Rockie Fresh, we like this Rockie Fresh. Sweet, ha ha ha! The Chi-town native Rockie Fresh, born Donald Pullen, has been doing a great deal of things right over the past three years. The young rapper, who now rightfully deserves the underground king prefix, runs with a calm flow, often evened out by heavy instrumentals, clever songwriting and a partiality to blur lines between different genres by collaborating with rock outfits in a Weezy crossover sense of manner. This association with the heavier branches of music doesn’t change anything about his peace of mind and he is understandably so often compared to former underground confreres Drake and Wiz Khalifa. Their relatively untroubled attitude and mellow way of delivering lines is only one of two things the triplet have in common, and the second comparability is that they were heavily slept on outside the circles of rap devotees before they spiralled themselves into worldwide fame after signing deals and joining forces with the sovereigns of hip-hop.
Up until now, Rockie Fresh released four mixtapes that are praiseworthy but he somehow avoided that sudden momentum of hype a lot of young rappers choose to chase and run with. Although Rockie deserved that attention, he waited for the right time to step up from the shadows. This slow passage allowed him to build a fanbase while maintaining and improving his trademark sound, and in a time where rap subgenres and hip-hop collectives are quickly multiplying he held the fort on his own. He didn’t entirely move in solitary as he worked together with the likes of Casey Veggies, Tayyib Ali and Action Bronson and showed love for the based world by getting Lil B on a remix for his single “So Gone” but he stayed fairly individualistic throughout, seeming hesitant to co-sign a second party. His careful movements finally paid off earlier this year, in the form of a diamond encrusted Maybach Music Group chain: since February many a major courted the twenty-one year old, the most noticeable ones being Universal, Diddy and Rick Ross. Earlier this month, Rockie announced that the deal with Rozay’s Maybach Music was officially inked and he sounds confident about his future with the label. “I really want to make history here the same way Drake did with Young Money; the same way B.o.B. did with Grand Hustle; Kanye with Roc-A-Fella and so forth” are Rockie’s determined words about his new home and we are just as hopeful.
Stream: Rockie Fresh – Driving 88 (feat. Casey Veggies)
Though MMG already reps a first-rate roll call of artists, Rockie Fresh is the rising star that Maybach Music Group was still missing. As soon as he teams up with his fellow Maybach companions it’s ensured planetary music chart hits will happen: Omarion is there for the hooks, Rick Ross and Meek Mill are on board to give the track a little push into the world of catchiness, Wale can jump in for the all-round back-up where Stallion and Rockie Fresh will deliver the deeper, lyrical content. We already got a little preview of hopefully soon-to-be oft-recurring joint forces when Rick Ross jumped on Rockie Fresh’s “You’s A Lie” last week. The original appeared on Rockie Fresh’s last mixtape “Driving 88“, a record that is all over the place yet so consistent that he could have released it as his debut album and gotten away with it just fine. One might refer to the tape as aged with the release date being in January, considering the watercourses of new rap everyday, and though Rockie Fresh may as well go about on a higher level nowadays “Driving 88” definitely deserves a listen or twenty. It’s his brightest work yet and follows a theme rather than throwing a bunch of songs on the same record. Recorded between different cities, American tours and studio sessions, the life on the road is the red line that will keep the attention of the listener throughout the tape. The best track off “Driving 88” is undoubtedly the collaboration with fellow Chicago assailant King L(ouie), “How We Do“, which is almost a celebratory ode to the steady establishment of their town in the rap game. A close runner-up is “Twenties” (stream below), also Rozay’s number one pick: it might have just been the one that set this whole deal in motion. Featuring other artists from Rebecca Jordan to Casey Veggies and sampling SBTRKT (“Never Never“) and Skrillex (“Turn It Up“) on the same record, “Driving 88” is an unexpected but intriguing listen. We can’t wait to closely follow Rockie’s venture to the top and until his debut appears we’ll be driving this 88 for a little bit longer.
Stream: Rockie Fresh – Twenties
