That’s still true on A.L.L.A Rocky never appears washed or overshadowed by a feature. The features he’d pick out would suit the overall aesthetic and not only make the song great, but make Rocky look great by proxy. One of Yams’ defining qualities was his ear for talent. The guest list for this album is huge, and while some could argue that it means Rocky can’t carry this record by himself, that’s not the case. “West Side Highway”, meanwhile, might be the worst song on the album, with James Fauntleroy’s vocals going to waste over a terribly boring Danger Mouse beat. Mentions of chartering spaceships to escape Earth, smoking until his iron lung doesn’t work, and the effect gentrification has had on his home paint a bleak picture for Rocky, who, just lines later, proclaims that LSD has inspired him. While his flow works over downtrodden melodies, “Pharsyde” is just depressing. “Pharsyde” feels like a leftover beat from Demon Days and doesn’t offer Rocky a chance to do anything exciting. Another executive producer here, Danger Mouse, can be heard in the boilerplate beats, which mesh well with Rocky’s aesthetic but never push the envelope or make any revelatory alterations to the formula. Though Yams gets an executive producer credit, it’s difficult to quantify how much of his vision for the album made it to the final cut. One of the creative forces behind Rocky’s music, ASAP Yams, passed away in January while A.L.L.A was still in the works. At. would be my new favorite album if I had taken LSD for the first time last week, but seeing as that isn’t the case, it’s pretty easy to identify the album’s flaws, of which there are a fair number, while still basking in the moments of greatness that Rocky managed to create out of a bad situation, of which there are also plenty. Now, he’s added another facet to his repertoire: dude who really likes taking and talking about taking acid.
He’s been the Harlem-based Tumblr rap prodigy, the luxury fashion name-dropper, the de facto face of ASAP Mob, and a guy who loves rapping about all things purple.
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