Likewise, the sterling Frank Ocean cameo on closer вЂњ PurityвЂќ feels born of real collaboration. chime in to praise RockyвЂ™s progress, their admiration feels neither staged nor bought. A gratuitous sample of MobyвЂ™s вЂњ PorcelainвЂќ lends the song a flickering warmth, but Rocky remains the centerpiece. вЂњI put New York on the map,вЂќ he raps, a claim so preposterous itвЂ™s infectious. Lead single вЂњA$AP ForeverвЂќ captures the charisma that often eludes RockyвЂ™s music. It feels like a cypher hosted inside a lava lamp. On вЂњBuck Shots,вЂќ alongside A$AP affiliates Playboi Carti and Smooky Margiela, Rocky moves nimbly, letting the beat breathe. RockyвЂ™s instincts arenвЂ™t always unreliable. Both scenarios are damning BlondeвЂ™s fluidity and depth are the product of a specific and pained artistic vision its style and experimentation are means, not ends. OceanвЂ™s actual appearances on вЂњPurityвЂќ and вЂњBrotha ManвЂќ ground his muse by showing a genuine aesthetic overlap-Rocky and Ocean are fond of murky, immersive soundscapes and sharp pivots between longing and lucidity-but RockyвЂ™s Blonde retreads are a lack of direction at best and yet more taste-signalling at worst. From the seagulls and surf-rock flourishes of вЂњKids Turned Out Fine,вЂќ to the verbatim citation of Blonde on вЂњA$AP Forever,вЂќ to the constant pitch-shifts and nonlinear storytelling, Blonde serves as a direct and indirect template for RockyвЂ™s sprawling interests.

Testing is in many ways RockyвЂ™s attempt to remake Frank OceanвЂ™s insular 2016 album Blonde. When RockyвЂ™s intuitions arenвЂ™t painfully straightforward, theyвЂ™re outsourced. вЂњMy whole life I just wanted to be a rapper/Then I grewвЂ™d up and the boy became a rapper,вЂќ he summarizes as if nothing happened in between. вЂњOG BeeperвЂќ tells the story of a young Rocky wishing to be a rapper by offering the beginning and the end. For the opener вЂњDistorted RecordsвЂќ Rocky chants the song title over.distorted bass. Rocky constantly conflates method with insight, process with vision.ДЄnd his vision is often literal. RockyвЂ™s Kodak support comes off as an empty flex his long-running infatuation with Memphis rap feels like muscle memory. All this density makes these songs dynamic, but it doesnвЂ™t mask their aimlessness.

KodakвЂ™s bluesy vocals are garbled and gnashed, a sonic ugly cry. вЂњCALLDROPSвЂќ works similarly, heaping a blissful sample of Dave BixbyвЂ™s вЂњMorning SunвЂќ onto muted, nonsensical croons from Rocky and Dean Blunt, who then cede space to an incarcerated Kodak Black. The sum of all this layering is a leaning Jenga tower of sounds that hisses and warbles like a shaky radio signal. RockyвЂ™s flow slides in and out of sync with PatвЂ™s signature staccato, generating a counter-rhythm that gets played up by choice record scratches. On вЂњGunz N ButterвЂќ RockyвЂ™s distorted vocals are stacked atop a chunky, pitched-down sample of Project PatвЂ™s вЂњ Still Ridin CleanвЂќ thatвЂ™s accented by ad-libs from Juicy J (who is also a guest on the Project Pat song). His approach to songcraft on Testing is to mash sounds together and capture the friction.

Like the crash dummies from which Testing and LAB RAT crib their aesthetics, Rocky is enamored with collision. If curation is the union of taste and restraint, intuition is the union of taste and curiosity. Testing, RockyвЂ™s third studio album and first outing without the direct oversight of his late friend and counsel A$AP Yams, uses intuition as its guiding force, broadening RockyвЂ™s palette by simply trusting what he likes and what he doesnвЂ™t.

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