Release Date: May 25, 2018
Genre(s): Rap
Record label: A$AP Worldwide
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In late May, A$AP Rocky confined himself to a glass cell fitted with cameras, microphones, and harsh industrial lights. He wandered through a swarm of balloons, nibbled on raw peppers, teased new music, and dunked his face in ice water--real art stuff. Hosted at the New York City headquarters of auction house Sotheby's, this live multimedia installation, titled LAB RAT, functioned more as a signal than an experience: A$AP Rocky was no longer just a rapper; he was high art.
Rating: NNN A$AP Rocky has superstar charisma but often seems more comfortable surrounded by his A$AP Mob crew. That's sometimes the case at his live shows, and it's also the case on his third studio album and first produced without close creative collaborator A$AP Yams, who died in 2015. Rocky seems to be putting himself out there a bit more - but not all the way.
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