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A Track-By-Track Breakdown of A$AP Rocky’s “TESTING”
A Thread:
A Thread:
Track 1: Distorted Records
The album starts off with the loud & bass-heavy Distorted Records. Rocky primarily talks about his eminence & his legacy on this track, stating that he’s the best rapper alive & that he’s inspired many other artists to start their own career (1/2)
The album starts off with the loud & bass-heavy Distorted Records. Rocky primarily talks about his eminence & his legacy on this track, stating that he’s the best rapper alive & that he’s inspired many other artists to start their own career (1/2)
It’s a really solid opening track overall & its distorted production helps set the tone for the rest of the album very well (2/2)
Track 2: A$AP Forever REMIX
As stated by the name, this track is a remix of the original A$AP Forever single that dropped in April of 2018. The song begins with narration from T.I., who opens up about the meaning of A$AP & pays homage to Philant Johnson & A$AP Yams (1/3)
As stated by the name, this track is a remix of the original A$AP Forever single that dropped in April of 2018. The song begins with narration from T.I., who opens up about the meaning of A$AP & pays homage to Philant Johnson & A$AP Yams (1/3)
Rocky then comes in with energy & starts rapping about the A$AP Mob & what they mean to him along with reflecting on his origins & discussing what life was like for him before the fame & where he came from. This song also samples Moby’s “Porcelain” from his album “Play” (2/3)
He then hands the track over to Kid Cudi where he goes on to talk about the improvement of his mental health along with his relationship with Rocky. The song then switches beats & ends off on a dreamy instrumental accompanied by vocals from Khloe Anna & Moby (3/3)
Track 3: Tony Tone
This track mainly focuses on how Rocky couldn’t care less about how people view him or his music & that he instead chooses to focus on changing the game & speaking his mind. The song also features vocals from Puff Daddy throughout
This track mainly focuses on how Rocky couldn’t care less about how people view him or his music & that he instead chooses to focus on changing the game & speaking his mind. The song also features vocals from Puff Daddy throughout
Track 4: Fukk Sleep
Rocky continues discussing this mentality on the next track entitled “Fukk Sleep.” Here, we see Rocky talk about how focused he was in the making of TESTING & how he’s been experimenting with new sounds that are different from his previous albums (1/2)
Rocky continues discussing this mentality on the next track entitled “Fukk Sleep.” Here, we see Rocky talk about how focused he was in the making of TESTING & how he’s been experimenting with new sounds that are different from his previous albums (1/2)
Rocky also states that he deserves to be respected by the rap community & that he’s worked hard for all the wealth & fame he has now. FKA twigs also goes on to accompany Rocky later in the song & contributes in making this track a favorite for many listeners (2/2)
Track 5: Praise The Lord (Da Shine)
Rocky pairs up with Skepta on Praise The Lord to talk about their careers & all the wealth they’ve earned while also having to deal with several hardships throughout. This track would go on to be a hit & the most popular song on TESTING by far
Rocky pairs up with Skepta on Praise The Lord to talk about their careers & all the wealth they’ve earned while also having to deal with several hardships throughout. This track would go on to be a hit & the most popular song on TESTING by far
Track 6: CALLDROPS
In this track, Rocky sings over lo-fi guitar strums sampled from Dave Bixby’s “Morning Sun.” The song is soon handed over to Kodak Black, whose verse was recorded over a phone call in prison, as he delivers several emotional lines about his troubled past
In this track, Rocky sings over lo-fi guitar strums sampled from Dave Bixby’s “Morning Sun.” The song is soon handed over to Kodak Black, whose verse was recorded over a phone call in prison, as he delivers several emotional lines about his troubled past
Track 7: Buck Shots
Accompanied by a thrilling & fast-paced beat, Rocky, along with Playboi Carti & Smooky MarGielaa whose features are hidden on the album, all rap about times they’ve encountered violence in their lives along with how violent their surroundings truly were
Accompanied by a thrilling & fast-paced beat, Rocky, along with Playboi Carti & Smooky MarGielaa whose features are hidden on the album, all rap about times they’ve encountered violence in their lives along with how violent their surroundings truly were
Track 8: Gunz N Butter
Rocky turns towards a more political viewpoint in the 8th track on TESTING entitled “Gunz N Butter”, discussing many topics such as religion, gun violence, & the overall state of the U.S. (1/2)
Rocky turns towards a more political viewpoint in the 8th track on TESTING entitled “Gunz N Butter”, discussing many topics such as religion, gun violence, & the overall state of the U.S. (1/2)
