AJ Tracey dropped his debut album in February but was it worth the hype? The Ladbroke Grove rapper saw huge success with his last project Secure The Bag! which peaked at 13 in the UK Albums Chart. His recent singles Butterflies and LO(V/S)ER, charting at 18 and 38 respectively at the end of 2018. On the back of this success he announced his first album titled, AJ Tracey, would drop in February, to the excitement of not just his fans but the entire UK Hip Hop scene. So how did the final product live up to the billing?
If I was a teacher, I would grade it a C and the notes would read, good start but could do better. The difficulty for the 24-year-old, like many upcoming artists in today’s climate is trying to tap into the pop market whilst remaining true to yourself. This album has traces of classic AJ T, but ultimately drowns in a generic American hip-hop sound.
Necklace, featuring American Rapper Jay Critch, is a clear attempt to try and break the already overcrowded U.S hip-hop scene. The song sounds so unlike AJ that it took several listens to try and figure out what part of the song was him. Lyrically it was more mumble rap than trap with the chorus I put a whip on my neck, I put a whip on my necklace, sounding like a Lil Pump bar.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BuJ-itTgvvP/
However, in comparison the other new feature in the album, Nothing But Net featuring Giggs, manages to blend the American sound with the British. AJ’s lyrics delve into a slice of American culture, but the flow is traditional and of course Giggs always brings classic British vibes. It is a very fine line to try and cross between UK and US hip-hop and this song is a step in the right direction.
The best track from this strange mix has got to be Pysch Out! The verses are Tracey at his best, but the chorus mixes in a new auto-tuned R&B sound implemented throughout the album. The music video which was filmed in Atlanta, visually lines up the audio as he is combining the two cultures on the song.
In terms of the rest of the album, there are some classic AJ T tracks on here such as Doing It, which was released as a single beforehand and my personal favourite, Rina. Produced by Nyge, who has already produced many of AJ’s classics like Pasta and Alakazam to his most recent hit Butterflies, featuring Not3s, the producer has set the Londoner up with another fantastic beat.
It is decent effort for a debut album and AJ Tracey is only 24 so there is plenty of time for him to work on finding his place as an artist. This album seemed to be an attempt to play around in a few different genres which is fair enough as he openly admits he does not want to be pigeonholed. It worked in some cases, but in others it made him sound unoriginal.
Header image: Ashley Verse
