Ape $terling - Long $tory $hort (Album)

It’s been about two years since Ape $terling’s 2020 album “K.I.P” (Money Don’t Grow On Trees)” released where his introduction was welcomed with much promise to see the Home Grown lyricist sprouted to extending heights among the music scene, which he’s done in incredible fashion. Since stepping foot in the city scene of talent, he’s gone through a lot; his journey, as told by himself, feels like it’s a narrative that can be said in a lengthy manner but instead, he decides to make a “Long $tory $hort” where he’s welcoming all listeners, existing and new, to gather around and hear his tale. Instead of seeing him looking towards his back on the cover, we see him in a mask covering the top half of his face that is a striking resemblance to Rorschach from Watchmen, with his gold fronts peeking through the bottom half. Ape $terling fuels his eccentric style throughout this 15-track project that doesn’t sound anything like its predecessor but the next chapter into his future endeavors.

Opening his album with the titular intro, “Grimey,” which is just that, grimey, Ape lets the horns walk him out before he starts name-dropping artists like Ye, Jay-Z, Rihanna, Youngboy, etc., then addressing his competition that remains too far back from his reach. He got it out the mud to hold the torch lit and walk forward for himself and his people. He went from being counted out to counting wins; ain’t too many willing to pull in the efforts he did to make it, yet people will try to follow his blueprint but quit when the going gets tough. Ape $terling stayed on the back burner, cooling off, looking for the right time to get heating up again. His follow-up record, “Peer Pressure,” is one of the first glimpses of hearing his storytelling talent come to fruition. He embarks into the record with such a menacing tone, yet it’s perfect to understand the character’s fears walking into a moment that caught him off-guard. I don’t want to fill in too many of the areas of this record since I want listeners to get their own takeaways. Still, I will say Ape $terling does an incredible job of vividly expressing his artistry just right that it resembles a lot of great lyricists before him. Living life “Lavish” ain’t no time to waste; Ape goes in on his next record expressing his come up, from first being down to getting back up in style. Never forget your struggles since it’s the inspiration on how you got what you did; Ape $terling understands this to a T since he’s not one to downplay the success he’s on, he knows what he had to through to see better days, and while most forget it you see on why they lose it fast. The project doesn’t have any dull moments especially when Ape $terling is telling you what he’s been on and what he’s been through since his time away from dropping on a consistent basis. Even when he wasn’t releasing music, he was still on the scene representing, waiting for his time to “Korrupt” his style in the art. He’s in “Too Deep” with his progress to ever think about quitting now, ain’t no one said the road was easy, but Ape $terling is enough for you to see timing and hard work pays off. He’s a lyrical monster and storytelling wizard, he’s off the chart when it comes to the content he’s making, and I believe it when I say that his character isn’t a facade; he’s as eccentric in person and one of the most uplifting humans that music has to offer.

I don’t know what’s next from Ape $terling, but I’m sure I can speculate a few visuals and performances of the project could be next on his agenda. I know he has an upcoming album release party on the 22nd of October, so maybe some announcements will be made then. In the meantime, we highly recommend that you check out the album here while putting someone new to it by sharing it around on all social media avenues