More about: AJ tracey

Upon the release of his debut album in 2019, AJ Tracey cemented himself as one of the most exciting names in UK rap. This momentum carried on throughout 2020 as he continued to put out great music with big names like Mabel and Dua Lipa. Now, in the run up to his second album, we see AJ don a basketball jersey and take to a press conference, lights flashing and questions bombarding him, he announces he is, “ready to get going [and] do what I’ve always done.” Unfortunately, while not a bad album, Flu Game somewhat bounces off the rim. 

Firstly, the concept just doesn’t make sense. AJ Tracey assumes the role of a fictional basketball player (also called AJ Tracey), who has signed for a new team weeks before a play-off game - purported to take place on the day of album release. Fine. But on the album, this character and concept are hardly discussed, AJ going as far to openly admit on the track ‘Dinner Guest’ that he doesn’t play for the NBA, in turn breaking a fourth wall that wasn’t supporting anything to begin with. 

The imagery of the album is clearly inspired by Michael Jordan with the title deriving from a championship match at which the Bulls 23 was suffering from food poisoning, and the jersey AJ wears on the album cover a close match to the Chicago Bulls vest. With such a heavy reliance on Jordan imagery, the concept makes even less sense: AJ Tracey is playing a fictional version of AJ Tracey whose style is based on a real person. It’s the equivalent of Bowie making Ziggy Stardust but calling it “The Inevitable Rise and Fall of David Bowie,” and then dressing as Neil Armstrong on the cover. Clearly, I’m not a huge fan of this album's concept, so let’s forget that and move on to the LP’s saving grace, which is the music that’s on it. 

It’s good. Really good. From the off, thanks to tracks like ‘Anxious’ and ‘Kukoc’ you get a feel for what this album is as AJ comes straight in with tight bars, smooth flow and catchy hooks. The production in the LP’s first half has a serene feel to it, with subby bass and plucky guitar providing a nice backdrop for AJ’s great lyricism. 

I’ll admit, it does start to get a little stale around track four as what makes up the above is essentially repeated over and over. That is until you get to ‘Little More Love’, which completely switches up the style of this LP and gives it new life for the second half. 

Here is where the basketball imagery might come into play. Around the mid-point of this album, AJ moves from the serene feel of the first few tracks and opts instead for higher pitched guitars, more harmony in his hooks and a general lighter feel. It gives the whole thing an Old School East Coast tone which when paired with AJ’s lyricism sounds great. 

‘Top Dog’ brings in production that’s a blend of The Neptunes and LL Cool J, ‘Coupe’ has a strong 'You Got Me' and '21 Questions' feel to it and the awesome penultimate track ‘Dinner Guest’ is so funky it’s screaming to be festival certified this summer. 

Whilst there are some fantastic songs on this album, it also falls flat a lot of the time. With ‘Bringing it Back’ ‘Cheerleaders’ ‘Draft Pick’ ‘Eurostep’ and ‘Cherry Blossom’...once you’ve heard one of these tracks you’ve heard them all. Not to mention the pissing contest that is ‘Summertime Shootout’ that falls victim to its own feature as it overcompensates for T-Pain’s presence with mass over-production, layering vocals on vocals on vocals to the point it becomes exhausting to listen to. 

Having said all that, as far as rap albums are concerned, you could do a lot worse than Flu Game. Its issues in concept and some of its tracks are outweighed by catchy choruses, smooth flow and mostly solid production. All in all, it’s good, but not quite Michael Jordan quality, more around the Kevin Knox mark if anything. 

Flu Game arrives 16 April.

More about: AJ tracey