Back in October 2017, ASAP Rocky told GQ that his new album would be about "testing new sounds" and explained, "I prefer to experiment and have my crowd grow with me and to reach new crowds. I don't just rap, I actually make music."
Since then, he's dropped a few loose tracks on SoundCloud as well as a recent single called "ASAP Forever," but he hasn't elaborated on just how experimental the album will be.
On the first episode of Peter Rosenberg's new Complex show, Open Late, Rocky was asked how this album compares to his past work when it comes to experimentation and "testing sounds." From the sound of his answer, we'll be getting an album that still has plenty of mainstream appeal, but with some calculated, experimental touches.
"I think with this one, it's more deliberate," he says. "I'm experimenting in a more calculated way. I'm trying to make sure that I take precaution to where I'm not just drawing out of the lines all crazy, mixing my colors. I'm still trying to give you a beautiful canvas, but something different. I want to take a different approach, and I want to challenge the viewer who is tired of hearing the same old shit. You know, this shit is a cliché at this point."
"I'm just trying to test my viewers and listeners and see if they're ready to evolve and grow with me," he adds. "This is going to be an amazing fucking album and I'm going to hopefully change a bunch of people's lives again and hopefully people will make better music and influence me to make even better music."
You can watch his interview on Open Late below. The "testing sounds" conversation begins at the 28:40 mark.
