“When it came to making my second project, I had a lot to say,” Asco tells Apple Music. “I’ve been away and many things have changed since I’ve been back. This album tells that story.” Since the release of his debut mixtape, Better Late Than Never, in 2018, London-based MC Asco has been rising through the UK rap scene. Pairing his laid-back lyrical flows with moody, bass-driven beats and features alongside the likes of rappers Kojo Funds and Fredo, as well as producer Steel Banglez, Asco fast established himself as a unique voice. Following an arrest and imprisonment in 2019, however, his output slowed. Arriving 10 months after his release in October 2024, Asco’s Perfect Timing is a swaggeringly confident debut album that delves into introspection as much as celebration. From the banging bass synth of “Sauce” to the self-reflection of “Pain,” AutoTune textures of “Modern,” and three-part journeying lyricism of his Daily Duppy freestyles, it make for an impactful return. “If I hadn’t gone away, a lot of this music would have already been released,” he says. “But now I’ve had time to recreate it from a new perspective.” Read on for his in-depth thoughts on a selection of songs from the album. “Intro” “I wrote this song years and years ago, originally to another beat that I ultimately lost. Once I came home, though, I got the producer Ceefigz to make a new beat and the rest is history. The mood is meant to take you back to a time where I was living in a certain type of way, without getting into too much!” “The Boy’s Back” “‘The Boy’s Back’ was originally going to be the intro track for the album, since it’s about me coming home and saying that playtime is over and I’m raring to go. The majority of it was written while I was away though—it was an exercise in writing the reality of the song into existence.” “High End Fashion” (feat. Young Adz) “A lot of the beats for these tracks were sent over to me while I was away and this is one example. I was listening to it and wrote the verse but knew I needed someone else to add their take to make it sound even bigger. I had no idea who I would put on it but, once I came out, I knew Adz would be the perfect fit. We worked together on my last project and we go way back, so I’m glad he obliged and made the track what it is.” “Bricks and Strips (Daily Duppy Pt.1),” “Last Night in Kingsmead (Daily Duppy Pt.2),” and “They Wanna Know (Daily Duppy Pt.3)” “Before I went away, I was planning to do something that no one has ever done on a Daily Duppy freestyle, which is three songs with three outfit changes. The first one, ‘Bricks and Strips’ is one of my best freestyles, while the mood then changes totally for ‘Last Night in Kingsmead,’ which was written while I was away, and a lot of people I know have since said they love that section. Finally, the tone changes again for ‘They Wanna Know.’ We did it all in one go and knocked it out the park in one sitting. The response has been huge.” “Modern” “I first made this track in 2017 and it shows a different side of me thanks to the AutoTune vocals in the hook. I had always planned to release it when the time was right and once I got back, it fit perfectly on the album. With these older songs, sometimes I tweak the lyrics or beat when I come back to them, or I can piece the lyrics together from various different verses I’ve written.” “Sauce” “The producer Bigzy sent me this beat when I was away and straightaway I knew it was a banger. In that environment, I had nothing other than my pad and pen and thoughts to add to the beat, which is why it kicks off from the line ‘Bigzy made a banger,’ reflecting on where I was in the slammer.” “Pain” “I wrote this during a time in my life when I was going through a lot. I had lost a few people who were very dear to me and so the lyrics are deeply rooted in that feeling. The beat reflects the same mood too, with the vocal sample and melody—it all fits together to take you back to where I was.” “Money” “I wanted to have this track coming right after ‘Pain,’ since it’s much more of a happy-go-lucky vibe and delivers a real contrast. It’s one of the very few songs I made from scratch once I got home, since I had a session with Aitch and we came up with it on the spot. He’s one of the most lyrical artists out here and I think we match each other perfectly.” “Gone Clear” “‘Gone Clear’ is one of my more conscious songs. It’s putting a message out there and saying to the youths of today that it’s not worth doing what I was doing and that there’s more to life in living it clear. I have made a couple of tracks in my time like this but this is one of the main songs on the record expressing that feeling.” “Honest” “I wanted to shine a light on people who maybe haven’t had the attention before and this is a track where I was able to do that. It features my good pal Trag, who is going to start putting out music of his own very soon. It’s great to have him and his verses here first on my project.” “Outro” “This was a track I made on the first New Year’s Eve since coming back home when I was feeling like JAY-Z! It was a cinematic moment and so the beat reflects that too. I also wanted to end it with a voice note taken from a conversation with a close friend of mine, just having fun and laughing, which felt like the perfect note to end on.”