A$AP Rocky’s “Shittin’ Me”: A Punchy Preview Of What’s To Come

Recently teased to be released in 2023, A$AP Rocky’s next full-length record has been highly anticipated in the hip-hop sphere. Following a trio of projects that solidified him as one of the game’s most geographically ambiguous emcees by embodying a modern fusion of The Diplomats and Three 6 Mafia, Rocky took a trip out of left field with his most recent release, Testing. An aptly named album, Testing pushed the boundaries of Rocky’s previous work, interweaving a multitude of soundscapes at the intersection of hip-hop and indie. The project, consequently, was acknowledged as his most polarizing work, as some fans were amazed by how seemingly limitless his palette has become, while other fans merely wished he would stick to his former sensibilities. I am situated in the former camp; in fact, I was not a fan of Rocky’s work until I immersed myself into Testing.

Once an artist plunges into unfamiliar territory, the nagging question in the minds of their listeners is always “What’s next?” With two singles now floating in the ether — D.M.B. being the first, and now Shittin’ Me — we have a (tentative) answer to this question.

Shittin’ Me sounds as though it could have fit right into the sequencing of Testing. While one may expect that I would therefore love this track given my love of Testing, the transitive property does not bat 1.000 at the plate. Before I address that, many elements of Shittin’ Me are noteworthy and head-bop-inducing. For one, the beat knocks with eerie organ-like synths that sit behind a punchy kick and trap high hats. The sharpness of the percussion strays from the dustier mixes found on Testing, yet the use of synth on the track would mesh with tracks off of Testing. On top of that, the number of flow switches illustrated on the mic by Rocky confirms what he articulates in the track’s chorus: “How could you shit on me? You ain’t got shit on me.” There is an undeniable energy Rocky exudes throughout this track, and it excites me to an extent.

I suppose my hesitance with loving this track is unfair, as my reasoning for not fully buying into its sound is less rooted in the track itself and more rooted in the aforementioned curiosity: “What’s next?” Will this upcoming record be Testing with cleaner mixed drums? If so, I am unsure about that choice of direction — Testing revealed to me that Rocky is a rapper and a curator, a rapper and an explorer, a rapper and an artist. If Shittin’ Me indicates the path of A$AP Rocky’s craft in 2023, I would be content with the product. For content to shift to groundbreaking, however, Shittin’ Me would have to be the exception, not the rule, of the upcoming project’s tracklist.