Rocky says that he sometimes has to be careful with his political statements due to some of them being controversial, but at the end of the day he believes that many things in America need to change immediately, & it mainly starts with getting Donald Trump out of office (2/2)
Track 9: Brotha Man
In this track, Rocky primarily discusses how important it is for the black community to come together & stand up against racial inequality all across the world. French Montana, Snoop Dogg, & Frank Ocean all make appearances throughout the song as well
In this track, Rocky primarily discusses how important it is for the black community to come together & stand up against racial inequality all across the world. French Montana, Snoop Dogg, & Frank Ocean all make appearances throughout the song as well
Track 10: OG Beeper
On OG Beeper, Rocky talks about what his dreams were as a child & what he was originally doing before his come up; drug dealing. This can be seen from the title of the song which refers to pagers, communication tools that were often used by dealers in the 80s
On OG Beeper, Rocky talks about what his dreams were as a child & what he was originally doing before his come up; drug dealing. This can be seen from the title of the song which refers to pagers, communication tools that were often used by dealers in the 80s
Track 11: Kids Turned Out Fine
Rocky goes on to talk about the new generation of children on “Kids Turned Out Fine”, saying that parents should let their kids do their own thing more often & that they’ll almost always turn out fine, even if things get a bit out of hand at times
Rocky goes on to talk about the new generation of children on “Kids Turned Out Fine”, saying that parents should let their kids do their own thing more often & that they’ll almost always turn out fine, even if things get a bit out of hand at times
Track 12: Hun43rd
Rocky once again discusses his origins in “Hun43rd”, named after 143rd Street which was a street that ran through the neighborhood he was raised in. He’s accompanied by vocals from Devonté Hynes later on & the track also samples Cradle to the Grave by Thug Life
Rocky once again discusses his origins in “Hun43rd”, named after 143rd Street which was a street that ran through the neighborhood he was raised in. He’s accompanied by vocals from Devonté Hynes later on & the track also samples Cradle to the Grave by Thug Life
Track 13: Changes
In this track, we see Rocky open up about his love life & how it’s affected him along with how the death of Yams has had an impact on his music, making it to where he now has to find a new sound & style without having Yams around like he always did before (1/2)
In this track, we see Rocky open up about his love life & how it’s affected him along with how the death of Yams has had an impact on his music, making it to where he now has to find a new sound & style without having Yams around like he always did before (1/2)
He notes that he’s going through a time in life where everything is changing, from the sound of his music to the way he views past relationships, & even though he may want some things to stay the same, he knows change is inevitable & that he just has to accept it & move on (2/2)
Track 14: Black Tux, White Collar
The duo of Rocky & Clams Casino reunite to create a song that discusses police brutality & racial injustice along with how Rocky sometimes feels alone because of people he’s close to always passing & because he doesn’t know who to trust anymore
The duo of Rocky & Clams Casino reunite to create a song that discusses police brutality & racial injustice along with how Rocky sometimes feels alone because of people he’s close to always passing & because he doesn’t know who to trust anymore
Track 15: Purity
On the final track of TESTING, Rocky & Frank Ocean reflect on trying to find peace within themselves & stray away from bad habits. We see this as Frank first opens up the track discussing topics such as his past drug use & his mental instability (1/3)
On the final track of TESTING, Rocky & Frank Ocean reflect on trying to find peace within themselves & stray away from bad habits. We see this as Frank first opens up the track discussing topics such as his past drug use & his mental instability (1/3)
Rocky then follows up with his verse shortly after as he talks about how busy & focused he’s been on making music & how he wants to use more of that time being with people he’s close to instead, mainly because he doesn’t know how much longer they’ll be alive (2/3)
Rocky states that he hates seeing his friends & relatives pass & that he feels cursed because of how they always pass away after he releases a new project. Rocky struggles to cope with these deaths, but he nonetheless continues to do what he can to try to find peace of mind (3/3)
TESTING’s received many mixed reactions since it was first released, but personally I think this album is amazing. It’s filled with incredible production, great performances from Rocky & from the features, & it’s a very thrilling listening experience when heard with an open mind
i hope you liked this thread! let me know if you wanna see more album breakdowns in the near-future along with any suggestions you might have for me also
hope you have a great rest of your day
hope you have a great rest of your day
