11 Things We Learned From A$AP Rocky's 'A.L.L.A.' Album

On LONG.LIVE.A$AP, it seemed like Rocky was attempting to balance his left-field tendencies with a bit of pop pandering. "Fuckin' Problems" was a radio hit, Hit-Boy production on "1 Train" and "Goldie" was immediate and accessible, and the Skrillex feature took full advantage of electronic music's in-your-face appeal.

With AT.LONG.LAST.A$AP, Rocky has a much more cohesive album, with a psychedelic feel running throughout it, and even the most accessible track, "Everyday," sticks to the script. Nothing feels forced, and Rocky's vision isn't sacrificed. This time around, it seems like Rocky cares more about making the album he wants, and not getting a No. 1 single.

Danger Mouse's involvement with A.L.L.A was initially met with some raised eyebrows. Sure, Brian Burton is a living legend with a long list of successful collaborations, but would he be able to gel with Rocky's harder, cutting style? Danger Doom was one thing, but Rocky's style is something else entirely.

Those fears can be put to rest. Burton didn't have to sacrifice his own classic rock tendencies or Rocky's grimy, New-York-by-way-of-Houston delivery. The songs are neither rap nor rock, and they're definitely not rap rock.

Instead, the two blended elements from all over the map to make sweeping, virtuosic songs that stay together like a magnetic house of cards. Their collaborations actually work best when even more people come on board, like the group effort "Everyday," featuring Miguel, Rod Stewart, and Mark Ronson. Then there are the tracks that still have A$AP Yams' indelible mark on them, like the album closer "Back Home," which Danger Mouse seems to have wisely left largely untouched. There's a little bit of everything on the album, but thanks to Burton's deft touch, it flows seamlessly.

A$AP Rocky's influences come from far and wide on A.L.L.A., and there are some really surprising names on the track list, most notably Bones, Joe Fox (more on him later), and Chicago producer Plu2o Nash, who came through with the punishing beat for "JD."

Bones, a rapper from Los Angeles who is part of the teamSESH collective, has an incredibly cohesive lo-fi aesthetic that sits somewhere between the worlds of Harmony Korine and Tarantino. His output is prodigious—four mixtapes last year, lots of features, a mixtape, and a collaborative album this year so far—and now he's on "Canal St.," one of the most immediately impactful songs of Rocky's album. The track is basically a new version of Bones' "Dirt" (produced by Klimek) with only a few changes to the production, and Bones' original hook kept intact.

In September of 2011, Mos Def announced that he was going to go by the name Yasiin Bey from now on. For years, it has been really hard to accept since he was already so well established under the name Mos Def.

But now, without any explanation, he's suddenly Mos Def again. Mos appears on "Back Home," the last track on A.L.L.A., and on both Spotify and the official album credits from RCA, his name appears Mos Def.

Not long ago, Joe Fox was busking on the London streets, selling his mixtapes to get together money to find somewhere to live. One night, something magical happened. Joe explained to i-D:

So I'm on Wardour Street (in Soho, London) and I see this guy - I don't know who he is cos I don't listen to new music - and he's with this other guy who turns out to be Hector Delgado, who's produced a lot of songs on Rocky's album. I go up to them and say 'Do you want to buy a CD' and Rocky says, 'Can you play me a song'. So I play a whole song and I get to the end - that's usually when people buy a CD - so I say 'Do you want to buy a CD?' and he said 'No, but we're going to Starbucks, and then to the studio, you should come and work with us. Jump in the car'. So I got in the car and he says, 'My name's A$AP Rocky, you've got an amazing sound, lets record together'. So we did.

Fast forward to today, and Fox is on five tracks on Rocky's new album, including one with M.I.A. and Future and one with Kanye West. It's a crazy story, and a testament to Rocky's vision that he put an unknown artist all over A.L.L.A..

There has been much debate around Lil Wayne's relevance in 2015. After some drama with Cash Money and Young Thug, the focus has shifted away from Wayne's music. He's still an international star and he should have no problem selling out venues and moving units (if and when he gets the chance to sell an album), but even longtime Lil Wayne fans have to admit that he's been sounding pretty uninspired.

On "M'$," Lil Wayne proves that he can still turn in a fire verse. It's not Mixtape Weezy, but it's the best verse we've heard from Lil Wayne in a while, and it gives us hope.

We were surprised enough to see Rod Stewart on "Everyday" (even though it's a sample) alongside Miguel and Mark Ronson, but now we've seen the full credits, the full extent of the talent that worked on the tracks has been revealed.

Mark Ronson, Emile Haynie, Jeff Bhasker, Hudson Mohawke, and Rocky himself worked on the production, while The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach played guitar and Yasiin Bey (Mos Def) contributed vocals. Check out the full credits below.

A$AP Rocky has been vocal about his love of Houston and Southern rap ever since Live.Love.A$AP (which had a song called "Houston Old Head" and a bunch of chopped and screwed choruses), but just because there is more of a psychedelic twist to A.L.L.A, dont think that Southern influence has gone anywhere.

There is executive production from Juicy J, pitched down vocals, a song featuring UGK, and more generally, low tempo beats and a hazy, woozy, mesmerizing vibe across virtually the whole record.

After A$AP Yams passed, Rocky said psychedelics helped him through the grieving process, and that the drugs had seeped into his music as well.

It shows, in the best of ways. Rocky joins an impressive list (The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Chance The Rapper) of artists who have reportedly used LSD for creative inspiration. The harps, filter effects, euphoric melodies, and overall genre-smashing that ended up as Rocky's sophomore album confirms the rapper's psychedelic claims.

Besides the obvious ("L$D"), the album's hallucinogenic moments appear on tracks like "West Side Highway," "Excuse Me," and "Holy Ghost" in the form of big, yawning synths and crunchy guitar licks. And shit, when an acid trip ends with three consecutive orgies, it doesn't sound like something you should turn down.

When A$AP Yams passed away earlier this year, the outpouring of grief from the industry, music fans, and the internet in general was enormous. Nearly everyone expressed their condolences, and there is no surprise why. Everybody loved Yams.

Any squad has that one member who emits a certain intriguing vibe that draws outsiders into the group. Yams created A$AP Mob, and was then able to bring equally affable members to share his vision. Rocky, Ferg, and Yams all possess that savvy street-smart mystique that took A$AP Mob to their current level. But it all started with Yams. He's the one that put it all into motion and figured out how to put whatever he thought was dope out into the view of the greater public. In a few years I expect every dictionary to have a picture of A$AP Yams under the definition of "Jiggy," with a note to "See: Wavy."

At.Long.Last.A$AP is the last creation that Yams will have had any input in, and that's a real tragedy because he knew more about what works in this new era of online music than almost anyone. A.L.L.A is an acid fueled symphony that, in a way, captures the entire mood created by Yams' passing. It's equal parts hazy, haunting, and a trill celebration. "Back Home," the final track on A.L.L.A, ends with Yams speaking in a distant echo, but the message is still clear: A$AP is always ahead.

We from Harlem, we gave y'all mother fucker this wave. Grab y'all surfboards, cause y'all got your boogie boards ready now.

Without Yams to guide them, it will be interesting to see how future projects from Rocky and the rest of A$AP Mob turn out, but for the moment, his spirit lives on through A.L.L.A.