Album Review: Live Love A$AP by A$AP Rocky

A$AP Rocky violated rule number one of the 10 Crack Commandments: Never let no one know how much dough you hold. The cheddar bred $3,000,000 worth of jealousy after the 23-year old New York rapper disclosed the value of his deal with Sony/RCA last month. The offer was tendered largely off the strength of his first two videos, "Purple Swag" and "Peso", a pair of codeine fever dreams that recast Harlem World as a slick-talking color-corrected suburb of Houston.

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With the release of LiveLoveA$AP, the positive influence of the internet on the next generation of hip-hop has finally taken form in a way much more accessible than with Lil’ B. So, allow me a bit of token regional exploration before we get to the actual meat of what makes this mixtape so enjoyable. ASAP Rocky is, already famously, a descendant of Harlem and all that entails (Dipset!).

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“Goddamn, how real is this?” is the first thing we hear from ASAP Rocky on his debut mixtape, LiveLoveA$AP. It’s a fitting introduction: The 23-year-old Harlem-bred rapper’s first tracks surfaced barely six months ago, but he has already signed an eye-popping $3 million deal with Sony/RCA. In turn, his rapid rise has led some to peg him as New York rap’s latest prince.

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A$AP Rocky :: LiveLoveA$APA$AP Worldwide/Polo Grounds/RCA RecordsAuthor: Steve 'Flash' Juon2011 was the year the young Rakim Mayers b/k/a A$AP Rocky exploded onto the rap scene. It's not hard to imagine anyone named after one of hip-hop's most important and influential lyricists wanting to pursue a music career himself, but fame and fortune was just a dream back in the 1990's when his older brother was killed and his pops got locked up for selling drugs in the span of a year. By his account, it was this turn of fortune that made him decide to take rapping seriously, but that wasn't what made his now famous "Purple Swag" music video go viral.

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Much like his recent tourmate Drake, New York rapper A$AP Rocky creates a musical universe all his own, irrespective of sonic expectations about hip-hop's regionalism. His debut mixtape, LiveLoveA$AP, introduces the 23-year-old as a cavalier charmer and stoner high on the concision of his flow and nasty punchlines. What separates him from other hype acts is his music - as confident and fully realized as his boyish braggadocio.

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The hottest mixtape of the year – but can Rocky take his rhymes into the mainstream? Ele Beattie 2011 2011: Year of the Swag. First up was Tyler, the Creator and Odd Future, who punctuated every sentence of their arrival with the word "swag". Then Jay-Z announced his return to form with the line "I guess I got my swagger back!" in the opening of Otis from his and Kayne West's collaborative and assertive Watch the Throne album.

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After building an incredible buzz with his online smashes, “Purple Swag” and “Peso,” A$AP Rocky has already earned himself a multi-million dollar deal on Polo Grounds, as well as co-signs from Drake, Mos Def and Jim Jones, but until now, fans haven’t heard more than a handful of tracks from the 23-year-old upstart. With LiveLoveA$AP, the rapper’s first full-length project, the Harlemite proves that he’s more than just a flash in the pan—in fact, he’s got plenty of heatrocks to spare. Much of the success of the project is due to Rocky’s distinct ear for beats.

Full Review >>

After building an incredible buzz with his online smashes, “Purple Swag” and “Peso,” A$AP Rocky has already earned himself a multi-million dollar deal on Polo Grounds, as well as co-signs from Drake, Mos Def and Jim Jones, but until now, fans haven’t heard more than a handful of tracks from the 23-year-old upstart. With LiveLoveA$AP, the rapper’s first full-length project, the Harlemite proves that he’s more than just a flash in the pan—in fact, he’s got plenty of heatrocks to spare. Much of the success of the project is due to Rocky’s distinct ear for beats.

Full Review >>