Artist: A$AP Mob
Album: Cozy Tapes Vol 1: Friends
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Background by /u/5122007
New York, New York. A good a place as any, and better than most, for the birth of the preeminent commercial rap group of our time. In the decade since their inception, and the five years since their rise to fame, A$AP Mob has accreted a loyal following ranging from Old head aficionados, to an emerging group of millennial hip hop heads drawn both to the group's undeniable swagger and their gritty new York street image. (remember that Harlem is the borough that bred both Big L and Jim Jones). In any case, the glamour wasn't always part of A$AP Mob's reality; die hards and day ones can remember yamborghini.tumblr.com, the group's lair if you will, where Jesus Steven Micheal Rodriguez, aka A$AP Yams (Rest in peace) would endlessly promote the Harlem group to anyone and everyone who would listen. Back then the A$AP operation was restricted to just four Morningside Harlem residents: A$AP yams, A$AP Bari, A$AP Sanden and A$AP Illz.
Yams, a kind of cozy, jiggy version of P Diddy, was instrumental for shaping the sound and image of the group. A$AP front runner Rakim Mayers, aka A$AP rocky, was instrumental in getting Yams' vision to come to life. Rocky was introduced to Yams by A$AP Bari and thus one of the closest and high profile manager-act relationships of this hip hop era was formed. Bari who is now a stylist and art director, came up with most of the outfits that were so crucial to the A$AP image early on in their careers.
Their first Viral hits "Peso" and "Purple Swag" were followed up by the seminal mixtape Live.Love.A$AP with its iconic cover photo and psychedelic cloud rap beats. This mixtape would serve as the mission statement, a blueprint, of the group's output to come. Lords Never Worry was to follow the group's success which was the first tape billed under, and featuring, the entire A$AP Mob.
Since then, the only other member of the A$AP mob to release a full project is A$AP Ferg. If A$AP rocky is a bottle of Pinot Noir then Ferg is like the sweetest Hennessy this side of Lennox ave and Malcolm X blvd. Boasting a flow which draws on both the melodious half singing of Bone Thugs and the aggressive energy of trap music, Ferg is at times a musical oddity. In fact, that can be said about any and maybe all members of the A$AP Mob from Twelvyy to Rocky. What's most interesting about the A$AP Mob is their ability to defy expectations and disintegrate stereotypes. At first glance they may seem generic and contrived but make no mistake; what drives A$AP Mob is a collective passion for the culture of rap. These aren't just two bit wannabe rappers but real students of the game, and nothing less ought to be expected from children of Harlem.
Review by /u/5122007
The method I'm gonna use to review this mixtape is track by track which I think is effective for two reasons:
1) Fits the artistic direction that I think this mixtape is going for
- (Note 1: This being a mixtape, there are certain differences that come with how to approach the tracks and the project as a whole. In my mind, this is attributed to the culture of mixtapes versus the culture of LP releases. Mixtapes found their niche in hip hop culture when, in the seventies, they were used as party compilations or recorded live sets by Djs sort of like what making a party playlist on your phone is like now, or kind of like a live compilation or bootleg from your favourite artist. As such, Mixtapes generally follow looser thematic ties between song to song and the focus becomes more on focused on individual songs themselves. Mixtapes could be a "best of" compilation released by an artist from a certain recording session, or a collection of loosies that didn't make the final cut for the album but which were good enough to be released, and there usually isn't much thought into making them into a cohesive project. I don't think this necessarily makes mixtapes inferior to albums in any way it's just a different way of consuming music. The dominance of albums being the primary mode of music consumption really is just a by product of rock music from the 50s and sixties and doesn't necessarily imply that albums are the scientifically proven perfect way to consume or anything.)
2) . It allows for a more comprehensive view of the project I think
- (Note 2: Just a personal decision based on previously mentioned eclecticism, I think a more cohesive view of the album can be found by analyzing individual tracks as opposed to offering a wide sweeping general review. There's just too many different aspects to cover and juggle around and so on. At least in my opinion.)
Track Number 1: "Yambroghini High"
The mixtape opens with a previously released single "Yambroghini High" which, like any effective opener, both sets the tone and gets the hype going for the rest of the album. The track is a kind of homage to and celebration of A$AP Yams and his values and featuring one of the late icon's favourite rappers Juicy J. The track itself is drenched in a psychedelic trap sound that is as daring as it is effective. Like the Wu before them, the most effective moments that the mob has to offer come from showcasing the versatility and differences between each member while also retaining a unifying undercurrent. These differences are palpable in the way they rap. Rocky is as stylish and jiggy as he's ever been while rapping in a flow that can only be described as a illucid confidence while Ferg opts for a much more dynamic and idiosyncratic flow which doesn't feel out of place at all following Twelvyy's staccato punchy rhymes, in fact, it compliments it if anything. Right out of the gates the Mob proves to the listener that not only are its individual members interesting in their own right, they have the chemistry to bounce off one another and constructively contribute to each other's contributions.
