rjdasaint-blog

[rjdasaint-blog]

Test

[rjdasaint-blog]

The End

To build up anticipation, he released several singles through Soundcloud with cryptic hints of the album title name. After fans soon began to decode it, he announced the album name was “Testing”, an idea on testing out untraditional sounds and expanding further on his previous work. When the album released, the reception was not nearly as loved as compared to previous albums. It was the first of his albums to not hit number 1 on Billboard. Following the albums release, he released some stunning visuals along the way to enhance the music. However about a year later in 2019, he got into legal trouble in Sweden. As him and some of his crew were walking the streets of Stockholm, two men continued to follow them as well as women in the video referencing how those men were acting inappropriately towards them. A few minutes later, a brawl occurred with the victims severely injured. This then led to Rocky being arrested where he kept in custody until his trial was over which also led to the cancellation of his tour which he was there for at the time. Throughout all this, many were incredibly vocal of their support, with even President Donald Trump tweeting out and even being involved with helping him somewhat get out of that situation. Following that, he returned back to the United States and got back to working on his creative ventures. Through all the hardships he has faced in life, he has found ways to overcome them. He grew up being different in his community for being different, however he used it to create something original that resonated with many others allowing him to pursue his other ventures which he is just as passionate about.

[rjdasaint-blog]

Dior Fall/Winter 2016

[rjdasaint-blog]

Other Ventures

Following the release of the album, Rocky began to work on other projects as well as helping others. One of these was to launch his own creative label, AWGE which has no literal meaning however it is comprised of a variety of artists in different fields such as music artists, fashion designers, and videographers. One of the members of the group he signed early on was Playboi Carti, who he helped build into one of the most promising young rappers out at the moment. He also continued to work within the fashion industry with various companies, breaking down barriers alongside the way. The most notable was Dior naming him the face of Dior Homme in 2016 for their Fall/Winter 2016 collection, making him the first person of color in the company’s history to do so. However this was not the only clothes he designed/ worked on that year, as he had a collection he did with the clothing brand Guess on some 90s inspired clothing which helped revitalize the brand as a whole. Throughout this he was still working on music, just not on individual work. As he and the rest of the A$AP Mob dropped two albums alongside visuals to accompany them with many extra clips with various high profile people. However people were eager for Rocky’s next solo project which he began to tease soon after the release after the second album release by the group.

[rjdasaint-blog]

A.L.L.A

[rjdasaint-blog]

Dealing with loss and growing

Following his debut album, he was ready to embark on his next album and other creative ventures. He continued to work for various things in the fashion industry such as being a model, and helping some of friends start their own brands due to the influence he had. Alongside this he was also one of the main actors in the 2015 critcally acclaimed movie “Dope”. Alongside all these ventures, he was continuing to work on is next album. It was announced the name of the album would be “A.L.L.A” which was an acronym that stood for At. Long. Last. A$AP, which signified how much he had evolved as an artist of what he was capable of. To build up anticipation, he first released the first single “Multiply” with one of his mentors, Juicy J. Then a few months later on New Years, he reliesd another single, “Lord Pretty Flacko Jodye 2″. A few weeks later, a tragedy occurred as A$AP Yams passed due to a combination of an accidental drug overdose along with his sleep apnea. This impacted Rocky tremendously as this was not only one of his best friends, but was his business partner who was vital in helping build his career, and make executive designs as a producer as well as overseeing their other ventures. Following this, he had to get more collaborators in order to have his album came out the way he wanted to, and to honor his friend. It released a few months later, with the album cover having Rocky’s face feature the birth mark A$AP Yams had to honor him. Throughout the album, he worked from a variety of artists to expand on the sound of traditional to make a more psychadelic and trippy experience. Having the likes of legendary rappers such as Kanye West, Lil Wayne, while having others like the legendary Rod Stewart on a song as well. When it first released, it was not as well received by the masses as compared to his earlier projects, however in later years it became much more appreciated. Although the critics did not faze Rocky, as he mentioned in interviews he finally was making the music he always envisioned and did not compromise what so ever.

[rjdasaint-blog]

HBA 

[rjdasaint-blog]

Hitting The Mainstream

A few years prior following his arrest, he stopped dealing drugs in order to pursue his dreams of being a rapper. He was dropping music for several years, however his music had yet to receive much notoriety for it. However his close friend, and fellow member in his group, A$AP Yams ran a Tumblr page which was really popular and associated with hip hop. He would post Rocky’s music however he would not say outright that he knew him. The purpose was to have people think he just made genuine great music, rather than others thinking he was just trying to help his friend. Their plan finally was realized, when following the drop of one of his singles, “Purple Swag” in 2011 with an accompanying music video it was gaining traction. Then about a month later a video for another single,”Peso” dropped showcasing his love of clothes, music, his environment, and his friends. Following all this hype, he released his debut mixtape, “Live. Love. A$AP” which had an incredible amount of praise that was pretty universal. The unique combination of sounds from various cities such as Houston, Memphis, California, and Florida all tastefully merged together to sound original and cohesive resonated with many, and launched him into the mainstream. With this success, he signed a multi-million record deal and went on tour with Drake, and fellow up and coming rapper at the time Kendrick Lamar. Alongside this he had to follow it up with his debut album, which he did about a year later. This album was generally received quite good as well, however to Rocky himself it was a bit of a compromise. This was due to him feeling like “he needed to prove he could make hits, and appeal to a more mainstream audience”. He did accomplish that with having several of the songs doing quite well, with the song “Fucking Problems” going all the way to number 8 on Billboard. 

[rjdasaint-blog]

A$AP Mob

[rjdasaint-blog]

A$AP Rocky- The Come Up

A$AP Rocky, one of the biggest rap artists today however much more. The story of how he came up was quite remarkable. Hailing from Harlem, New York, named after legendary rapper from the 80′s Rakim. Growing up in Harlem, he endured a turbulent life as crime was something he had to go through. As a kid, his dad was in jail by a young age as well as his older brother unfortunately passing from rival gang violence. His brothers passing immediately changed everything as he was his role model, he is the one who made him want to start rapping, had the hairstyle he still wears to this current day. Following this, he, his sister, and mom moved around for several years where to help support his family, he had to start selling numerous drugs, and got arrested for it one time in 2007 where he had to serve time at Rikers Island for a few weeks. A few years later, he joined a collective formed in his city, the A$AP Mob, which was spearheaded by the late A$AP Yams. The collective was formed of like minded induvuals and artist combining their love of music, fashion, and art in general and to work together to succeed. Although he claims Harlem and New York, the influence of himself and his art came from a variety of other places. Typically in rap, artists usually are defined by the area they hail from and a certain sound is expected. However with him, and his crew this was not the case as their influences came from music from Memphis, Houston, Atlanta, California, and New York. As well as the different sense of personal style they had to distinguish themselves from everyone else, especially in rap. Through all these different inspirations, he was able to take his influences and make his own personal take on rap.