Album Review: A$AP Rocky- LongLiveA$AP

Grade: A-

After A$AP Rocky’s electrifying debut dropped in 2011, it seemed as though a sophomore slump was inevitable. The sheer quality of the first album combined with the massive failure that was A$AP Mob’s Lords Never Worry, which featured lazy verses from Rocky himself, seemed to only lend credence to the slump theory and the frequent delays in release (all the way from September 2012 to now) had fans questioning why the album was trapped in purgatory, and whether it would see the light of day at all. With the deadline issue now resolved the biggest question remaining is: can A$AP build off of his well-laid foundation, in a Kendrick Lamar-type manner? Or was Clams Casino- who only produced 2 songs on LongLiveA$AP- the true reason for LiveLoveA$AP’s success?

Casey's EPs, Songs, and Albums of 2012

Reflecting back on 2012, I can't help to compare it to 2011 due to the fact that I only started paying attention to a broader scope of music that year. As of now, 2012 feels a lot weaker at the top than 2011, however the depth far surpasses it. It pained me to leave off records such as Chromatics, Gifts From Enola, Lone, Masked Intruder and Savoir Adore, but this year just had too many strong albums to mention every single one of them. It's even crazier when you think that if you had told me that all of Two Door Cinema Club, Say Anything, Sleigh Bells and Motion City Soundtrack wouldn't have a place on this list, I would have thought you were crazy. Surely a couple of those could release poor albums, but there was no chance that all of them could. Alas, the worst happened, and none of those albums will receive any more mention than this. Pop punk also had a very down year after taking up three of my top five spots (or so) last year, and you won't find a record that I consider pop punk amongst the top 25. Bands you will find featured predominantly are fun., Yellowcard, Frank Ocean, Take One Car, Kendrick Lamar, A$AP Rocky, ScHoolboy Q, and far more that you can find below. If you click on the name of the album, you will find links to our coverage. If you click on the name of the song, you will be taken to Youtube for a listen.

Nathan Flynn's Top 40 Songs of the 2012

After a year of listening to new music, I find that I’m not listening to a lot of 2012 music. There have been a few standout albums (Good Kid m.a.a.d. City, Some Nights, Vital, Cruel Summer) that I still listen to on a regular basis, but most releases, even some that I liked a lot- sorry Regina Spektor- have just fallen by the wayside. Well, this isn’t about the best albums of the year: this is about some diamonds in the rough scattered around some of 2012’s best and worst releases. My 40 favorite songs I would recommend checking out from this year (with links!) are:

Artist of the Day: A$AP Rocky

A$AP Rocky, the best known member of the A$AP Mob, has certainly had a busy year. Around one year ago today, much hyped single "Peso" from his debut mixtape LiveLoveA$AP led to a buzz so large that Rocky was signed to a $3 million deal by Sony and RCA. After LiveLoveASAP was a hit on the blogosphere and received an XL rating from XXL magazine, Rocky embarked on a country-wide tour with radio favorite Drake. Armed with a new legion of fans, Rocky kept the hype train on the tracks by releasing "Goldie." "Goldie" was a vintage Rocky track, teeming with lyrics of nu-thug living- broads, brews and blunts- showing he has what it takes to keep the fire burning.