Long.Live.A$AP Archives - RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture

CONCERT REVIEW: A$AP ROCKY IN BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND

RESPECT. Staff — Mon, 27 May 2013 15:57:08 +0000

“I didn’t come here to perform, I came to party,” the soft-voiced emcee told the audience, many of whom were wearing T-shirts with his face plastered on the front. An enthusiastic crowd at Birmingham’s 02 Academy regaled the boy from Harlem with praise and admiration. To open the night A$AP Rocky emerged from behind a set of curtains in the midst of commotion and packs of screaming girls, but he wasn’t the first act.

Joey Fatts and Aston Matthews opened, managing to capture everyone’s attention with their crowd surfing and energetic stage performances. The sweat cascades on their foreheads were very visible: you could tell how much effort they were putting in.

After their sets and a long intermission, A$AP Rocky, adorned in a black jacket and one of his many trademark caps, appeared, beginning a performance that would last nearly an hour. There are only a handful of new rappers that truly know how to rock a show, and he effortlessly fits into that group, embracing and charming fans with his sparkling gold smile and boyish charisma. Almost immediately, he demands for the lights to be changed to purple before continuing to run through his ouevre, from his breakthrough songs from debut album Long. Live. ASAP to the hype-building tracks from his earlier efforts. Backwards baseball caps, body piercing and tattoos could be seen all around. Most of the males in the crowd evidently admire his style.

From there on out, Rocky relentlessly elevated the crowd throughout his set with his uncensored hits “Wild For The Night”, “Fuckin’ Problems”, “Goldie”, and the hugely popular “Purple Swag.” With a little help from his hype man, A$AP Ferg, they bounced around the stage, shouting expletives, and trading fist pumps with adoring fans. And as if it wasn’t already evident, A$AP Rocky reminds us mid-way through the show: “It’s all about crowd surfing and bitches showing their titties.” Immediately almost everyone began hurling themselves into mosh pits, making it very clear that the remainder of the show would probably be filled with exuberant bouncing. The best moments were watching fans attempting to desperately touch the rapper’s unclothed body every time he left the stage.

A$AP Rocky is an aficionado of money, girls, swag, lots of weed, and usually other things that parents would rather not know about. That’s one of the many things you will learn from seeing him up close. He is a rare breed: an influential powerhouse with credibility in the streets and in the fashion sphere. Although his speedy ascent to stardom is still in the making, he remains one of rap’s most unique personas. Everything about A$AP Rocky was refreshing, from his messages of unity, to his witty and artistic use of wordplay. He really was able to spin the night into something exceptional, shedding back some of the more monotonous layers of hip-hop and showing us some things we’ve forgotten. Like how to have fun.

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New Video: A$AP Rocky feat. Skrillex & Birdy Nam Nam – “Wild For The Night”

RESPECT. Staff — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 17:36:02 +0000

If you had any doubt that A$AP Rocky knows how to party, then you won’t after watching this video. The A$AP Mob teamed up with Skrillex in the Dominican Republic to get “Wild For The Night”. The video shows Pretty Flacko hanging out with the locals having a good time and enjoying life, exhibiting his renowned fashion sense, rocking DKNY for Opening Ceremony. A$AP Rocky can shut shit down wherever he goes, and this video proves it. Check him out below.

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Album Review: A$AP Rocky Marks His Arrival w/ Long.Live.A$AP

RESPECT. Staff — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 17:12:22 +0000

Last year, A$AP Rocky swarmed comfortably into the game with the striking visuals for “Peso” and “Purple Swag” from his mixtape Live.Love.A$AP. Soon enough, the whole game was latched onto his each and every move. A bunch of kids from uptown introduced high fashion swag, gold teeth, Jeremy Scott Adidas and 40 ounces to a viral generation. A Houston influence of purple syrup dripped into the Harlem streets and all over your Macbook screen. And even after all that influence, we still expected Rocky to drop an album within that box. Without a doubt, it’s exceeded our expectations even if there’s a few missteps along the way.

Rocky’s first offering, “Goldie,” and the album’s second single, “Fuckin’ Problems,” which features a signature hook from 2 Chainz and verses from both Kendrick Lamar and Drake, gave something to the 106 & Park teeny bopper audience. We hadn’t heard anything of substance until the recent leak of “1 Train,” an ode to the ’90s when rappers like LL Cool J, Redman, and Big Pun would rip a collab record to shreds. Both original singles pretty much fell on deaf ears, lacking the proposed gas that would’ve taken this album up a few more notches, but “1 Train” is where things truly get intriguing. Rocky gathers a group of the most sought after current emcees (Joey Bada$$, Action Bronson, Yelawolf, and Big K.RI.T) and lets them unleash their signature darts on a simple gritty violin loop from Hit-Boy. Rocky has a touch for reaching both mainstream audiences and underground listeners, but at times he doesn’t quite reach his goal. His brimming confidence is similar to that of his predecessors, but the gun talk is hardly believable and more of an out for the steam within his chest.

