Album Review: TESTING by A$AP Rocky

Maria Navarro 

Music Journalist 

As we await the release of A$AP Rocky’s fourth studio album, “Don’t Be Dumb,” I want to look back at his most divisive album, TESTING (2018). Released on May 25, 2018, and produced by Hector Delgado and A$AP Rocky himself, this album breezes through many themes and moods that will have you feeling almost every emotion possible. With the visuals of this album being test dummies, Secchi disks, the streets of Harlem (Rocky’s hometown), drugs and psychedelic views, these things foreshadowed a new direction and experimentation. TESTING is known to be Rocky’s most experimental album released so far and also the first album without the guidance of the late A$AP Yams. I personally think that TESTING came out to be one of my favorite albums by Rocky. This album has made me feel on top of the world and has made me fall to the depths of faded memories. I believe that this album is just perfect for any situation that life throws at you.  

The album consists of many beat switches, distorted sounds, echoes, and mood swings. The intro to the first track, “Distorted Records,” is very on brand with the title of the album. The startup electrical buzzing sound makes the listener feel as if they are the test dummy/lab rat that Rocky is experimenting on. Similar to Yeezus (2013) by Kanye, A$AP throws us into his new world and sound with no warning. The album sways between lyrics of cockiness and deep reflection. Many of the songs on the album contain lyrics of Rocky bragging about his luxurious lifestyle, his influence and shout outs to his friends, family that have been there for him throughout his life and the Lord, very much what avid listeners would expect A$AP to do. While he stays true to his lyrical roots, there’s a sense of duality. His cockiness is the persona that the world knows him by, but as we keep listening, he starts to become vulnerable and display his true self.  

The energy is through the roof with all these repetitive hi-hats, snares and 808s layered into the production. As the album progresses, the music starts to mellow out and the lyrics become deeper and more reflective. “CALLDROPS” is a peek into the deepness of this album mixed with the arrogant styled tracks. We start to get a taste of Rocky’s internal monologue with this track. A very melancholic sound with the sample “Money & the Power” by DJ Squeak repeating but never seems to progress. David Bixby’s “Morning Sun” plays the whole song and helps make the lyrics more bittersweet. Rocky’s singing sounds tired and slow, almost as a way to show his untold struggles that make him question what he should do with what he is feeling. Kodak’s verse also circles around struggle, what he has been through growing up in Florida, his newfound success and how he chooses to express it. This track gives a feeling of being lost and reminiscing on his past, and vocally, Rocky has not found a way to let it all out.   

After this track, “Buck Shots” makes the mood sway back into an upbeat one. A very good song to silently shrug your shoulders to wherever you may be. This track is a complete 180 from “CALLDROPS” and he goes back to his cocky attitude and at some point in the song, he gives us more insight into his childhood, which continues in the track list until “Kids Turned Out Fine.” This album also includes a number of samples that help set the tone for the songs. Samples from artists from many genres, including Thug Life, Good Morning, Lauryn Hill, Babyfather, UGK, and OutKast, just to name a few. I would have to say that the sample of Lauryn Hill’s “ I Gotta Find Peace of Mind” from her 2002 MTV Unplugged performance on the track “Purity” is my favorite. The sample is slowed and reverbed and it is used all throughout the song and truly brings a peace of mind. There’s something so poetic, simple, and casual about this song, but the end product melts together beautifully. For 4 minutes there is no rush and it’s a great song to wind down to. The samples add so much texture to the beats and create an expressive atmosphere. Another favorite is the use of Good Morning’s “Don’t Come Home Today.” When I first heard this sample used, I was a bit surprised to hear alternative indie music in rap/hip hop songs. This sample also goes on for the entirety of the song, but the contrast between the slow, groggy voice of Liam Parsons, Rocky’s casual vocals, the kicks, snares, hi-hats, and the distortion of Rocky’s vocals ties everything together, making it a psychedelic hip hop roller coaster.  I really enjoy the samples being stacked on top of each other and the flow they create to elevate Rocky’s lyrics.  

There’s a lot to love with this album. My favorite tracks from this album are A$AP Forever, CALLDROPS, Gunz N Butter, Kids Turned Out Fine, Hun43rd, Changes and Purity. I loved the way these songs have made me feel internally. I honestly think my brain chemistry was altered when I first listened to these songs. The production in these songs seems to scratch an itch in my brain and it makes me have a visceral reaction. “Changes” specially made me feel cathartic and like a wave of memories rushing to my brain. As an OutKast fan, the nod to Andre 3000’s verse from “Int’l Players Anthem (I Choose You)” lured me into loving this track more. The rhythm in the second verse and the bridge revives me in such a gentle way. The repetition of “Still love, still love came” with the soft guitar playing as the back track is so calming and sentimental. 

This album overall has the power to have you bobbing your head and increasing your energy, to completely lower it and have you lying on your back and wondering when everything in life changed. “TESTING” is much more different than his past albums, and while when released it was divisive,  over the years it has helped diversify his sound and visuals. Hopefully A$AP’s new album “Don’t Be Dumb”, coming out soon this year, holds similar experimental sounds. 

Metadata: 

Header Photo ASAP_Rocky_Testing.jpg 

Caption:  A$AP Rocky’s 3rd Studio Album TESTING 

Image Title: TESTING by A$AP Rocky 

Alt Text:10 shadowy figures surrounding a bold typeface logo. 

Description: The creator of the album cover explains that he thought that when everyone was looking at the ground during a live performance called “Lab Rat,” it seemed as if everyone was looking at a test subject. This set the tone for the vision of the album cover.  

Image Credit: A$AP Rocky Recordings, A$AP Worldwide, Polo Grounds Music, RCA Records, and Sony Entertainment/ Cary Fagan