Ranking The Verses In A$AP Rocky's 1Train
A$AP Rocky isn't a name thrown around often when you talk about new and evolving ideas in a musical landscape, he sticks to what he's good at and does it very well. But surprisingly smack in the middle of his second studio album is a song that shook up the game in regards to the posse cut. Leaps and bounds above Drake, Lil Wayne, Kanye West and Eminem's "Forever" Rocky assembled a Wu-Tang esque track where modern MC's put on their best show over the same beat for almost 7 minutes. But not all verses are equal and in the grand scheme of things 1train is a relic of where artists were 4 years ago compared to where they are now so let's take a look at the suprising manner these verses pan out in.
7. Action Bronson - 6th Verse
Towards the tail end of the song we have the brief and unimpressive verse given out by Bronson. Never has he sounded more out of place than surrounded by more interesting and talented MCs with more important ideas to talk about. The flows barley stay on beat and say nothing significant, the lack of creativity or tenure granted on the song is no suprise when you look at the artists discographies over the years and Action Bronson emerges as a very clear inferior.
6. Danny Brown - 6th Verse
It's hard to think of Danny Brown as one of the weaker rappers after his 2016 genre conquering Atrocity Exibition album. But this blast from the past sorely reminds us of a time where Danny dropped his studio debut album Old. The critical let down is chronicled in Danny's 1train verse where he trades his unique vocals and interesting flow out for a much more commercial sound. Other than dropping arguably the best line of the song "Bitch pussy smell like The Penguin, wouldn't hit that shit with my worst enemies penis", his verse is ultimately forgettable and most of what he says falls unfortunately flat.
5. Big K.R.I.T - 7th Verse
This is where it starts to get good, Krit closes the song off with a very solid verse that makes his presence known despite being at the very end. Krit was much less removed from his commercial and critical success than he is in 2017 and it shows as he gives the second longest verse behind only Rocky himself. Krit does a good job but fails to do anything that special, he brings the song to a solid end but the legnth of his verse and the lack of any change in flow makes it tough to point out any standout moments he brings to the table.
4. Kendrick Lamar - 2nd Verse
If you've heard Good Kid M.A.A.D City or especially if you've heard To Pimp A Butterfly Kendrick seems like a shoe in for best MC in this list, but surprisingly his verse doesn't reflect that. He surprisingly shows up with rap cliches he's been able to avoid his whole career, embarrassing slant rhymes and adlibs to bridge rhymes his very solid flow is as present as ever but he doesn't bring the conceptual lyrics he's known for and shows that a distant trap beat isn't the prime noise for him to rap over.
3. Joey Bada$$ - 3rd Verse
Far from the well established name in hip hop Joey is today for many fans this could have been their first introduction to his New York jazz rap throwback style. The lyrics are poignant and delivered with Joey's perfect flow. He takes no prisoners and starts a trend that has followed him for his entite career, going a lot harder than the beat, for better or for worse. But for a verse that starts off with the phrase "Barely Even Conscious" Joey shows up big time with smart lyrics and exquisite timing.
2. A$AP Rocky - 1st Verse
Just because Rocky has guests over doesn't mean he's being polite. Rocky opens up the song with one of the most solid verses of his whole career. He skips the trap cliches and braggy lyrics and trades them out for great fundamentals and no shortage of topics to craft interesting bars around. He certainly doesn't want to get shown up on his own track and makes a great effort not to, but the best example of fast paced and clever lyricism in 1train comes from a very unexpected place.
1. Yelawolf - 5th Verse
If you know a lot about rap music but have somehow never heard this song before this will come as a big suprise to you. Yelawolf who has barley ever shown any flashes of true talent and is on his way to fading off into obscurity in 2017 took advantage of his 15 minutes of fame on 1train. For a song that keeps an omnipresent beat throughout and had multiple verses that don't manage to bring much of anything new to the table Yelawolf came prepared. Not only does he deliver bar after bar without stumbling over half assed lines like usual, he manages to change up his flow multiple times and maintain his efficiency and skill throughout. Wolf doesn't have the lasting talent to be a persistent force in the rap game, but in this isolated bubble that is 1train he makes the best of the opportunity and brings on a multitude of fire bars and dynamite wordplay.
