COVER: For a few pesos more

With the ink still fresh on his $3-million record deal, Harlem rapper A$AP Rocky defends homos and high fashion, advocates herb and purple drank, and vows to Always Strive and Prosper from the heart of hip hop’s mainstream

POCKETFUL OF SUNSHINE: A$AP Rocky Photo by BROCK FETCH

Hip hop has always lived like there’s no tomorrow, ’cuz there might not be one, and the digital age has only accelerated matters for young upstarts with their minds on the mics and the money.

So when you see a name like “A$AP Rocky,” you may be hard pressed not to judge the book by its cover. Overnight fame, all-swag-everything and that conspicuous dollar sign could lead skeptics to hit the mental “ignore” button.

Yet in six short months, the 23-year-old Harlem-born rapper (legal name Rakim Mayers, after the legendary MC) has drawn so much positive attention that he’s difficult to dismiss, and his acronym’s pledge to “Always Strive And Prosper” thus far speaks louder than its flashy symbolization.

Having signed a reported $3-million deal with Sony/RCA hip hop imprint Polo Grounds Music—a deal that includes the creation of his own label, A$AP Worldwide—before even releasing his now crit­ically acclaimed mixtape Live.Love.A$AP last October, Rocky may appear to be a poster child for instant gratification in the music biz. The truth is the rapper’s rising success comes from having a firm handle on the art of living in the now.

“As soon as you come out, people instantly like you or judge you and give their opinions on it,” says Rocky. “They embrace you somehow. Some rappers that are unfortunate, they don’t get rated, people just totally dislike them, and they got no chance. Then you have other rappers who get the chance and fumble it. I’m good at it, that’s I all know,” he continues, his tone free of the hubris and defensiveness oth­ers in his shoes are often quick to lead with.

“I’m not concerned with attention spans or having buzz, because it came natural. I feel like if I start worrying about stuff like that, or start looking for it, it’ll come and bite me in the ass.

“Honestly, for me, this whole thing, it’s like it happened overnight—it happened really, really, really quick. So I had to get on my Ps and Qs, really, really, really quick. I cut class most of my life and now it’s time for me to pay attention.”

ALL REGION

The self-described “pretty motherfucker” is already preceded by a reputation for high-end fashion tastes and partying hard, but the attention he gets for being a Harlem kid with a Southern rap style irks him.

“I feel like I wouldn’t know the first thing about pop culture. I’m not against it, I just don’t know anything about it, you know?” Rocky says, re-iterating, as he does several times, how green he is to life, let alone status.

“I’m not even sure if I really know the first thing about hip hop culture,” he remarks snidely, “because people seem to get confused when I get influenced by other regions of the country and shit, as far as hip hop goes.

“It’s like, how could you ridicule me when Wu Tang never been to China? You couldn’t tell them that they weren’t Shaolin Temple monks, could you? You couldn’t! You couldn’t tell them that they didn’t know karate. That’s what they grew up on, that’s what they were into. Me, I grew up on that shit, like California music, Southern music, New York music, I loved it all!”

If music or art doesn’t inspire, it isn’t doing its job, Rocky believes, whether it be that of his influences or his own material. He intends to prove it further not only with his upcoming studio LP, but by putting up the talent of his A$AP Mob fam, which boasts promising 18-year-old switch-and-dial-child Ty Beats (producer of Rocky’s songs “Purple Swag” and “Peso”) among its ranks.

“I’m not against people who make their own kind of music because I have big enough balls to start my own lane, so I can’t knock anybody else over. What I can say is I don’t aim for the club, I don’t aim for the radio, I don’t aim for the bedroom or for YouTube. I do what the fuck I want, and sometimes it ends up in the club, or on the radio, or the bedroom or YouTube. That’s why I wan­na stick to my elements. I don’t go for all, I don’t reach for all.”

Living and loving, for A$AP Rocky, means “appreciating shit.” Staying humble is easier in the industry, he says, than it was on the street, but he draws a line between conceit and big-headedness, con­vinced that once you make it, there is no more real need for either.

“I’m happy. I can buy anything I want, but I still choose to take trains and cabs—no, I’m lying,” he laughs. “I probably haven’t taken the train since, like, July. But I ride bikes and shit, downtown, to get from A to B. I’m a normal motherfucker. I’m concerned with being happy. I just love fashion—as long as I can buy a little clothing I like, cool!”

FAGS, SWAG AND SIPPIN’ SIZZURP

Rocky’s taste in designer gear has turned heads, on several occasions becoming a media pivot-point wherein the rapper has critiqued complacency toward long-held homophobic attitudes in rap culture.

His relationship with top designer Jeremy Scott, whose wing-tipped Adidas high-tops the rapper has been steppin’ with lately, provides the backdrop for elaboration on a topic that makes hip hop flinch.

“Me and Jeremy Scott are really good friends! Him, my girlfriend and I do dinner on the regular. He’s one of those cats that really supports us,” Rocky says admiringly.

“It’s ignorant. And it’s kinda fucked up ’cuz in rap, you’re like, gay by association, like ‘You know that motherfucker, you know that homo nigga? You’re a fag!’” exclaims Rocky in Murphy-esque imi­tation of his block.

“I’m personally not gay, and I’ve been called on being gay. I’m not saying I’m against it, and I’m not saying that I condone it. I feel like it’s their life. Fuck yeah, if that’s what you choose to do, then fuck it. I’m not gonna not be your friend because you choose to be that,” he continues.

“At the end of the day, Jeremy Scott is a real influential person, and I get to be, to just step up to be like that. Most of these mo’fuckas in the rap game, probably half are fuckin’ booty pirates anyways. They know that they are,” Rocky jabs.

“So it’s a hypocritical thing, you see? Let people live, leave them the fuck alone and be what the fuck makes you happy, motherfucker. I’m not like a gay rights activist but it’s just like, dude, leave these mah’fuckas fuck alone!”

Equally attention-grabbing has been Rocky’s nothing-in-moderation advocacy for the consumption of weed and codeine-based cocktails. He doesn’t care if it sends a message—the message is out.

“I don’t think about that because I was a kid, and I used to listen to Three 6 Mafia talk about ‘sippin’ on some sizzurp’ and I couldn’t wait to get some!” Rocky laughs. “I got friends that party and they do alllll the drugs, I ain’t gotta name ’em.  This is nothing new to me. I don’t fuck with the pills, I don’t think I would ever come down off ’em. I don’t think I would ever be in my normal state of mind, and I don’t wanna fuck up my brain.

“There’s business aspects, music aspects and then there’s fun. You should never mix business with pleasure, but I’ve been getting away with it for the past six months and that’s what I’m gonna continue to do. All that other shit doesn’t matter. I don’t feel any pressure because I don’t wanna acknowledge the pressure. Pressure can only apply to anyone who entertains it, would-n’t you agree?” ■

AT THE CORONA THEATRE ON SUNDAY, JAN. 29, 8:30 P.M., $30, ALL AGES

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