Via HipHop-N-More
With fashion, acting, modeling, discovering new talent, and business adventures, it's easy to ask the question: "Does A$AP Rocky still rap?" For awhile A$AP fans had to answer that question by aggressively bringing up his 'Cozy Tapes' verses, but deep down they were asking that same question.
This is the same fanbase that heard, "Cause I'm way too gifted, so next album f*ck around, and make you wait til Christmas", only to be left with, for lack of a better term, musical blue balls come Christmas. It's been six months since Rocky delivered that line on A$AP Twelvyy's album, but the wait is finally over.
After months of release date speculation, including the aforementioned disappointing Christmas for many fans, A$AP Rocky finally dropped his long-awaited third project, "Testing". A$AP Rocky is on record saying that the title, "Testing", is more than just that as it symbolizes his intentions of testing new sounds throughout the album. Rocky is also on record for saying this album is going to prove he deserves a seat next to rap's elites. Without further ado, let's get into it...
Distorted Records
The opening track definitely lives up to its name. I too can feel the bass. Rocky wasted no time restating his previous opinion of him being in rap's top-10. It's certainly not some blasphemous statement. He's got two very good albums under his belt, which is more than 90% of rap can say. Rocky again getting to the point early, talking about the A$AP clones in rap today. This line doesn't have as strong of a case as the top-10 line. He influenced rap's higher-end fashion subject manner, but other than that I don't see many Rocky copycats. That was an unexpected shot at Trump. Trump shots have become the new family member recorded phone call--every album has to have one. Did he just take a shot at T.D. Jakes, Pastor Mase, and Kirk Franklin? That's interesting considering, Rocky did attack corrupt Christians last album. Very interesting.
A$AP Forever(feat.Moby, T.I. & Kid Cudi)
I thought I knew this song already. I was wrong. Rocky's verse on this combined with the visuals created all the excitement I had for the album. Is that a Cudi hum?? The pre-verse Cudi hum is on the same level as The Undertaker's intro bell and the lights going off--both unexplainably create a release of dopamine. This definitely isn't a throwaway verse from Kid Cudi. You can tell he was in album mode. Between this Cudi verse and the prime Kanye Production on Pusha T's album, 'Kids See Ghosts' just gained even more anticipation. The Moby ending is a damper on a good song.
Tony Tone
This song is setting up like a hit. Cocky Rocky is the best Rocky, and this song is cocky. I'd bet money this skit was a real conversation in the past. Add A$AP Rocky to the list of artists to diss the Teen Choice Awards. I thought Rocky was just listing random groceries, but it turns out it was a setup for a shouout to A$AP Yams. R.I.P. Yams. I don't know who or what Tony Tone is, but the name must carry some weight to be the title for the best song so far.
F*ck Sleep(feat.FKA twigs)
As I type this article at two in the morning, I co-sign the title of the song. It's okay A$AP fans, Rocky just apologized for the wait. The hook is pretty catchy, and the verse was solid. This feature is bad, like skip the song when it starts bad. Where's the guy from 'At.Long.Last.A$AP', Joe Fox. This song desperately needed him to sub in for FKA twigs. A good song got ruined in an elapsed time of 30 seconds. Rocky's ability to pick features is real iffy, which is odd considering the connections and talent he has at his disposal.
Praise The Lord(Da Shine)[feat. Skepta]
Never been a fan of Skepta's features. Let's see if this feature is any different. Whatever wind instrument is being used should be used in rap more; it's making this beat 10x harder than it already is. Say what you want about A$AP Rocky, but his ability to switch flows is up there with the best of them. This Skepta feature is different. Skepta just killed his verse and bodied the hook. Round of applause for Skepta. Rocky and Skepta definitely sat back and hit a "you know we make a great team" dap after this song.
Calldrops(feat. Kodak Black)
Is Kodak Black in jail right now? *Texts fellow podcast member and Kodak Black enthusiast Darnevin Camille* Yes, Kodak Black is in fact in jail right now. Free Kodak. Is this an interlude? You can feel Kodak's pain through this over the phone verse. Free Kodak.
Buck Shots
The beat is aux-material, and the song sounds like it was made for the aux; but it's missing something. Did Rocky just shoutout Fortnite? Smooky Margielaa and Playboi Carti. This song was missing Smooky Margielaa and Playboi Carti. They're not credited in the title for some reason, but I'm positive this is them. Smooky fits this song perfectly. He single-handedly made it go from a skip track to aux-material.
Gunz N Butter(feat. Juicy J)
Juicy J is one of those artists everyone tells me is a legend, but I never connect with him on any song. I felt the same way about Skepta and he changed my mind. Let's see if Juicy J does the same. His "Shut the f*ck up" ad-lib is up there in the ad-lib rankings. Hearing Rocky just describe a "hot bologna grits" meal just created a level of sympathy I never felt for him. No complaints towards this Juicy J feature. A$AP Rocky just used the audio from the shooting at Yams Day, and again no complaints. This song is the most I've ever heard Rocky musically talk about his past. Along with his past, Rocky takes another shot at Trump and touches on his religious practices.
Brotha Man(feat.French Montana)
The song is matching its title so far. Rocky is backing up his statement of testing new sounds on this album. Whoever made French Montana singing bearable you are valued and appreciated. Vocal experiments are heavy on this song. Its hard to latch onto one sound. Much like this song, that's neither good or bad.
OG Beeper
20 seconds in and this song is up there as hardest songs on the album. BlocBoy JB adds to the song with the unexpected ad-lib feature. Did he just mention a pager? How old is A$AP Rocky? 10 songs in, Rocky finally addresses rap factoring into his other ventures. It felt like Rocky was going somewhere lyrically, but then he went back to talking about women. Solid song.
Kids Turned Out Fine
In his interview with Complex, A$AP Rocky said this is his favorite song on the album. Not a fan of singing Rocky. This is probably the deepest/most complex message on the album thus far. Kids experimenting and getting in trouble, but still turning out fine is a realistic yet rarely touched on topic. The message is great, which makes it pretty disappointing that this will undoubtedbly be a skipped over song due to its sound.
Hun43rd
"From the cradle to the grave, I'ma put in work. " That's a tough line. This is at least Rocky's third time mentioning being lonely on this album; a deep dive into that feeling would be interesting coming from him. Rocky touches on imitators again, but not in depth. There's a lot of topics you want to hear Rocky address, but he never touches on them more than a line or two. It's kind of disappointing.
Changes
Pretty cool intro to the song. The ratio of singing to rapping Rocky has to be infuriating to the diehard A$AP fans at this point; especially considering how good the songs sound when he's strictly rapping. If you were looking forward to straight bars Rocky, this is not the album for you. There's a beat, but this is pretty much a spoken word song so far. There's the beat. Past relationships clearly weigh heavy on A$AP Rocky. The most skipplable song so far.
Black Tux, White Collar
Carti with another uncredited appeareance. Rocky's addressing some real topics on this song. From fake friends and family to an unjust justice system, this is one of the more meaningful songs on the album. Have the lyrics up while listening.
Purity(feat. Frank Ocean)
This is the song Twitter was going crazy over, because Frank Ocean and Lauryn Hill are credited on the same song. The hysteria is understandable. It's been all downhill for deep voice A$AP Rocky since 'Goldie'. I've never heard a bad Frank Ocean feature. As a matter of fact, I've only heard good Frank Ocean features. I stand by my previous statement. I figured Lauryn Hill wasn't really going to be on the song, but I'm more than content with a Rocky and Frank track.