ASTN: “4Luv” – using the genre’s essential natural resources

The recording artist, ASTN is a college student out of California. He grew up in a small town and feels that he is just doing the things that people dream to do, and at the same time, is trying to make those dreams come true. Passionate about his music, ASTN recently dropped the single “4Luv”. At a glance, the track has all the trappings of a flame destined to burn quickly and brightly, with its particular charm that endears via anthemic, in-the-moment repetition – this is the stuff that Migos and Rae Sremmurd live and die by.

It would be easy to draw a connection between these artists, if not for the fact ASTN comes across as more unassuming and humble in his approach. Not that that is a positive or negative judgmental element on anybody, but rather a pleasant personal reflection on ASTN’s perceived demeanor.

In other words, if you want to imagine what a modern-day Migos would sound like detached from the viral and fame trappings, ASTN could be a prime example. The song, “4Luv”, embodies everything that can make rap music stylish and addictive, even when it offers no real groundbreaking surprises.

ASTN has laid the framework to make the song an equivalent of a major-label single, while developing the patents to a host of market-tested tricks by his peers and smartly making them his own.

As such “4Luv” borders on being familiar to the point of inadvertent nostalgia, but also arresting and strangely, extremely comfortable. Listening to an ASTN song is a satisfying and invariable sensation, like drinking a glass full of iced-water in 90-degree heat.

If you gauge artistic appeal not only by innovation, but by how it blends with the familiar comfort you also desire in your music, then ASTN should easily slide into your playlist. The Californian artist ushers in his contemporary rap using the genre’s most basic, essential natural resources, then adds his snug wordplay and smooth flow to the equation.

ASTN hasn’t fundamentally invented anything new here, but his delicious lyrical interplay and sumptuous production, works just fine as it is. So there is no evolutionary step needed right now. From its title to its relaxed cover art, and patient, airy sense of musical space, “4Luv” feels like an otherworldly event, and an underdog claim to a place in the Californian underground rap pantheon, sooner or later.

OFFICIAL LINKS: SOUNDCLOUD – INSTAGRAM