Spaceghostpurrp - God Of Black mixtape, Vol. 1

Spaceghostpurrp , who you may have heard recently rhyming on LiveLoveA$AP , has just dropped the first volume of his own latest mixtape series, God of Black .

With an overriding swoosh of ambient and nauseous noise, punctuated by skittering beats and aggressive lyricism cushioned by a mellow flow, this mixtape is unmistakably one of the A$AP breed. With this being the first full project from the rapper since his May 2011 mixtape Blackland Radio 66.6 , Spaceghostpurrp goes out of his way to root himself in the present, although he frustratingly clings on to hip hop stereotypes (for example, on the track ‘Suck a Dick 2012 Afterparty’), making this an occasionally difficult listen.

As it says in the description of this mixtape over at DatPiff.com , Spaceghostpurrp is “not trying to be the best rapper alive or [a] lyrical fancy rapper with punch lines…this whole EP is about being dark and laid back.” Although it seems pretty paradoxical for rap music to be preoccupied with not being the best at something – especially on a mixtape whose opening track insists repeatedly “it’s all about power “ – this mixtape does seem to sit comfortably in the background haze of Southern rap.

Echoing and allusive at every turn, Spaceghostpurrp seems happy to embed himself in a movement rather than to craft himself as a star, and this mixtape, if nothing else, definitely affirms his place as a limb of the body of hip hop in 2012. Encapsulating the sound, but doing nothing to push it forward, this is love-or-hate music because it satisfies and frustrates at the same time. Spaceghostpurrp knows what the sound of today is, but he’s missing that innovative edge, that element of surprise, which is what makes the break-out stars of today so incredible.

Get the mixtape for free here .