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

James d'Apice

Perhaps his dimness is his genius. Without it, maybe, we wouldn’t have albums like this. And that would be a tragedy. Wonderful stuff.

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If you're looking for content, look elsewhere. A$AP Rocky, chief of the A$APs, doesn't have the intellect to match his formidable presence on the mic. Leaving the lyrical miracles and word surgery to others, our host – who continues to maintain, somehow, his name was not derived from Aesop Rock's – spits raps. Hard. It's compelling stuff. And it makes for an amazing debut.

Goldie, the album's lead single released April last year, deserves its reputation as one of the best songs of 2012. Hit-Boy's hypnotic beat is a triumph, at once melodic and understated. Rocky annihilates it. Despite his lack of eloquence (“I'm early to the party, but my 'Rari is the latest.” Ugh) A$AP is a rapper who demands, and then commands your attention. Wild For The Night, a surprising collaboration with Skrillex, is a delight. 1 Train is a tour de force of the (relatively) New Guard: Danny Brown, Action Bronson, Big K.R.I.T., Yelawolf, Kendrick and Joey Bada$$. It's a testament to A$AP that only Brown approaches his level on this, another monstrous Hit-Boy gem. I Come Apart is a stunning album closer. Florence Welch, sans machine, haunts it.

Perhaps, then, it's unfair to suggest Rocky isn't a smart guy. The roster of producers he's assembled for Long.Live.A$AP is staggering. The numerous guests deserve their places too; or, at least, most of them do. The final product he's assembled here is exceptional. If he'd only stop saying things like, “trigger finger itching. Fuck parental supervision”, then maybe we'd think more highly of him. Then again, perhaps his dimness is his genius. Without it, maybe, we wouldn't have albums like this. And that would be a tragedy. Wonderful stuff.