko Jodye has an atrocious chorus and the beat feels like something you would hear inside a Reebok store. Also annoying synth line on this one. West Side Highway is not very good content wise, and it also is a lazy track. The track literally is so boring and bland, and a very poor use of James Fauntleroy's talents. Everyday has some great ideas, and it is decently executed, but the ideas just do not blend into each other and it is sad. That track was a blown opportunity for sure. Better Things sounds exactly like Excuse Me, so that hurts both of those tracks. Overall this thing just blows a lot of opportunities. A lot of good ideas are just lazily sewn together which is really sad to see. So can A$AP come back from this? I'm not so sure. He seems pretty satisfied with this, but honestly a lot of people are not happy. I don't think our opinion matters that much to him, which I can respect, so I'll just let him do his thing.
Best Songs: Holy Ghost, Canal St., Electric Body, Jukebox Joints, Wavybone, M'$, Back Home
Worst Songs: Fine Whine, L$D, Excuse Me, Lord Pretty Flacko Jodye, JD, West Side Highway, Better Things
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