'Testing', A$AP Rocky's most off-kilter to album to date, demands close listening.
The New Yorker swerves drastically from the formula employed on his previous two albums in search of a more profound direction, enlisting a stellar selection of the world’s most accomplished and influential artists along the way, with Frank Ocean, FKA Twigs, Skepta and Dev Hynes among those stepping in.
‘Testing’ is also the first A$AP Rocky album without an executive production credit for the late A$AP Yams, while weak points appear sporadically, betraying a distinct lack of development in his storytelling abilities.
Where the pretty rapper’s aggressive, arrogant lyrical content may have carried his early material, it’s not a huge ask to expect more mature and reflective writing at this stage of his career.
His flow, the album’s production and instrumental arrangements work as well as ever, but there’s a lack of direction on ‘Testing.’ The real high points are provided by his collaborators, with the Skepta-assisted Praise the Lord (Da Shine) the outstanding moment.
It’s a stripped back bop closer to the grime legend’s own style than Rocky's own complex, boastful approach. The same is true of Purity, his pairing with Ocean. This track feels straight outta 'Channel Orange'; dreamy, soulful and melancholic.
This mix and match approach is jarring and confusing when considering ‘Testing’ as a complete statement. Here is proof that a talented team will fail to work cohesively if the original mood board is a convoluted mass of conflicting emotions. It would have, perhaps, served better as a mixtape, rather than an album diluted with filler.
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