We’ve all been having a weird year, but not as odd as A$AP Rocky’s. “Babushka Boi” was set to be released early this summer, but got pushed back due to A$AP Rocky’s arrest in Sweden for assault. Luckily Rocky faces no jail time at all, and we have Lord Flacko again. And it seems the music video for “Babushka Boi” very bluntly states how Rocky feels about the law right now.
Cops in the video are literal pigs, to be exact anthropomorphic cannibalistic pigs. The video is directed by Nadia Lee Cohen, who was also at the helm of “Gilligan” by rapper Dram ft. A$AP Rocky and Juicy J, as well as the music video “After The Storm” by Kali Uchis ft. Tyler, The Creator, and Bootsy Collins.
We see Cohen’s use of her general ideas and themes of the American dream turned into a pastel-colored nightmare, but more in the style of Dick Tracy comics. The sets of the bank, butcher shop, and town feel cold and empty. The lighting in the video is mainly primary colors blasted onto the scenery. Rocky, A$AP Ferg, ScHoolboy Q, A$AP Nast, and Kamil Abbas are all dressed as Depression-era gangsters, with ridiculous prosthetics that play into the cartoonish feel. I do feel bad for Schoolboy Q who seems to have the least screen time, but has the biggest and roundest prosthesis in the video. Rocky is wearing his signature yellow Babushka, that he originally wore to cover up a scar on his face. The chorus also references this event and the movie “Scarface.”
I would like to dedicate
To the scar on my face
All the stars of the globe
The world is yours, Scarface.
More on the song, the beat perfectly mixes the pure sounds of the retro and the now. A mix of the sounds from a Roland TR-808 and a haunting screeching noise that plays throughout the song sets the tone. Almost something you would hear out of an industrial album. Both the video and the song take playful images and bring them into a cold world. A$AP Rocky is back for good, and we’re all excited to see what he does next.
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