These have been busy weeks for the West Coast. TDE dropped the Black Panther soundtrack, SiR dropped his excellent TDE debut, Nipsey Hustle finally dropped his debut album, and YG returned with his Blood banger “Suu Whoop.”
Lost in the West Coast whirlwind of early 2018 is AD, hailing from the west side of Compton, CA. He’s been in the game since 2013 but broke through with 2015’s regional smash “Juice” and has worked extensively with regional producer Sorry Jaynari. He dropped an excellent album titled Blue ’89: Chapter 2 back on December 13th that was criminally underrated. AD is one of several budding Cali stars looking to recreate the region’s signature G-funk sound, but his take rings darker and more urgent than that of his contemporaries.
“Darth Vader” is AD’s second loosie since the album, but it easily could have cracked the rotation on Chapter 2. Lettuce By The Pound provides the backdrop, crafting a humungous bass line paired with some classic West Coast drums and hats, even dubbing Darth Vader breathing noises over parts of the beat. It’s a nice table-setter for AD, who unloads two forceful (haha) verses and a decent hook. The lyrical content isn’t staggering, but the rhyming is efficient, clinical, and delivered with enough of a snarl to make you aware AD is not one to be trifled.
The whole package is what makes this song great; a Compton born-and-bred rapper flowing seamlessly over a trunk-rattling West Coast beat using Darth Vader as an example of trying to balance the evil and the good in his life. AD is sure to remind listeners of his past and troubled surroundings, but enough brevity breaks through (a Salt Bae reference, the entire outro) to reveal a certain level of self-awareness. It’s quality music, and AD’s name should not be omitted when discussing the resurgence of the West Coast.