A$AP Rocky - Punk Rocky
Wake up — the Don’t Be Dumb era officially exists, and it begins with the single “Punk Rocky”.
Almost eight years later, after a million promises, A$AP Rocky finally presents his fourth studio album and opens it with a rather atypical and, honestly, quite unexpected track. Despite the title, there’s nothing punk about “Punk Rocky”. It’s much closer to a driving, hazy dream-rap-indy track. This is a song that, essentially, doesn’t even have a hook — but at this point, who’s going to be stopped by that?
Everything surrounding this era has already reached a kind of cult-like mystification. There’s this almost unreal feeling that it actually exists at all. So the mere fact that right now there is a song from an album that’s coming very soon already feels like an event in itself.
On “Punk Rocky”, A$AP Rocky is trying to unpack love, romantic relationships, and his own emotions toward another person. Love feels complicated, unclear, and kind of strange to him. He needs to write a love song — and somehow, it’s just not coming together. The track isn’t bright or explosive, but it’s definitely vibey. Rocky both sings and raps here, and overall it can be compared to “Sundress”, which he released back in 2018.
It’s one of those moody three-and-a-half-minute cuts that sounds pleasant while it’s on, but doesn’t necessarily stick with you — neither lyrically nor in terms of Rocky’s delivery. Still, it sets a nice, intriguing tone for the upcoming album. This feels like the very first note pinned to a moodboard that will clearly be filled with many more interesting colors later on.
7.5/10