Track Number 2: "Crazy Brazy"
Crazy Brazy is the first song where the influence of Rocky's stay in London makes itself evident. The beat sounds like a throwback Eski beat from Wiley's prime and Rocky is able to switch up his flow perfectly to match the daunting BPM that most new Yorker rappers would shy away from. Maybe that's one of Rocky's most interesting characteristics; he can do internals, he can do multis, he can rap southern and he cap rap New York he can rap fast, he can rap slow, (insert Dr. Seuss joke here) and altogether he's a rapper who switches flows with ease.
Track Number 3: "Way Hii"
Yet another track that showcases Rocky's ability to conjure flows with a really cool mid-verse rap combo pairing with Wiz Khalifa. Wiz being on the album is significant not only because it's such a refreshing departure from hearing him on that sam smith song, but also because of his place in the pantheon of internet rappers. Wiz was a style crossing, clique crossing internet rap trailblazer and isn't that part of what this album is aiming to promote and celebrate? The internet rap era right? Think about if a song like Crazy Brazy with its kind of cover art, its Eski beat, and its west coast gang subject matter could have been made by a group from Harlem in literally any other era of rap. Same with "Way Hii" and same with A$AP Mob itself.
Track Number 4: "Young Nigga Living"
A gem through and through, I really mean that. From its Yoshi sample to the beautiful Clams Casino-esque beat, the track is just gorgeous on so many levels. For one the production perfectly juxtaposes with the heavy lyricism of Ant and Twelvvy. Ferg as always goes against the surface interpretation of the song and raps about some deep introspective shit which fits the beat perfectly and in a different way than ant's interpretation.
Track 5: "Nasty's World"
The mixtape's version of the "Method Man" cut off 36 Chambers, not only because it's a solo track on a posse album but also because it literally sounds like something that could have come straight off OB4CL or The Infamous. Nasty's interesting because he's the link that binds the A$AP Mob with the old school new York sound right down to the references to eastern martial arts and the undying insistence to "keep it real son". Which makes it seem like this record will stick out like a sore thumb, but it doesn't. Just like "Method Man" before it, it's a record that, in its individualism we get undertones of a group effort. Even when put alone Nast puts the group, in his lyrics, above the individual. These two tracks (method man and nasty's world) are like the two groups saying "see? That's how deep we go"
Track 6: "Money Man:
I think this song finds its roots in albums like What a Time to Be Alive and DS2 and at the same time in an album like Microphone Champion, continuing the trend of bridging gaps between sounds that the Mob has been doing from the beginning of the tape. Rocky and Nast dish out their sleaziest and slickest rhymes in a street anthem which feels distinctly euro. Its repetitive nature and short, straight forward lines evoke Skepta and being produced by Canadian native Wondagurl one can't help but feel a kind of blend of styles in this record along with the others in this album. The result feels like a fresh breath of air from the dominant sound in the states today; this is a song not dressed in grills and couture but more like slacks and a chain. Less like a lean record and more like a mandy record if that makes any sense. (EDITOR NOTE: does that make any sense?)
Track 7: Put That On My Set
Probably my favorite song from the tape, and my favorite song to sample "Brother's Gonna Work It Out" by Willie Hutch. Put that on my set is both etherial and grounded in a grim urban landscape. "Understand, I'm a man tryna make it in a world of death" raps Rocky waxing philosophical for a split second only to give in to the worldy in the next line. There isn't anything particularly invigorating about the tone or the way that Rocky raps but rather a kind of romantic melancholy. Reflective, regretting, and reminiscent like a rap Downton Abbey. Skepta also comes through with a spooky verse which is concise as it is effective. The way he delivers "When you see me up close/when you look into my eyes" gives me shivers every time.
