Cozy Tapes Vol. 2: Too Cozy is about what you would expect from an A$AP Mob project, provided you have any knowledge of A$AP Mob. If you don’t, here’s a quick explanation for you. A$AP Mob is a rap collective spearheaded by the duo of A$AP Rocky and A$AP Ferg (the only two members you have maybe heard of). The members of the group all have solo careers of their own, some more successful than others, and periodically the “Mob” get together to put together a collaborative album. As you can probably gather, the talent in the group varies widely. To be honest, there’s a reason why only Rocky and Ferg have successful solo careers- the other members of the group (A$AP Twelvy, A$AP Nast, and A$AP Ant) simply aren’t that good. That unevenness leads to a very inconsistent album, because if neither Rocky nor Ferg are on a track, there isn’t much reason to listen, other than the instrumental. The group also doesn’t tend to put out cohesive albums; their projects are usually more of a large collection of singles. Because of this, it’s better to view their songs as individual tracks, rather than as pieces of a cohesive whole. Bearing this in mind, let’s take a look at some of the highlights and lowlights of the album.

Highlights

RAF

The lead single for Cozy Tapes 2 is undoubtedly one of its strongest moments. If you’re anything like me, the hook on this song (“Please don’t touch my Raf”) will have you telling people to stay away from your nonexistent luxury clothing for the next few days. A high energy feature from Lil Uzi also helps to keep the energy of the song up, and dovetails nicely with Rocky’s laid back flow.

Feels So Good

The other lead single for the album, Feels So Good, sounds exactly like it’s title would suggest. The airy, almost whimsical instrumental, is grounded by trap influenced hi-hats, but the bounce of the song is contagious. This is a song to put on to help you get through the 10 minute walk to your 8 AM class. A$AP Ferg’s signature staccato flow also lends the song a sense of drive that makes this song extremely catchy.

Get the Bag

Probably the most ominous sounding track on the project, Get the Bag features a slow and almost plodding beat, that is given some bite by some nasty sounding hi-hats. I haven’t been able to figure out who is yelling “It’s a new game” in the background of the song, but it gives the song an almost comedic sense of sinisterness. A$AP Ferg’s third verse is almost certainly the highlight of the track, as there’s nothing like him belting out “Oh Lord, it’s the Hoood Pope.”

Lowlights

Please Shut Up

I cannot for the life of me figure out how this song got onto this album. This song is essentially a lesson in how to avoid severely underwriting a song. The chorus literally only consists of the phrase “please shut up” repeated eight !!! times.  To add to that, there really isn’t a single verse worth listening to on this song, as even A$AP Rocky and a feature from Gucci Mane couldn’t salvage this one.

What Happens

This song is really only let down by a poor beat, but let down it is. The way-too-punchy and fast bassline just doesn’t fit in with any of the rappers rapping over it, and it just lends the song a weird and cluttered feeling. It is evident that Rocky and the other artists are trying to switch their flow to match with the beat but it just doesn’t come off.

Conclusion

As I said at the beginning of this review, Cozy Tapes 2 is about what you’d expect from an A$AP Mob project- inconsistent, incohesive, but with some very high highlights. A$AP Rocky and A$AP Ferg provide the only really quality rapping on the album (aside from a lil Yachty and Lil Uzi feature), meaning that many of the album’s verses are more or less just filler. Still though, the stronger points of the album are enough to make it worth a listen.

Score: 6/10