Eight years since the passing of A$AP Mob member A$AP Yams, A$AP Rocky has honoured the sombre occasion with the official release of ‘Same Problems?’, the first single of his forthcoming fourth studio album, Don’t Be Dumb.
Lord Flacko, as he is known to his fans, first previewed the joint on the 9th of December last year during a live performance, coupled with a sequential display of pictures of various rappers the game prematurely lost to the grave.
Those mentioned included Brooklyn legend The Notorious B.I.G., Takeoff from Migos, and Juice WRLD.
Since bursting onto the scene, the New York City based rapper/songwriter has enjoyed a decade of commercial success since his breakthrough 2012 hit ‘Fuckin’ Problems’.
His emergence has spawned three successful albums, two of which eventually touched platinum status.
It is also during this run that he flaunted his genre-defying musical palette, from dubstep-infused music as seen on the Skrillex-assisted ‘Wild for the Night’ to electro-pop-influenced ‘Fashion Killa’.
On his latest single ‘Same Problems?’, what immediately commands attention is Lil Yachty’s mantra-like intro, “How many problems get solved?”, which simmers alongside the underpinning of a thrumming bass, setting the solemn mood. The minimalist instrument arrangement feels like Kendrick’s ‘Rich Spirit’, although a rougher version of it, which carpets the song with an atmosphere welcoming Rocky’s thought-provoking lyric.
Watch the Amazon Live Performance of the song here:
“Niggas dyin’ every other night / niggas cryin’ that’s a part of life”, Rocky sidles into the first verse, his voice as shaky and cloudy as the aggregate of hazy instrumentals.
Juxtaposed with Miguel’s background melodies (“Oooh”), the words take on a mournful feel, which breathes the life of an obituary directed at the collective deaths of those in the rap game and the Black American world plagued with drugs, guns, and violence.
What is striking about Rocky’s words is his ability to offer himself as a microphone to young Black people, parents, and friends of those who’ve lost loved ones to hood life and hip-hop culture.
It’s public knowledge that hip-hop culture has had an undesirable effect on the lives and the culture of Afro-American folk. While the impact has also been positive, the general consensus has been that the bad has overshadowed the good.
From the 90s to the first half of the 2000s, drug use, gun culture, and murder dominated hip-hop life. Flacko zeros in on commentary surrounding this discourse, asking: “How many problems get solved? (ooh) / Am I a product of things that I saw? / How many problems get solved? / Am I a product of things in my songs?”
Rocky then points the finger at himself (“Annihilated all my people”) and his involvement in this counterintuitive lifestyle, a noteworthy step towards accountability in the game which normally turns away from blame-shifting and victim mentality.
‘Same Problems?’ is a clear-sighted call to action that bases its approach on visionary empathy. Although it may come off as a choppy yet sincere verdict of what should be done next to improve the status quo, it prompts everyone involved to put their hand up, see what THEY might be doing wrong, and commit to doing better to prevent more needless deaths.
Listen to the official audio release here:
