Cozy Tapes, Vol. 1: Friends, the highly-anticipated A$AP Mob collaborative album, was finally released to the world more than a year and a half after A$AP Yams, the founder of the Harlem hip-hop collective, passed away.
The project, originally dreamt up by Yams, features every member of the Mob. While Yams was not present for the production of this project, his influence is obvious. Featuring the unique beats that have become typical for Mob member releases, Cozy Tapes showcases the versatility of the collective and the new direction that Yams pushed for.
Always aesthetically indulgent, A$AP Mob opens the album with a skit that highlights the new wave: being cozy.
“Yamborghini High,” the album’s first song, is one of the best tracks the Mob has released to date. It focuses on the fashion-, money-, drug- and sex-fueled lifestyle of which they have become advocates. Featuring every rapper in A$AP Mob, the song unites each artist’s verse with a chorus from A$AP Rocky over a hypnotic, hazy, atmospheric instrument. “Yamborghini High” encompasses everything the group has promoted up to this point.
Immediately following the first track is “Crazy Brazy.” The song features one of the most unique flows in A$AP Rocky’s catalogue.
Throughout the project, the Mob’s members showcase their various different flows and personal styles—but the love for each member wasn’t equally shared.
A$AP Rocky is undeniably the biggest star of the group, and his presence is felt throughout the project which serves as the glue for the project. A$AP Ferg and A$AP Nast, the group’s next two biggest stars were featured very little on the project. However, the group used the hype behind Cozy Tapes to shine a new light on A$AP Ant.
Overall, the project succeeds in conveying Yams’ vision of a trendsetting hip-hop collective. The project blends groovy flows with braggadocios lyrics, giving the album the perfect mix of styles. In addition, features from the collective’s closest friends give several tracks an extra punch.
While the flow of the album works in most parts, there are a few skits that run too long. Skits are often used to give listeners a quick break or contribute to an overarching story, but in the case of Cozy Tapes, Vol. 1: Friends, the skits run too long and serve no purpose. Instead of giving the listener room to breathe, they drag on, making listeners beg for it to stop and get back to the music.
Despite this one major flaw, Cozy Tapes entertains during each and every song. The songs are strong while the skits are entirely skippable.
The final two tracks, “Bachelor” and “Telephone” help end Cozy Tapes on an extremely strong note.
Featuring verses from Lil Yachty, MadeinTYO and Migos’ Offset, “Bachelor” is a club banger that juxtaposes a beat that moves with the speed of syrup and high-speed flows from the rappers about their lavish bachelor lifestyles.
“Telephone” ends the album with a strong verses from Rocky, Tyler, the Creator and the newest member A$AP Mob Playboi Carti. The three trade verses at each other that encourage not only themselves, but everyone in the Mob to step their game up.
A$AP Yams’ contribution to the hip-hop scene and Harlem set high standards for what would come. Cozy Tapes, Vol. 1: Friends, while not a perfect album, fulfilled Yams’ vision of the A$AP Mob evolving as a collective while simultaneously giving fans a thoroughly entertaining project.
