Atira – Ins†rumen†als vol. I

September 9, 2012 • self-released

I went browsing Bandcamp just for kicks, as is my wont, this time looking for some cloud rap, not knowing I'd stumble onto one of the greatest hip hop productions I'd ever hear. Sound like strong words? Yeah, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit, but Ins†rumen†als vol. I is still beautifully-crafted and I've been loving every minute of it.

Atira's production is the "cloud" sound at its most pure—triumphant choirs, glittery sci-fi synths, ambient drones, deep bass, all drenched in reverb and glued together with some stripped-down yet rock-solid drum beats and the occasional trap hi-hat rhythm. It's a pretty basic formula, one that doesn't change much between songs, but it's one that I think is done better here than I've heard just about anywhere else. Okay, yes, you have the great Clams Casino instrumental mixtapes, but Atira's sound is a much different style—much more classical-oriented than Clams' soul-based music. (An oversimplification, but you get my point.)

Being instrumental, I suppose that one's enjoyment of this album would rely on how long they can handle these kind of ultra-dramatic beats (and I know more than a few people find this kind of music to be cheesy), but I don't feel that it really needs any vocals (especially not the sort that usually go with cloud rap). I feel like it would ruin the pristine vibe the music gives off. True, without vocals it does get a bit repetitive as it goes on, but I'm probably not really "supposed" to be listening to it all the way through at once. But you never know, the right rapper could add a lot to these beats, someone just has to try and find out.

Anyway, Atira has really got something great going on here, and deserves a much bigger audience. Maybe it's just me who thinks that cloud rap is one of the most interesting new scenes, but if so, albums like this will probably change peoples' minds.

8

A$AP Rocky – Long.Live.A$AP

January 15, 2013 • Polo Grounds Music

I haven't listened to it much since, but A$AP Rocky's debut mixtape from 2011 LiveLoveA$AP turned out to be a really cool release, especially with me being pretty new to the whole cloud rap thing. On the other hand, Long.Live.A$AP, the followup and commercial debut, doesn't have the same fresh spark its predecessor does. The album goes back and forth between a handful of really great tracks and a handful of completely uninteresting ones, sometimes leaning a bit more towards straight-up party rap, and leaves a bit to be desired.

It has its moments, though, and there's truly a lot of great moments on the album. Opener "Long Live A$AP" has a really cool contrast between the heavy trap verses and a light, airy bridge; the transition between the two is anything but subtle and it sounds great. "Goldie" has a fantastic minimalist-yet-heavy beat. "Fuckin' Problems", as the single, is predictably good with a great guest spot from Kendrick Lamar—one in a great list of guest spots, like ScHoolboy Q's great verse on "PMW (All I Really Need)". Even the Skrillex appearance on "Wild for the Night" is fitting and (almost) tasteful. My highlight might be the production on "Phoenix", which might seem like typical cloud stuff at this point but I really like how it works on this album.

But at the same time there are a couple cuts I just didn't care much about, even the Clams Casino-produced "LVL" and "Hell", which pale in comparison to his earlier tracks, especially the repulsive hook on "Hell" (and that extreme bass across the whole album is giving me a massive headache). Many of the tracks sound simply like generic modern rap, which goes against all of what made A$AP Rocky interesting in the first place, as he doesn't do it quite as well as I bet he could. I suppose the fact that the producers on this album are so comparably diverse is what hurts the album the most; it makes the album feel really disjointed as opposed to the solid cloud production of LiveLoveA$AP. Rocky's rapping is not terribly great either—he's definitely not bad, technically he's decent (let's not get into the awful lyrics though), but there's nothing distinct about it that makes it nice to listen to and the guest spots almost all outshine him.

It's hard to quantify what I think about Long.Live.A$AP or not—I feel as though I like it and I don't like it at the same time. It's definitely a step down from the mixtape, unfortunately, as the song quality is just too inconsistent. I don't think the tend towards more mainstream rap works that well for A$AP Rocky. But at the same time there's plenty of cool ideas here; it just sucks that you have to dig through some crap to get them out.

5