Tracks 9, 10, 11: "London Town", "Runner", "Bachelor"
After seeing how long this post is already I feel it would be better, for both me and the reader, if I condense the next three songs into one paragraph since they are stylistically and sonically. (let's not mince words; basically saying these three are the weakest in my opinion aha). What these three tracks all continue to showcase is the collaborative nature of rap music. I think this one of the running themes of this tape literally titled "Friends". Unlike rap, unlike EDM or most other popular forms of music Rap allows different voices, different perspectives and different styles to coexist on the same track. Also the patronage tradition of rap music. Each of the features on these tracks are acts that have obviously been influenced by the Mob and by letting them feature on the very first Mob album A$AP are acknowledging the bond they share together as master and disciple. This isn't something that happens often in other genres of music. The best parts of this mixtape are when it makes apparent how the internet and rap music can foster a new communal culture.
Track 12: "Telephone Calls"
Tyler the Creator and A$AP Rocky is a match that, before it happened, seemed unlikely, but now it seems like how could they not be friends? In this song Tyler is the perfect foil for Rocky's suave fashion killa flow. Tyler seems to bring out the inner goofy kid in Rocky and Rocky, in turn, brings out this amazing kind of mature, confident, insecurity free, braggadocios Tyler that just makes you say "YES THIS IS WHAT WE WANT FROM TYLER". More than that though, this song sort of shows how Yams' vision is being actualized even after his passing. Yams was an internet rap pioneer and this song is a historic (well at least I think it's historic) pairing up of two fellow internet rap pioneers. That in itself is the beauty of living in the internet rap era. The connectivity that rappers have to others is insane. Race, creed, region are all borders that are being torn down in the rap world as we speak. In forming A$AP Mob, one can't help but think Yams saw something like this happening in 2010. In speaking with surface magazine earlier this year, Kanye West said
"(…) thanks to the internet, people who would have never have made it through a corporate system, were able to jump to positions of power in their 20s that work on ideas for the new world."
It's hard to imagine two kids from Harlem Morningside ever making it far enough past the corporate ladder using the politics and social maneuvering that is usually required for creatives of their calibre, and that's exactly what the internet provides artists with. The vision of a purer more utopian creative environment is being realized with the internet and, among others, it was a young Puerto Rican blogger named A$AP Yams who was able to actualize this vision. So to name the first volume of (what I think is) a series of mixtapes dedicated to Yams "Friends" is a very astute choice. This tape is a celebration not only of Yams but what is, in my opinion, the best parts of rap music as a whole; its communal spirit, its ability to transcend barriers, and the sheer diversity of voices in its choir.
Favorite Lyrics:
• Yambroghini High
Yeah Im getting cake
Yeah its no debate
Yeah I fornicate with foreign hoes that I date like everyday
•Put That On my Set
Show Respect
Imma aim for the neck
-Imma make some ghosts-
When It comes to the raps man I must be possessed
When you see me up close,
When You look in my eyes
When you see how I flex just me and my dogs and a handful
Of cats
• Telephone Calls
Shoppin', ballin', opal fire diamonds shinin'
Make sure my sapphire's glistenin'
Make the shit, I wear the shit
They cop the shit, it's Golf, you bitch, you niggas trippin'
I'm a businessman, you ain't never been the man
Nigga tax bracket changed, like have you seen my home?
Crib got a tennis court
Get my Venus and Serena on
Golf in this bitch, better ring the doctor
Ambulance come when I hit the scene
That boy flier than a bag of bees
• Young Nigga Livin'
Game is still pimping adapted the changes
I'll take your 360, work off your anus
Shit on these niggas, like you constipated
See that's what I did and momma I made it
But I'm gone out my mind and my point is vacated
I can't take this world, ain't got the patience
Years of oppression, I'm feeling violated
And that's why my niggas be highly sedated
Addicted to money and driving new Ranges
Gone off the lean, want to stay faded
They can't even drink 'cause their life is so jaded
I want to be clean but the water is so tainted
Ain't it?
Discussion Points
• To get the elephant out of the room what do you think about the future of the Mob? Do they have one? Will they be able to stick together after the death of Yams or will we see a fade into obscurity?
• Do you think Rocky and Fergie's venture into other artistic mediums has hindered or helped their musical output? In general what are your thoughts on this kind of thing which is gaining traction in rap music?
• What do you think will be the themes of the Cozy Tapes to come? What thematic plan, if any, do you think they will follow?
• As for A$AP's inclusion of non A$AP members was this a wise step or a misstep? On what was supposed to be the group's first major album as a group there are a majority of tracks featuring non mob rappers. Did this hinder or help this album
• And of course please feel free to share your thoughts on both this album and this review, (and of course feel free to tell me why this was awful and I deserve never to pick up a pen ever again in my life)
