A$AP Rocky - The Next Big Thing?

A$AP Rocky performing at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival 2012

While A$AP Rocky is relatively new to the rap scene, he has already enjoyed quite a bit of critical and comercial success. He released his first mixtape, "Live. Love. A$AP" was released in 2011, and was met with immediate critical acclaim. Singles "Peso" and "Purple Swag" garnered Rocky mainstream attention and led to his first record deal. Jon Caramanica of The New York Times cited the two tracks as "among the year's best hip-hop songs." This yeas A$AP Rocky released his debut album, "Long. Live. A$AP" on January 15th. A-list stars like Drake and Kendrick Lamar have endorsed this young tallent, and have agreed to go on tour with him later this year. With this strong duo backing him, it seems like the sky is the limit for A$AP Rocky. 

Childhood:

"I just remember like...it was hustlers, hustlers, hustlers. Money, money, money. 

That's why they call it Money Making Manhattan."

- Rakim Mayers on the neighborhood where he grew up

Born on October 3rd, 1998, Rakim Mayers was raised in a crime infested Harlem neighborhood. Mayers was influenced by hip hop from a very early age, as he was named after influential New York emcee Eric B. He faced advirsity early in his life, as Mayers' father was sent to jail for dealing drugs when Mayers was just twelve years old. The next year, his brother was murdered near his aparment. Because of these tragedies, Mayers spent much of his childhood living in shelters with his mother. 

Rakim Mayers as a child

Without a steady influence from his father or older brother, Rakim turned to hip hop. He grew up listening to UGK, Devin the Dude, the Diplomats, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, among others. Mayers started toying with rhymes when he was eight years old, but he didn't start to rap seriously untill he was seventeen. 

Style:

"I feel like they [Houstonians] should embrace me. I love the culture. I'm keeping it real. 

I'm from New York and I love that culture. I love it more than this New York sh*t."

 - A$AP Rocky

A$AP Rocky's laid back and smooth style is proof of the influence Southern rap has had on him. Houston is featured in his songs. In any one of his tracks, you can hear Rocky referencing purple drank, incorporating Houston rap lingo, and drawing out his syllables. In "Live. Love. A$AP" carried on a long tradition of New York rappers using styles from other parts of the country. Stylistically, he pays homage to Ohio's Bone Thugs-N-Harmony one second and Houston's chopped and screwed in the next.

- A$AP Rocky's song "F_kin' Problems"