A$AP Rocky has been in the public eye as of late! The artist dropped his Testing album in May 2018 and has been working in the fashion industry for a majority of the year. Although he isn’t generated too much buzz in the music scene currently, some of his older songs are still doing well. One of these songs is “L$D,” the fourth track off of his AT.LONG.LAST.A$AP album. The song has been hailed as one of Rocky’s greatest works, as it tackles the issues that come with love, sex, and drugs.
As the song begins, a slow synth plays with Rocky soon hopping on, singing “I know I dream about her all day, I think about her with her clothes off, I’m ridin’ ’round with my system pumpin’ LSD.” The beginning describes Rocky’s dream girl, and how he feels about her while on LSD. She is the one that he wants to be with, but he doesn’t want to be “sappy” about it, as evidenced by the lines “I look for ways to say, ‘I love you’ But I ain’t into makin’ love songs, baby, I’m just rappin’ to this LSD.” In the first verse, Rocky is lusting for sexual energy, chasing love, sex, and drugs. He sings about only wanting LSD, saying “Them other drugs just don’t fit me right, girl, I really fuckin’ want love, sex, dream,” which represents not only his desire to fulfill his wants but also expresses to the listener that Rocky’s drug of choice (LSD) works to further fuel his desire for love and sex.
Once the chorus plays, the once slow synth explodes into a plethora of sounds with the rapper singing “It started in Hollywood, dreamin’ of sharin’ love, my tongue at a loss for words ’cause my feelings just said it all.” The explosion of sounds coupled with Rocky’s lyrics about actual love signifies a shift in the song. Although it was formerly about the everlasting lust for sex and drugs, “L$D” is now about the bliss he feels once the drug hits. This is evidenced by the collection of sounds that come together to excite and stimulate the lister as well as the contrast in moods during the first verse and chorus, as they both work to parallel the excitement and stimulation and blissful mood that come with an LSD trip. The chorus sends the track on a trip, as it introduces new sounds and gives the listener a more “enlightened” filter on the song.
As the song continues, the ‘trip’ gets more interesting with the beat choosing to strictly go with the drum, bass, and harmony. During this entrancing section of the beat, Rocky raps “I’ve been gettin’ fly because the gimmick’s so dope. I’ve been getting high ’cause I figured Lord told me. I’ve been drinking, driving, now we’ll never go home, I gon’ stay in doubt because the weather’s so cold.” The rapper is describing how he lost himself in drugs since he feels as if he’s been drinking and driving on and on and staying high because of otherworldly beings, further solidifying the idea of the song as being one big trip. After Rocky raps this, he goes on to sing the lines “Feeling low sometimes when the light shines down. Makes me high. Can you feel it? Can you feel it?” as the beat begins to approach its peak. As he sings the lines “Can you feel it? Can you feel it?” the autotune in his voice heightens and the beat peaks. The beat’s peak is perfect in this song, as it not only works to amplify the emotions that one feels while tripping, but it also works to get the impact of tripping across.
After the beat’s peak, it begins to slow down and returns to the bass-filled sound that was present in the first half of the song. As the song is approaching its end, Rocky raps the chorus one last time, emphasizing the emotion that came with this ‘trip.’ Afterward, the song seems as though it’s going to end, but there is a small beat change, accompanied by Rocky rapping the lyrics “I look for ways to say, ‘I love you’ But I ain’t into makin’ love songs, baby, I’m just rappin’ to this LSD.” In the end, “L$D” leaves the listener enlightened, as it introduces them to a unique collection of sounds through the beat and an emotional reading of lyrics by the rapper. It is a song that not only emulates an LSD trip, but also emphasizes Rocky’s desire to have love, sex, and dreams.
The song is a hit amongst fans, and many have it in their top list of A$AP Rocky songs for good reason. It truly is an explosion of sounds with a hint of beauty to it. The song’s music video has received two nominations, one for Best Editing at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards and another for Best Music Video at the 2016 Grammy Awards. It is surely going to go down in history as one of Rocky’s top songs through its ability to express the feelings of an acid trip all with sound and lyrics.