A$AP Rocky Unveils New Track ‘HIGHJACK’ Featuring Jessica Pratt And Jon Batiste
The creator of ‘Testing ‘has made a notable return with his latest single, ‘HIGHJACK’, marking his first release since the collaboration with Pharrell Williams on ‘RIOT (ROWDY PIPE’N)’. This new track has been made available on streaming platforms and brings a fresh sound to his discography. ‘HIGHJACK’ features the distinct vocals of Jessica Pratt and Jon Batiste, set against a backdrop of Rocky’s signature drums and a complex organ sample. The production, a team effort involving Rocky, Hitkidd, Zach Fogarty, Greg Kurstin, Jordan Patrick, and Rex Kudo, contributes to the song’s unique sound.
In a recent interview, Rocky shared that ‘HIGHJACK’ represents a shift in his musical direction, describing the track’s ‘sonics’ as a blend of “German expressionism and the whole ghetto futurism grim thing.” He emphasized this as part of his effort to introduce “a whole new aesthetic on everything” in his music.
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Discussing the collaboration with Pratt and Batiste, Rocky expressed his admiration for their distinctive styles, noting that Pratt’s contribution offered a vibe reminiscent of “Portishead meets Stevie Nicks.” He explained his choice of collaborators by saying, “I always f—ed with her as an artist, and so I figured it was necessary to get her, Jon Batiste on this one and kind of make it feel soulful to bring it on home in the outro.”
The song itself is a powerful declaration of Rocky’s position in the hip-hop hierarchy. With lines like “Tired of them n—-s sleepin’ on me, I don’t like naps,” he asserts his dominance and addresses his critics. He also refers to his early work with the line, “Before we dropped ‘Peso’ on you n—-s, you ain’t like RAF,” which alludes to his debut single and his influential mixtape Live. Love. ASAP.
In addition to his reflections on his career, Rocky makes a personal mention of his longtime girlfriend and the mother of his children, Rihanna. He raps about her with, ‘These n—-s want my wife bad / the people want my next track.” During the interview, Rocky also touched on fatherhood, describing how it has dramatically changed his perspective, saying, “It’s just like, time speeds up when you become a dad, man. It’s crazy. It’s insane. Surreal’.
Looking ahead, Rocky teased his upcoming track ‘Hood Happy’, which will feature a notable lineup including ‘Fatman Scoop’, ‘Flavour Flav’, ‘Slick Rick’, ‘Morrissey’, and ‘Busta Rhymes’. He described this forthcoming collaboration as a mix of “my parents’ favourite rappers” and “my favourite rappers,” hinting at an exciting new direction for his music.
-Sushmita Sarkar
