After his debut album, Live.Long.A$AP, ASAP Rocky went quiet for awhile-- music-wise, that is. In the interim between L.L.A. and A.L.L.A., Rocky rose atop the fashion world and romanced some very high-profile celebrities. He didn't forget the music, though, and A.L.L.A. is certainly his most ambitious project yet.
Rocky recorded the entirety of A.L.L.A. in London, locked away from the hip-hop world, as well as other life impediments, whether they be drugs or women. Funnily enough, A.L.L.A. finds him returning to New York, finally ready to take the crown in a city that hasn't had a leader for most of the past decade. Upon the death of A$AP Yams, his best friend and closest creative partner, his desire to return home and build an lasting legacy with the A$AP brand turned into a spiritual calling. It took him awhile to get there, though, traversing the globe and meeting many strange, as well as familiar, faces along the way.
Here are the faces and places Rocky encountered on his latest trip.
COVER
Rocky's mom gave Rocky big shoes to fill by naming him Rakim Meyers. If he didn't see any prophecy in his name to begin with, he does now, the new King of New York-- though he has a legacy to build if he wants to wear that crown like Rakim.
Before the album's release, Rocky said A.L.L.A. would signal "the return of the God MC." Tall order. How'd he do?
Harlem
Despite Rocky's extended studio sessions in London, his home hood was obviously still gonna play a major part on A.L.L.A. On "Pharsyde," he describes his upper Manhattan locale in grim detail: "Somebody's mama's heart is aching, can't take it, partly fainted / Found his body part in awkward places / Like apartments, basements / Garbage, vacant lots, garages, spaces / Harlem's far too spacious."
Max B
Those who've been with A$AP since the beginning will love "Max B," the Hector Delgado-produced ode to the inimitable Biggaveli, currently serving a 75-year prison sentence. The song opens with Mad Max singing, the recording sounding like an echo out of the jailhouse PA system. Then, Rocky lets some demons roost over a piece of spaced-out boom bap. He remembers his mother saying she'll never visit his jail cell if that happens to be his future dwelling place. He knows he can no longer use his youth as an excuse and, even today, he knows he's closer to Max B's fate than he'd ever be brave enough to tell mama.
James Dean
Rocky has an entire track devoted to "J.D.," aka Jimmy Dean, seemingly his most unlikely hero. The interlude is perhaps the most gruesome two minutes on the album, with Flacko pledging to "come at all you niggas heads" and "
talk 'em off a ledge." The classically introverted James Dean wasn't so forthcoming with his inner-violence, but Rocky finds an enduring rebellion between the two "pretty motherfuckers"-- a streak that can both make you a fashion icon and take your life at an early age.
Canal St.
Rocky names track #2 on his album after Canal St. in NYC, where street vendors famously try to sell bootleg chains, bags, and just about anything else. As a kid, just starting to hustle in the Harlem streets, Rocky would take his slim earnings downtown to Canal St., where he'd drape himself in gold.
People knocked his hustle then, as they do now-- though the price-tags on his ornaments are a little harder to deny these days. He always had the vision, and he might as well have been born with gold teeth. Here, he shows it's not the precious metal that matters but the chest on which it resides.
Rihanna
"Jukebox Joints" is your typical love song-- from two genius egomaniacs whose self-love so often gets in the way of their love for the many women in their lives. Well, Kanye's experienced love lockdown with Kim-- and, watch out world, he avows to have four more children. Rocky isn't quite settled, though he's caught glimpses of the "L word" written across a particular woman's (spacious) forehead. Hmm...
After admitting there's "nothing better than the pretty forehead bitch," he's chronicles the many women he's tested on his globetrotting adventures, from Australian Azaleans to Venezuelans-- but it was a different feeling altogether when he got Cinderella under his umbrella (ella, ella, ay).
Pimp C
In Drake's words: "This shit sound like what being rich feel like." "Wavybone" is a Southern piece of luxury on an album that, at times, gets very dark. Rocky tells us that, no matter how he evolves as an artist, he's still gonna be committed to the M'$. Then, we get a very special treat: An unreleased verse from one of Rocky's biggest heroes, Pimp C. Nothing spectacular for Pimp's standards (though dated, the Sheryl Crow shout-out couldn't be more perfect), but it's a blessing just to hear him go.
The C.R.E.A.M. sentiment doesn't just extend to rappers. Rocky found a way to thrive in a system that never wanted him, and now he's making up the rules as he goes. These were the type of songs that inspired him as a kid, and "Wavybone" is worthy homage.
Cheers to Bun B, Juicy J, Crazy Mike, Lil Awree, and Hector Delgado for proving luxury rap can be a sound of inspiration rather than just lyrics of empty materialism.
West Side Highway
The West Side Highway is a road alongside the Hudson River that stretches up and down most of the west side of Manhattan. It's also the road on which many a woman has journeyed to and from Rocky's apartment. Of course, these mysterious vixens ride solo, via Uber, so not to expose Mr. Flacko. The road must be fraught with so much anticipation (the way there) and regret (the way back), Rocky decided to devote an entire song to it.
Rita Ora (& Katy Perry)
Rocky's most recent acid trip included nine different women, and we doubt he minded if some of those women happened to enjoy each other's company throughout the night. Indeed, Rocky has little discrimination these days when it comes to his lady friends, which he aims to prove on "Better Things."
His enlightenment hasn't exactly replaced his manners, though. He uses "Katy Perry" as a pseudonym for each lesbian he enounters: "I kissed the dyke chick and I liked it."
On the next verse, he immediately targets another pop queen-- this time directly. Though Rocky recently clarified that his words should not be taken as a shot to the beautiful Rita Ora-- we'll let you decide:
"I swear that bitch Rita Ora got a big mouth / Next time I see her might curse the bitch out / Kicked the bitch out once 'cuz she bitched out / Spit my kids out, jizzed up all in her mouth / And made the bitch bounce."
Yikes. Don't mess with Rocky's kids.
A$AP Yams
No surprise here-- Yams' spirit is all over A.L.L.A., the last project he'll ever have a direct influence on (indirectly, of course not). Rocky ends A.L.L.A., a record that took him all over the globe, right back home in New York City. And though the record was touched by many new talents, from hip-hop and beyond, his biggest inspiration will always be A$AP Mob, led by his #1 partner-in-crime A$AP Yams.
"Back Home," following a mean verse from Mos Def aka Pretty Flacko Senior, ends with a chilling spoken word outro from Yams himself. "Grab your surfboards, 'cuz y'all got your boogie boards right now." Always ahead of the wave.