AZ Chike’s No Rest for the Wicked is proof of the maxim that it takes 10 years to become an overnight sensation. The Los Angeles rapper stepped into the national spotlight in 2024 at Kendrick Lamar’s Juneteenth Pop Out, then turned up on Kendrick’s “Peekaboo,” on GNX, later that year. But anyone who did their research would have quickly figured out that Chike, who by 2024 had eight projects under his belt, had been rapping since 2013.
His new album No Rest For the Wicked affirms why he was already “next before GNX,” as he raps on opener “Mercy.” Over 14 tracks, AZ Chike takes on the risky task of making a “something for everybody” rap album. Tracks like “God’s Favorite” and “Hateful + Grateful” steep the project in contemporary L.A. gangster-rap swing, while “Lamb Truck Keys” and “Negative” polish that raw aesthetic with a mainstream sheen. Elsewhere, he explores a pair of Tyler, the Creator’s synthy soundscapes, tackles sensual minimalism on “Need Your Love,” and heads to the trap on “Packed Up.”
No score yet, be the first to add.
AZ Chike recently told Bootleg Kev that Kendrick gave him A&R-like advice on sequencing the album, and it shows: The opening stretch does a particularly good job of showcasing the rapper’s versatility. He bursts out the gate on “Mercy,” gets flashy on “Lamb Truck Keys,” reflects on L.A. on “Skyrockets,” talks cash shit on “God’s Favorite,” woos a girl on “Need Your Love,” then swings for the fences with Tyler, the Creator on “Look Like My Mama” before the album’s first interlude. His progression across that opening salvo looks a little like the Vince McMahon meme tracking the wrestling promoter’s ascending degrees of euphoria.
Southern California is full of snarling, artfully offbeat rappers in the lineage of the late Drakeo the Ruler, 03 Greedo, and Shoreline Mafia. AZ Chike is a card-carrying New West member, who uses his L.A. accent and lively delivery to splosh a variety of vocal tones over No Rest For the Wicked’s beats. He’s in his groove, channeling dog-on-a-leash fury on the album’s most impassioned moments, but knows how to rein it in and let melody lead him on the Tyler tracks and “Negative.” And he’s outright hushed on “Need Your Love,” where he and JMSN have the obligatory “for the ladies” moment without sounding banal or like creeps. On the subdued “Wonder,” he gradually turns up the temperature with each verse, raising his energy a couplet at a time.
AZ Chike sets himself apart from his peers with that balanced approach. There’s a lot of pain rap out there, but not many artists can do what he does on “Rock Bottom,” digging deep on a smooth, uptempo Hit-Boy beat that belies the glum vibes. His knack for catchy hooks boosts his star potential, and he shows off that talent throughout the album, including on “Negative,” “God’s Favorite,” and “Packed Up,” where he laments, “Niggas getting away with disrespect, calling it content.” It’s one of the few moments of commentary on a pretty insular affair.
