A lot has happened to A$AP since the release of his first mixtape, Live, Love, ASAP, two years ago. He was named GQ’s best dressed man of 2012, attacked a group of fans when someone threw a beer bottle at him when he was performing with Rihanna, and there has been limitless pressure on him to become one of the best new rappers in the game. Long Live A$AP showed he can be great, but also there are the same topics like in every rap song: money, drugs, and females, that just sound mundane. Although some songs are about mundane topics, he still has a laid back flow that makes it sound effortless.

The album starts with my favorite song “Goldie,” where he talks about how his rise to the game was fast and now that he finally has money, he’s just out here spending it. His biggest radio hit “F****n Problems” features 2chainz, Drake and Kendrick Lamar and shows he is ready for the big time. But a song that will probably be passed over is “Ghetto Symphony.” An interesting song on the album produced by and features dubstep artist Skrillex is also one of my favorite songs. It sounds like a club banger, when I hear it I feel the need to dance.

It doesn’t matter if he’s on songs with Kendrick Lamar, Joey BadA$$, or Drake, his verses are just as good if not better. He has the talent to be be one of the next great MC’s. He fits the persona of basically every rapper today; coming out of the hood and making it big. Talking about females, drugs and money. A$AP may be talking about that, but there is something different about his lyrics. He seems to have a laid back flow on all of his songs. His first studio album has some very high points, and the future is very bright for this young MC.