The countdown is over. ASAP Rocky’s long-awaited third studio album has officially arrived.
Flacko announced the project—eventually titled TESTING—in September 2017, when he told fans it was scheduled to drop before the year’s end. In a recent interview with Open Late host Peter Rosenberg, Rocky said his perfectionism is what caused the nearly six-month delay.
“One little thing, one little mishap, one little imperfection could throw off a whole cycle,” he said. “I would prefer to put out music to change people’s mood or uplift or get a feeling or a reaction, opposed to just making music to stay relevant for the sake of popularity.”
Hours before TESTING hit streaming services, the Harlem rapper unveiled the project’s full tracklist, which confirmed features by Frank Ocean, Skepta, Kid Cudi, French Montana, Lauryn Hill, Playboi Carti, and more. Rocky spoke about the batch of big-name collaborations with Beats 1 host Zane Lowe.
TESTING’s rollout was far from traditional. Within the past several months, Rocky has teased the project in obscure ways, using everything from crash dummy imagery to a “lab rat” performance art piece at Sotheby’s. It was clear ASAP Mob’s de facto leader had something unique in store.
“I’ve discovered sounds that I’ve never heard before, so I’m trying to manifest all of that into my new stuff,” Rocky said in his recent Complex cover story. “Do you ever hear people when they describe that LSD experience and they tell you about colors that they never seen before? That’s what I’m trying to describe. It’s like the manifestation of drugs ... without being so vocal about it.”
You can listen to TESTING now on Apple Music/iTunes or via Spotify below. The album marks Rocky’s first full-length solo project since 2015’s At. Long. Last. ASAP.
