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A$AP Rocky

16
A$AP Rocky

A$AP Rocky

I first became of this Harlem, New York rapper with his debut album, 2013's Long.Live.A$AP. A$AP had already released a mixtape, 2011's Live.Love.A$AP which was met with critical acclaim. A$AP is a member of the A$AP Mob, a hip-hop collective & although other members of the collective have made a name for themselves (we're looking at you A$AP Ferg) Rocky stands above the rest. The founder of the collective, A$AP Yams, tragically passed away in 2015 at the age of 26. This had a lasting affect, especially on his sophomore effort, 2015's At.Long.Last.A$AP. His music is tough & transporting, big & bold. His most recent album was 2018's Testing with the Moby-sampling single "A$AP Forever" [<-- def. worth checking out if you wanna' get a feel for his music/rapping]. Outside of rapping- A$AP keeps himself busy. He is a model for high fashion brand Dior Homme. He directs music videos. He produces music. My favorite role he plays? The co-star to Tyler, the Creator's hi-jinks. Check out some of their funny videos here.  If you're not into rap, A$AP is unlikely to convert you. But if you are looking to dig into his discography, start with "Goldie". A$AP is a magnetic rapper and performer. He (along with all the other rappers Kendrick called out in his "Control" verse) is at the forefront of hip-hop... truly moving it forward. He rhymes & reminisces about growing up poor (although now you'll see him rocking a Maison Marting Margiela varsity jacket... but that's beside the point...). This is a man who collaborates across genres (see Skrillex produced "Wild for the Night"). Did I mention he produces his own music (see "Suddenly" for what his production sounds like) under the pseudonym Lord Flacko? In short, A$AP has the power to balance pop-music smarts with New-York-street-edge. The music is all over the place, sure "hip-hop" works but he hops between many genres: R&B, E.D.M., & even slow jams. This is a rapper always trying to expand his horizons, which might explain his song "LSD". Woozy electronic. Samples (from MOBY!). Lovely productions. Love. Live. Long live...

A$AP Rocky
Maison Martin Margiela  

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