Album review: Always $trive and Prosper

Hip-Hop will never be the same thanks to Rakim Mayers, also known as A$AP Rocky, who released At. Long. Last. A$AP on May 26.

A$AP Rocky is a twenty seven year old American rapper from Harlem, New York. From listening to his first mix tape Live. Love. A$AP to his latest album I was forever a fan, because there is no other artist out right now that can flow like Rocky.

Live. Love. A$AP was released in 2011, which is a great mix tap. One of the big tracks titled “Demons” is known by many of his fans. I encourage everyone to start off with that track or the mix tape as a whole when looking to get into his music.

Fast forward four years and the greatness that is At. Long. Last. A$AP is released and was listed number one in US Billboard 200 and US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Billboard. This album has eighteen tracks and where most have featured artists that many people already know. The collaborations on this album would include Bones, Futures, Joe Fox, M.I.A, Lil Wayne, Schoolboy Q, Kanye West, Juicy J, Miguel, Rod Stewart, A$AP Yams (RIP), Mos Def, and many more. An Album with a feature list like this has no other expectation than greatness.

“Fine Whine” and “Electric Body” are two tracks on the album that I love, because not only is M.I.A and Schoolboy Q featured on the tracks but also THC produced them. THC is most definitely one of my favorite producers and if you were to listen to those two tracks you would know why I believe he is a genius when it comes to producing music.

At. Long. Last. A$AP was given four stars by Complex Magazine, and Billboard. This album can be a bit explicit at times, but that should not stop you from giving it a try. Rocky makes some crazy game changing songs and you can tell he poured his all into his work.

Lil Wayne is an artist that I normally can’t get into but his appearance on the track “M’$” is probably one of the best verses of his career in my opinion. It must be that when on a track with Rocky artists just try their hardest.

A$AP Rocky is the type of artist that inspires me the most, because his music is the kind of music I can listen to everyday. I recently had the chance to see Rocky live in Chicago and it was the best thing ever. The atmosphere, the way he performed, and his set list were all perfect. He played mostly all songs from his latest album and the crowd roared with excitement, and of course, I freaked when he played “Canal St.” which is a bit misleading because I freaked when he started every song.

I love A$AP Rocky, he is my second favorite artist, and his latest album At. Long. Last. A$AP is one of the best Hip-Hop albums of 2015. Everyone should do themselves a favor and listen to A$AP at least once.