HYPETRAK: A$AP Rocky - Always $trive and Prosper

With his eclectic sound, unique even for the streets of Harlem, MC A$AP Rocky came to the forefront of hip-hop’s bright young stars with a successful 2011 debuting his creative ingenuity to the world. The year 2012 is currently shaping up to be yet another fruitful year for 24-year-old rapper with the recent announcement of a scheduled A$AP family album, solo album and a number of concert dates, including the fresh Coachella nod. Davis Huynh of Hypetrak had the opportunity to kick it with the talented young artist discussing a number of topics, including the inner workings of the A$AP Mob and upcoming projects. Peep the choice excerpts below and head over to HYPETRAK to read the entire interview.

First off, the question many have been wondering, who is the girl in the “Purple Swag” video?
Anna Perp man, she’s a trill ass chick from Harlem, and yes she’s Caucasian, gold grill shining, a bad b*tch, and yes she uses the “N” word on a full time regular basis. Well not born, but she lives in Harlem, shes trill as fuck, nothing generic about her, not a poser, I just can’t wait for the world to see her. She kind of disappeared, because she was getting a little too much attention. So she’s in North Carolina with her parents but she’ll be back soon. She’s trill as fuck, she’s down there breeding pit bulls, she’s into that stuff.

Interesting choice of breed. How did the term “A$AP” first get invented and when was the first time it came up?
It stands for “Always Strive And Prosper,” and I didn’t join A$AP until 2007. So for me, I used to just hang in Harlem. I was the guy that used to just fuck with all the bitches and get fly shit. At the time, A$AP was a crew out there that didn’t get a lot of recognition but they caught my eye because real will always recognize real, you know? The downtown (Manhattan) types kind of only fucked with A$AP at the time, you know, like SoHo. Then these guys from Harlem kind of filled the gap, because they were really on that shit before it was cool to dress how they dress right now, you know what I mean? Like these dudes were really doing it at a time when you would really get patronized for this shit, so I really felt they had a lot of balls. I felt we shared a lot in common, from our views and realizing we are outcasts and just saying “fuck it we’re going to be ourselves.” The game didn’t accept us at first and now it’s like they have no choice, these n*ggas have to love us now. I joined in 2007 and eventually more people were down, so I didn’t start it or am the leader, I just made it hot. The real will always recognize real.

No doubt. Your mixtape LiveLoveA$AP received very a positive response within the industry and beyond, so it makes sense to reissue it commercially. When did this move first cross your mind and what reaction do you expect from the fans?
I expect the fans to fuck with it, it’s just one of those things, it is what it is. I got really, really good feedback off this mixtape and it was so different, yet people were willing to listen to it at time when the masses were reluctant to fuck with something so different. But for the most part I got a lot of good reaction, and we’re going to remaster it, deluxe edition, different features, different songs and put it out for purchase. It’s going to be cool, it’s going to be a good look and I think people are going to fuck with it.

With a record deal worth $3 million dollars, what are your plans for the A$AP movement? Referring to future releases and overall vision…maybe even beyond music?
As far as we can go, there’s no limit bro, everything, everything! I’m so serious, we’re so talented and I don’t want to be so cliche but it is what it is. We got song writers, producers, actors, athletes, we got some trill ass motherfuckers man.

Photography: Brook Bobbins