The greatest hip-hop in history has focused primarily on documenting external events-to paraphrase Chuck D, it’s often been the CNN of the streets. Still, between the slowed-down nature of the music and the escapism and hopelessness embedded in the lyrics, At.$AP is the latest entry in the burgeoning depression rap movement.
Not all of At.Long.Last is a self-flagellating drag-after all, professional stripper enthusiast Juicy J does show up for a banger called “Wavybone,” and Rocky teams up with frequent collaborator Schoolboy Q on a mildly filthy sex joint called “Electric Body” (which is separate from the Rita Ora-insulting sex joint “Better Things”). Later, he adds, “26 years of living/ That’s how many f-s I’ve given.” Hip-hop has been dealing with no-tomorrow nihilism for decades, but that sentiment really seems to come from somewhere deeper. “Soemtimes I wish I could get away and charter spaceships to get away from my inhuman race with hearts of Satan,” Rocky raps on a verse about finding a dead body in his Harlem neighborhood.
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Danger Mouse, the patron saint of hip-hop melancholy and a tag-team partner for sad-eyed indie dudes like James Mercer and the late Mark Linkous, shows up a few times, including on the drowsy “Pharsyde,” which is full of remarkable self-loathing. (To get a sense of Clams’ approach to pop music, check out his dreamy, claustrophobic remix of Sia’s “Elastic Heart.”) Clams isn’t on At.Long.Last, but Rocky chose backing tracks that fall into his aesthetic. His watershed mixtape $AP was also the breakout moment for producer Clams Casino, a dude whose super-casual, druggy approach made him an in-demand name and predicted the rise of minimalist crossovers like Mike Will Made It. Sonically, A$AP Rocky has always preferred drowsy, slurry beats that compliment his flow, which is a thrilling hybrid of New York boom-bap and Southern porch slang.