Rockie Fresh • "Too Long" / "Tell Me"
Photo from Rockie Fresh's Instagram
When I first arrived in Chicago in 2013, Rockie Fresh was my favorite Chicago rapper. He had just released The Birthday Tape EP and I couldn't stop listening to “Panera Bread”. I still can't stop listening to that song. On that EP, Fresh raps over James Blake's “Life Round Here” before Chance and it might even be better.
Since that 2013 period, however, Rockie Fresh hasn't given us much. We heard the single and saw the video for “God is Great” in the summer of 2013 and from that point on, it's been loose pieces and scattered singles. An EP with Casey Veggies, a freestyle called "Headquarters" over a Lunice beat, and not too much else.
Most recently, thankfully, Rockie Fresh has been resurfacing, as he preps the release of an upcoming project, The Night I Went To... He dropped the song “I Need” last year, which I still find myself enjoying, but in the last two months, Rockie has let loose three really great tracks. First was “Thank You” with Rick Ross, which might be one of Rozay's best verses. Produced by Sak Pase and LPeezy so you know it's real. While that song's a bit outdated to fully include in this article, Fresh dropped off two tracks with the most recent having been released this past Wednesday. Let's call all 'em split singles.
Rockie Fresh - "Too Long"
Taking a more dreamy approach, the song “Too Long” floats around in outer space, sounding something like writing a diary in lunar mode. Fresh gets deeply personal and explains his situation. “Some people said I missed my window, I said fuck it, climbed up the stairs and hopped out the one above it.” Produced by Chris Batson & Mike Daley
Rockie Fresh - "Tell Me"
This song is a bit more cruise-friendly. Bass heavy and futuristic as hell, this near-R&B track is stuck in a cloudy robot bar. That's the only way I can describe it. It's great to see that after all these years, Fresh is still hopping in his DeLorean and driving 88. I didn't realize that this song was released as a music video a few weeks ago. Fresh dropped both of the above singles on his SoundCloud on Wednesday and it wasn't until further research that I found the HD video, which is such a nice crispy compliment to an already strong song.
As listed in the descriptions of these two most recent drops, Fresh claims "The Night I Went to....coming soon.” According to another website, it'll be out before the year is over. Fingers crossed. I'm ready. If you need more Fresh while you wait, be sure to check out the trailer for the album as well as a mini-doc on his visit to South Africa.