At.Long.Last.A$AP

by A$AP Rocky

Overview

Graduating from good weed to good-trippin' LSD, rapper A$AP Rocky tunes in, drops out, and turns down for what on At. Long. Last. A$AP, a positive and psychedelic LP that is -- due to the death of A$AP Yams -- touched with the hippie version of wistful. Yams shares the executive producer credit with Danger Mouse, and there's plenty of evidence most of the album was finished before Yams passed, but the A$AP Mob's creative leader's death certainly bookends this effort, beginning with the sorrowful and sober opener, "Holy Ghost," an O Brother, Where Art Thou tribute that's just as wry, epic, and grave. On the closing highlight "Back Home" with guest Mos Def, Yams is sampled, giving an ambitious pep talk to the Mob before a railcar sound effect ushers him into the hereafter, and yet, the center of the album is entirely Rocky's own journey, one the returning listener can link to with murky stompers such as the Juicy J and UGK feature "Wavybone." Solo cut "Lord Pretty Flacko Jodye 2 (LPFJ2)" might be brother A$AP Ferg's hit single "Work" run backwards, but the rest of the album pushes the Mob sound into new territories, including the uptown and funky "Everyday," a Rod Stewart and Miguel feature that feels more like a Mark Ronson cut than Rocky's. It doesn't sound out of place, as this is the ambitious effort that offers Rocky's own "Strawberry Fields" in "L$D," an elaborate and glorious number where a woman's love and grace are a metaphor for psychedelics. Both are life-changing in the rapper's eyes, and as such, strip clubs now need more challenging anthems like "Electric Body," a bent and bent-over number featuring ScHoolboy Q. Lil Wayne is here for the swaggering "M'$" ("But my neck is gold, the rest is froze/Sex and hoes, best of both"), which comes off like a 45 got knocked out of its spindle and the earth's core is now a subwoofer, while the Kanye West bragger "Jukebox Joints" ("Man everything basic to Ye Guevara/That means Saint Laurent is my Zara") is both soulful enough to be on the Stones Throw label and strange enough to be on the Yeezus album. Too many tracks, too many guests, and too many ideas are all complaints that could be entertained, but like the drug LSD doesn't care that work starts at 9 a.m. tomorrow, the all-encompassing A.L.L.A. can't be bothered with life's tight schedule. The bold effort unfolds as it wants and deserves, so think of the album as A$AP in Wonderland, or the cloud rap genre revived and improved, or a sunshine kaleidoscope album a la Prince's Around the World in a Day that also comes with a touching and bittersweet tribute. ~ David Jeffries

Product Details

Release Date:	05/26/2015
Label:	Rca
UPC:	0888430777521

Tracks

1. Holy Ghost
2. Canal St.
3. Fine Whine
4. L$D
5. Excuse Me
6. JD
7. Lord Pretty Flacko Jodye 2 (LPFJ2)
8. Electric Body
9. Jukebox Joints
10. Max B
11. Pharsyde
12. Wavybone
13. West Side Highway
14. Better Things
15. M'$
16. Dreams (Interlude)
17. Everyday
18. Back Home

Album Credits

Performance Credits

A$AP Rocky   Primary Artist
James Fauntleroy   Featured Artist
Yasiin Bey   Vocals
King Kanobby   Vocals
Dan Auerbach   Guitar
UGK   Featured Artist
Mark Ronson   Bass,Keyboards,Featured Artist
Lil Wayne   Featured Artist
Rod Stewart   Featured Artist
Juicy J   Featured Artist
The Yams   Featured Artist
Kanye West   Featured Artist
M.I.A.   Featured Artist
A-Cyde   Vocals,Featured Artist
Victor Axelrod   Keyboards
Jim Jonsin   Keyboards
Future   Featured Artist
Mos Def   Featured Artist
Joe Fox   Featured Artist,Guitar,Vocals,Featured Artist
Bones   Featured Artist
The Bones   Featured Artist
Will Miller   Trumpet
Miguel   Featured Artist
ScHoolboy Q   Featured Artist
Christina Milan   Vocals (Background)
2 Chainz   Vocals
Angel Aponte   Vocals
Carter Lang   Bass
Hector Delgado   Keyboards
FNZ   Keyboards
Theola Borden   Vocals
Michael Burman   Guitar
Anthony Pavel   Vocals
A$AP Yams   Featured Artist

