A$AP Rocky tells Music 101's Sam Wicks about his marriage of sound and image.
A$AP Rocky. Photo: Dexter Navy
Marcus Garvey, Louis Armstrong, Puffy Daddy, the Diplomats... the Upper Manhattan neighbourhood of Harlem has long been home to seminal African-American leaders and trendsetters.
Most recently, A$AP Mob has been setting a style and sound agenda. The group, which includes A$AP Rocky and A$AP Ferg in its ranks, offers a particular strain of hip hop more indebted to the regional sounds of Southern rap than Harlem’s hip hop vintage.
Rakim Mayers – aka A$AP Rocky – heads this fashion-forward Harlem collective. His uptown aesthetic sensibilities have seen him nominated for a Best Music Video Grammy for the visuals to his song ‘L$D (LOVE x $EX x DREAMS)’, in a field that includes The Dead Weather, Kendrick Lamar, Taylor Swift and Pharrell Williams.
“I’m really proud,” Rocky says. “I mean, most people don’t know that I co-directed that video with Dexter Navy, so for me to get recognition for anything off this ALLA project – especially being that it wasn’t nominated for Best Hip Hop Album this year, it feels good.”
The Best Music Video Grammy will be handed out at the Staples Center in Los Angeles just a week out from his show at Auckland’s Vector Arena on Wednesday 24 February. Ahead of the ceremony, A$AP Rocky talks with Music 101's Sam Wicks about his lysergically enhanced video treatment.