Shmoke by Powers Pleasant feat. A$AP Ferg and Armani Caesar | Song Review
A surprising New York link-up.
This track comes from a trio of New York artists I didn’t expect to collab. Produced by Powers Pleasant with verses from A$AP Ferg and Armani Caesar, this track finds someone from Beast Coast, A$AP Mob and Griselda coming together. Considering Powers’ previous output, one can expect this to be a high energy banger and it is — and that’s pretty much it.
Powers Pleasant is known for his high energy production which often included distorted or deep bass, trap drums and woozy melodies. But like any talented producer, he could switch it up at times too. This is what he does on “Shmoke” which opens with a gospel sample that he loops for a moment. Triumphant horns come blasting in which lead into a jersey club sound. The instantly recognizable sample that was used in “1,2 Step” by Ciara makes an appearance too.
Armani Caesar is known for her elegant lyrical tracks which can be aggressive at times too. On here, she keeps the energy intact with her delivery but her lyrics don’t fully match the point of the song. A$AP Ferg is on hook duty and trades about one and a half bars with Armani. He doesn’t have his own verse but sticks around for a completely unnecessary outro that makes me think of RZA’s presence on “So Appalled.”
This track didn’t do much for me. I was excited to see these three come together but in the end the song just fell flat. I think it could have been better if Ferg had a verse or if Armani had a different one. The production was the most interesting aspect of the track. For what it’s worth, this track is likely a single for an upcoming project that will find him bringing more unexpected and expected people together for songs on his production. And, as we’ve often seen with projects like that, some tracks are simply just better than others.
