After declaring Drake’s Take Care the Rap Album of the Year 2011, I suppose it’s only appropriate that my next review focuses on the artist currently opening for Drizzy on his Club Paradise Tour, a young Harlem MC by the name of A$AP Rocky. Admittedly, any relative unknown simultaneously facing comparison with the artist for whom he opens in concert and the reviewer’s choice for the most excellent artistic achievement in the field has to deal with slightly raised expectations. But (luckily for hip-hop fans), Rocky is exactly the not-yet-famous rapper programmed to rise to just this sort of occasion.

First of all, I need to say that I think it’s absolutely badass that A$AP Rocky uses a dollar sign in his name. The only other artist of this era who does the same thing is Ke$ha, who is not only someone most rappers from the streets of New York City would probably want to avoid comparisons with, but also doesn’t even have the stones to use as many capitals as Rocky does. Second, the reason the first point is important is that Rocky just oozes swag. Never for a second while listening to Live.Love.A$AP does Ricky give the impression that he gives a fuck what you think.

The source of Rocky’s swag is not exactly hard to determine. It would be more than fair to describe the East Coast rapper’s sound as “heavily Houston-influenced.”  Sure there are plenty of instances of the “chopped-n-screwed” Texas style, but the lyrical content is just as telling. A$AP Rocky goes hard for the title of “most lean-focused rapper” that for the sake of convenience, continuity and accuracy we’ll say currently is held by Lil’ Wayne and paid homage to by Drake. If you don’t know where Rock is coming from with titles like “Purple Swag Chapter 2,” opening lyrics like “It be that pretty motherfucker getting’ throwed,” or the extremely slow, laidback and spaced-out beats that permeate the mixtape from start to finish, you may not have have sufficient background/cheap illegal drug combination knowledge to fully appreciate the message A$AP is trying to send.

Now, don’t take the drug references the wrong way. Like most great music, just because Rocky’s lyrics heavily mention substances doesn’t mean that they can’t be enjoyed sober. One doesn’t need to be inebriated in any sort of way to appreciate the cleverness (if not the safety) of lyrics like “Couple A, B, C’s, bad bitch Double D/Popping E, I don’t give a F, told you I’m a G” on “Peso.”  Likewise, props are due for A$AP’s ability to pay tribute to his hip-hop heritage on tracks like “Bass,” which features clever references to Ol’ Dirty Bastard and Naughty By Nature. But the true strength of the tape lies in Rock’s ability to pair his drugged-out flows with 16 beats that fit the mood without becoming overly repetitive or boring. Live.Love.A$AP doesn’t put its creator in the top tier of 21^st-century hip-hop figures quite yet, but A$AP Rocky’s potential to become the best substance-oriented rapper in the game is obvious. Be afraid, Wiz Khalifa. Be very afraid.

3.5/5 bars

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