Frank Ocean pops up to do a verse and Rocky raps in double-time about alienation and loneliness. That song alternates between samples of Lauryn Hill’s unplugged cut I Gotta Find Peace Of Mind and a shuffling beat. Black Tux, White Collar finds him venting about all sorts of negativity that comes with success, before ending with Purity. He’s reminiscing about growing up and failed relationships. It’s not clear what’s sent Rocky into nostalgic mode. (It also helped Tyler reach a bigger audience.) That album was similarly unpredictable, absorbing myriad influences while grappling with insecurities and aggression in funny and heartfelt ways. The album follows on the heels of his former tourmate Tyler, The Creator’s success with Flower Boy. There’s something bewitching about this free-form section of Testing, but there’s still that feeling Rocky’s stylistic adventurousness – however appealing – is overwhelming lyrics and flows that aren’t as ambitious as the production. Changes slows things down even further, as Rocky recounts a past relationship in a near spoken-word cadence over a looping guitar riff and sighing backing vocals. Pitch-shifted vocals drop in and out as beats slow down and speed up as if Rocky is drifting in and out of consciousness. Rocky seems to be reflecting on formative years on dirge-y ballad Kids Turned Out Fine and Dev Hynes-featuring ode to Harlem, Hun43rd. It is a washable Tee and will not fade even after many times of washing. Prepared from top-quality material using 90 cotton & 10 Polyester.
It is smooth, durable, clean, and premium. It has a nice vibe and typifies the album’s introspective tone, but there’s a nagging sense Rocky could push further in all directions.įukk Sleep and the meandering, King Krule-esque CALLDROPS hint at what’s to come in the latter half. Here is the Amazing and Top-quality 'Vlone x ASAP Rocky Testing 'Fuck Testing More Cheating' T-Shirt'. The south remains a big influence on Testing, particularly the low-slung, come-up song OG Beeper. Yams was a big proponent of Memphis rap and other southern hip-hop sounds that set Rocky apart from his NYC counterparts when he landed a major label deal off his debut mixtape in 2011. The only prominent female guest on this guest-heavy album is a memorable one, though: FKA twigs adds some twisted ethereal vibes on Fukk Sleep.
It’s more satirical than sincere (“I would say suck my dick / but that’s sexual harassment”). Is he toning down the male bravado? Not really. The latter includes an extended interlude in which an unnamed woman shuts down Rocky’s casual sexism.
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Stream the full 15-track album below.A couple of other bangers stand out: the appropriately rounded beat on Buck Shots (featuring proteges Playboi Carti and Smooky MarGielaa) and the clanging Tony Tone featuring ad-libs by Diddy. Testing also includes advance single “ Distorted Records,” but other recent tracks such as “Above,” “☆☆☆☆☆ 5IVE $TAR$,” “Money Bags Freestyle,” “Herojuana Blunts,” and the BlocBoy JB collab “Bad Company” are not on the tracklist. “I worked a lot with Tame Impala and MGMT, so it was just like, the people I finally wanted to work with… These are the people I grew up with, these are the people I admire.” “I was working a lot with Lana Del Rey for the past two years,” Rocky told Beats 1’s Zane Lowe.
Lauryn Hill (sampled on a song with Frank Ocean!), FKA twigs, Kid Cudi, Puff Daddy, Dev Hynes, Skepta, Snoop Dogg, Playboi Carti, French Montana, and Moby, whose “Porcelain” provides the foundation for advance single “ A$AP Forever.” And those are just the collaborators who made the cut. The tracklist includes lots of big names like Frank Ocean (twice!), Ms. He made that abundantly clear earlier this week when he locked himself in a translucent cage for a performance art piece announcing Testing, a new album out today. After the 2015 release of A$AP Rocky’s At.$AP, the rapper laid low - sharing a few one-off singles, picking up a feature here and there, contributing to various A$AP Mob projects - but now he’s back in full force.