In an interview with Pitchfork, Harlem rapper A$AP Rocky states that his recently signed deal with Polo Grounds Music was $3 million. This is unheard of in today’s hip-hop music industry, but the fate of Rocky’s ascending rise comes in his debut tape, LIVELOVEA$AP on Monday. He has the buzz and the rhymes to back it up, so this release could been another major hip-hop event we’ve all been waiting for. Check some excerpts below. Read the rest at Pitchfork.
Pitchfork: A lot of rappers are moving away from big record deals and, as recently as last month, it seemed like you didn’t want to sign with a major, either. What changed your mind?
A$AP Rocky: About three million dollars. [Other rappers who don’t sign] are smart, but I feel like Sony/RCA is a family and the people there actually care about me. When I came to meet [Polo Grounds Music founder] Bryan Leach, I got to know him on a personal level– he would set up car service for me to go to other labels. He wanted to see me make it. He’s from Harlem.
I’m going to have creative control; there’s no bullshit. The situation is almost unrealistic. I mean, five months ago I had about $3,000 in my bank account. Now I’m worth $3 million. Nobody’s gotten a deal like that since 50 Cent.
Pitchfork: You have a place on blogs and in more underground circles, but you’re getting mainstream love and being played on Hot 97, too. Where do you see yourself fitting in?
A$AP: The only thing mainstream about me are my investors. That’s it. I can adapt to the radio because I’m a street motherfucker. I can adapt to the underground because I was independent for a while. Up in Harlem and the Bronx, they didn’t accept us up until now, until we got Jim Jones, Drake, and Lil Wayne cosigning the weirdo. Now people are like, “Oh, shit. He’s really making moves. How much money he got?” And it’s like, “Suck a dick.”
Really though, I was dating this chick from Czechoslovakia– is that how you pronounce it? Her dad used to be around the house like, [sings] “Everything is purple.” Mind you, this is a rich-ass nigga with a Bentley, all that shit. I’ve had fucking corporate white niggas come up to me and say, “What’s up? I love that shit.” I live for that, because the black motherfuckers from Harlem and the Bronx didn’t accept us. They thought we were gay.
I’m going to be honest with you– I used to be homophobic, but that’s fucked up. I had to look in the mirror and say, “All the designers I’m wearing are gay.” I hear stories about all these industry motherfuckers who are gay, and I don’t know if it’s true or not, but that shit don’t matter. It’s so immature.
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