Over a year since Pop Smoke died, his subgenre of Brooklyn drill is as hot as ever going into spring 2021, with new musical developments all the time. One take on drill that easily stands out amongst the action is singer/rapper Rocko Ballin’s. After a year in which his crisp tenor vocals carried minor classics like the anthemic “Mob,” the hit-in-waiting “Grateful” (with its huge Duranice Pace sample) and the super hard “Maneuver,” with his close partner 26AR, his debut album is finally here—Lucky Last Born. It’s the first major step in his stated mission to “make a milli off a melody.”

The concise, 10-song album introduces Rocko as a rising star with one eye over his shoulder. It also showcases Off Record Studios, the group of producers and engineers led by A Lau (incl Matt Marvin, Yo Eli WTF, Cyrus Goes and more) which created the project with Rocko. Their guitars, pianos, samples and drums have been instrumental in breaking drill artists lately like him, Swook from Gloss Gang, Tazzo B, and 26AR.

Personal favs off the project include “Make Believe,” with its Easybeats “Make Believe” sample––an Australian rock song from 1968––and “Famous,” a danceable track where Rocko prepares to watch his friends turn against him, as he rises within drill and hopefully beyond. Especially haunting is “On My Shoulder” featuring 26AR, where Rocko sings a chorus about “a demon on my shoulder / said I won’t grow up.” It's a way to acknowledge the reality of death surrounding him in East Brooklyn, while indirectly referencing the fact that he’s only in his late teens.

Leading up to this album, the combination of Rocko’s bright voice over the drill formula of sliding 808s and stabbing drums proved good time and time again. He was the drill singer we needed. But so has his ability to sing life into tracks that branch out from drill drum programming. Lucky Last Born pulls mostly from the latter category, while not dismissing the former. And that gives the record a certain hybrid quality, positioning Rocko as a crossover star who’s using drill as a springboard rather than his end-all be-all. It’s a key lesson from Pop, who was diversifying his sound too on his last album. Rocko’s doing it without diluting his style, and with a strong homegrown team supporting him. Imo with all the talent on display on Lucky Last Born, all they need to do is keep going.