Skip to main content

New Tune Review: Long.Live.A$AP

It's been awhile since you've gotten a review from me! Are you excited?

The issue was there was nothing that piqued my interest in the music world lately.

I know, weird.

The only album I felt was worth listening to was the new +Alicia Keys 'Girl on Fire' and...I'm not going to review that. It made me very sad. It's as if she's forgotten her biggest draw: she's an amazing pianist. That's my favorite thing about Alicia, mainly because I play. She also wastes a perfectly good collabo with Maxwell on 'Fire We Make'. The song is...underwhelming.

So, I'm not giving it an official review. Haha, "official."

I AM however going to review the album from A$AP Rocky.

'Long.Live.A$AP'

I may have been one of the only people not-so-anxiously anticipating this one. I wasn't very impressed with Live.Love.A$AP, the mixtape. Assumptions aside, 'Long.Live.A$AP' is currently my favorite album.

A$AP Rocky has figured out the perfect beats for his flow, something some rappers never learn. And man, the beats on this ALBUM. Every cut requires a more than satisfactory verse and A$AP delivers, most of the time. His guest stars bring plenty ammo to the table, making for a well-rounded album you can play from start to finish again and again.

The guest stars, to me, are the best part. Santigold, Drake, Skrillex, and Florence Welch all appear. Kendrick Lamar shows up not once, but twice on two of my favorite tracks. As for A$AP himself, he glides smoothly between the issues that plague most rappers (women, cash, and drugs). Just like everyone else, he's figuring out this new fandangled fame thing while managing a consistent high and jumping from party to hook up and back.

A$AP never claims to be an introspective rapper, so his lyrics aren't anything to rave about in most cases. In fact, they're mostly disrespectful to women and multiple attempts to prove just how hard, famous and rich he is. You'll catch him getting a bit deep in 'Phoenix' and 'Suddenly' but then he gets back to the business at him faster than you can sulk.

Fave Tracks:

Yikes. I'm skipping 'F**king Problem' because I've already shared that track with you. Just know it's an understood fave.

'1Train' - the TALENT on this track! Yelawolf...where's your next album?

'Fashion Killa' - this may be the only female-friendly song on this album...and it's only because she's holding the gun.

'Long Live A$AP' - a great opening track, sets the mood just right for the rest of the album as A$AP declares his spot among today's hiphop artists.

'Hell' - how can you not love a song with Santigold on the hook?

'I Come Apart' - how can you not love a song with Florence Welch on the hook? This song feels so different than any other on the album (except 'Fashion Killa' perhaps).

There you have it, my first review of 2013! 'Long.Live.A$AP' is eccentric. It's put together in a way that, upon first listen, you can't expect what could be around the corner on the next song. I love surprises (when the surprise is great music).

*


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Nothing Will Replace Gossip Girl, But Riverdale Is Close or Teen Shows I've Watched Lately

Each day I live and breathe, I'm inching closer to a time when I will no longer understand and will therefore lose the capacity to truly love a teen drama. But I'm not there yet, and I'm (still) searching for something to fill the void Gossip Girl  left when it was revealed that Lonely Boy was the one putting the words in Kristin Bell's mouth. Gossip Girl first aired after an episode of America's Next Top Model.  I remember this because my mother and I used to watch ANTM together in the days before girls started auditioning just so they could meet Tyra. But neither of us could leave the room once Gossip Girl's  pilot began. We were both hooked immediately, and it would be a show we enjoyed together even after I left home for another city hours away, and then another state halfway across the country. GG was corny at times, and it had its pitfalls (how did Chuck Bass start Season 1 by trying to rape little Jenny and end it by kicking off what would become ...

I'm tired of trying to explain

I went on a trip home to Oklahoma last week. I brought Jersey Mike for his first real visit to the state and his first time meeting my friends. It was fantastic and fun. I'd love to tell you all about it. But I can't right now. I can't focus on anything right now.  Upon returning to Los Angeles, I logged onto Twitter and started seeing headlines about the Charleston shooting. I immediately turned it off. At first I felt wrong about doing it. At first I felt like I should face it head-on, get angry, put on my activist hat and get to work.  But I didn't. I couldn't do it.  I'd just gotten home from being surrounded by love. Yes, being back in Oklahoma I heard conversations filled with intolerance. I needed to point out and shut down a few comments that were insensitive and just plain rude. That's something I've gotten used to when visiting home. I'm surrounded by liberals and hippies here in Los Angeles. We are a melting pot of colors,...

Marriage: Two Truths And A Lie

Today is my parents' wedding anniversary.  I'm a really bad daughter, so I'm not exactly sure if they've been married 35 or 36 years. Either way that's a long time! That's 35+ years of dealing with another person's funny habits and idiosyncrasies. Of learning how to handle their mood swings, figuring out what things you like to do together and things you'd rather do apart. Learning when to give each other space and when to hold on tight. Figuring out how to keep things "exciting" and "interesting". That's a long time.  Growing up I asked my parents why they got married several times. I got different answers. Here are the top three reasons why my parents got married (from what I remember as a kid):  1) For a ride to work. My parents worked at the same place when they met. Once Mama told me that the reason she married my dad was to get a ride to work. Now, back when we lived in Oklahoma this didn't seem like...