Technical Credits

James Fauntleroy   Composer
Yvonne Mitchell   Composer
Tom Elmhirst   Additional Production
Beatriz Artola   Mixing,Engineer,Assistant
Thelonious Martin   Producer
Nayvadius Wilburn   Composer
Ryan Kaul   Assistant
Dan Fyfe   Assistant
Dana Richard   Assistant
Isaac de Boni   Composer
Senen Reyes   Composer
Leonard Cohen   Composer
Che Pope   Composer,Producer
Earl Randle   Composer
Louis Freese   Composer
Mark Ronson   Composer,Engineer,Producer,Drum Programming
Lowell Fulson   Composer
Juicy J   Producer,Executive Producer
Warren "Pete" Moore   Composer
Melvin Steals   Composer
Kanye West   Composer,Producer
Ben Nichols   Composer
Mike Dean   Mixing,Composer,Producer
Jeff Bhasker   Additional Production
Buck Ram   Composer
Brian Burton   Composer
Jaycen Joshua   Mixing
Noah Goldstein   Engineer
DJ Khalil   Additional Production
Dwayne Carter   Composer
Danger Mouse   Producer,Executive Producer,Additional Production
William Robinson   Composer
Willie Mitchell   Composer
Walter Kent   Composer
James Hunt   Assistant
Jim Jonsin   Producer,Programming
Pimp C   Composer
David Bentley   Composer
Zachary Yudin   Composer
Awge   Design,Executive Producer
Hector Delgado   A&R,Mixing,Editing,Arranger,Composer,Engineer,Producer,Additional Production,Programming,Executive Producer
Bryan Leach   Executive Producer,A&R
Niko Marzouca   Engineer
David Kutch   Mastering
Jordan Houston   Composer
Jason Schweitzer   Mixing
Axel Morgan   Composer
Dante Smith   Composer
Darryl Washington   Composer
Lawrence Muggerud   Composer
Todd Monfalcone   Engineer,Assistant,Mixing Assistant,Assistant Engineer
Hudson Mohawke   Additional Production
DaHonorable C.N.O.T.E.   Producer
Ken Takahashi   Mixing
Lawrence Seymore   Composer
THC   Additional Production
S.I.K.   Producer
Emile Haynie   Producer,Drum Programming
Daniel Lynas   Composer
Edwin Perez   Composer
Nathan Burgess   Assistant
Naja Rosa   Composer
Frans Mernick   Composer,Engineer,Producer,Drum Programming,Additional Production
Rhys Downing   Engineer
Kim Cannon   Composer
Miguel   Engineer
Carlton Mays Jr.   Composer
Anders Holm   Composer
Austen Jux Chandler   Engineer
Derek "MixedByAli" Ali   Mixing
Michael Mule   Composer
A$AP Rocky   Producer,Executive Producer,Additional Production
Bryan Ujueta   Composer
Eric Cardona   Composer
Gabe D'Amico   Composer
James Scheffer   Composer
Rakim Mayers   Composer,Producer
Miguel Pimentel   Composer
Bernard Freeman   Composer
Bobby Caldwell   Composer
Bobbie Gentry   Composer
Chace Johnson   Executive Producer
Steven "A$AP Yams" Rodriguez   Executive Producer
Tom Upex   Assistant
FNZ   Producer,Programming
Pablo Dylan   Assistant
Mervin Steals   Composer
Matt Schaeffer   Assistant
Nesbitt Wesonga   Composer,Producer
Mario Loving   Composer,Producer
Joe Fox   Composer
Michael Burman   Composer
Maddox Chhim   Assistant
Malcolm Martin   Composer
Jason Staniulis   Engineer
David Colquit   Composer
Riccardo Damian   Engineer
Alex Dadras   Composer
Andrea Estella Hernandez   Composer
Ddot Omen   Producer
Dexter Navy   Photography
Dicky Sulaksono   Composer
Elmo O'Connor   Composer
Kenta Yoneksaka   Engineer
Malcolm Lawson-Stribling   Composer
Max Ervin   Assistant
Michele Lamy   Art Direction
Plu2o Nash   Producer
Quincey Hanley   Composer
Rameses Magnus-George   Composer
Rebel Rock   Producer
Ricci Rierra   Composer
Taheed Watson   Assistant,Mixing Assistant,Assistant Engineer
Teddy Walton   Composer,Additional Production
Udbhay Gupta   Composer
Vulkan The Krusader   Producer