Same as the early 2012 mixtape, Rocky’s production pallette on Long.Live. A$AP is pretty much flawless, grabbing everyone from frequent collaborators Clams Casino, Joey Fatt$, and A$AP Ty Beats to club maven Skrillex and Danger Mouse. Most tracks feature more than one producer, a nod to Rocky’s persistence for proper production, notably on “Fashion Killa,” where he get’s listed under the alias Lord Flacko for a production credit. While the album’s true grit does rely on guest appearances, Rocky decorates the house for the visit with mellow yet hard hitting production and features from everyone including the likes of Overdoz, Santigold, Gunplay, Florence Welch and Schoolboy Q.

Most of the album catches the Harlemite in his current day steez of “fuckin’ bitches,” mobbing with his friends, and bringing Harlem back, but Rocky gives a little more detail on his origins over a soulful loop that is “Suddenly.” The young lord is at his best reminiscing on hip-hop as a true scholar of the game for a new school version of Biggie’s “Things Done Changed.” He vividly spits, “Roaches on the wall, roaches on the dresser / Everybody had roaches but our roaches don’t respect us.” On “Angels,” Rocky finds time to lash at his former homie SpaceGhostPurrp, while on “Phoenix,” he laments on his suicidal tendencies. The meat of the album is dispersed on those tracks, but the rest is still a parade of bone thugs, laced melody, and swag that drips from one record to another. It’s infectious in melody for what it lacks in depth.

Long.Live.A$AP finds A$AP Rocky approaching as one of the key up-and-comers in the game with a knack for overall production and presentation. He’s done a nice job of presenting a cohesive package to a hip-hop generation living after the crack era who listens to indie music at house parties. Though his sonically brilliant debut leaves a lot more to be said, it will be likely be more approved amongst electronic fans verses hip-hop loyalists anyway. But the key to absorbing this offering is throwing preconceived notions out of the window and embracing Long.Live.A$AP for what it is — slick talking over ambient production.

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A$AP Rocky Covers Gnarls Barkley’s “Who’s Gonna Save My Soul”

RESPECT. Staff — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 18:53:27 +0000

Seems like there’s more than one tie to Gnarls Barkley this month when it comes to that Pretty Motherfucker. After A$AP Rocky dropped his recent debut LP, which also features production from Danger Mouse, he gets together with BBC Radio 1 Xtra’s Live Lounge to do a live rendition of the group’s popular hit “Who’s Gonna Save My Soul.” If you haven’t already, go ahead and pick up the A$AP general’s album Long.Live.A$AP in stores now and listen below.

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A$AP Ferg Signs Solo Deal W/ RCA

RESPECT. Staff — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 19:58:32 +0000

While A$AP Rocky continues the promo for his new album, Long.Live.A$AP, Fergie Ferg’s making big moves signing a solo deal with the same company, RCA/Polo Grounds, as his A$AP brethren did last year. The signing could likely be attributed to A$AP Ferg’s viral hit, “Work.” And as we all know, hard work pays off.

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New Bonus Track from Long.Live.A$AP: “I Come Apart”

RESPECT. Staff — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 19:05:38 +0000

Apparently the faucet wasn’t done dripping on the last Long. Live. A$AP leak. A bonus track not included on the original premature release was uncovered today by a YouTube personality bearing A$AP‘s name. The new song, “I Come Apart”, which features Florence Welch, is a sentimental one with lyrics detailing a nasty break up between the Pretty Flocko and some dishonest, trifling heartbreaker. Evidently, the heartbreak was so bad that A$AP couldn’t contain it all in a rap. Throughout the cut Rocky spills his heart out in song, putting his vocals up against Florence‘s for some Kid CuDi-esque serenades.

Many say the new track feels off from the rest of A$AP‘s premiere album. This is true, but definitely not in a negative way! “I Come Apart” isn’t akin to Long.Live.A$AP cuts like “PMW” or “Wild for the Night”, but on the whole, its a great addition that brings needed diversity to a much anticipated retail debut.

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Video: A$AP Rocky Decodes “Long.Live.A$AP” Track

RESPECT. Staff — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 20:40:38 +0000

As we steadily approach A$AP Rocky‘s debut album’s in-store release (Jan. 15), Life+Times asked the pretty flaco to decode the first song off of his album, “Long Live ASAP.” He details how the beat reminded him of the last decade’s New Orleans scene and he uses third-person in the track to emphasize that. “I’m putting myself in the existence of a 22-year-old New Orleans/Magnolia trapper.”

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