Live. Love. ASAP
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LiveLoveA$AP is the debut mixtape by American rapper A$AP Rocky, released as a free digital download on October 31, 2011. It features production by Clams Casino, A$AP Ty Beats, DJ Burn One, and Spaceghostpurrp, among others. The mixtape also features guest rappers Schoolboy Q and Fat Tony, as well as members of A$AP Mob, Rocky's hip hop collective.
The mixtape's music incorporates stylistic and production elements of hip hop scenes distinct from Rocky's hometown New York scene, particularly Southern hip hop. Rocky's lyrics deal with themes about moral decay, including promiscuity and drug use, expressed through his boastful, tempered flow. Allmusic editor Andre Barnes dubs LiveLoveA$AP "the antithesis of conscious rap" and a "guilty pleasure" for hip hop purists.[1]
The mixtape was promoted with two singles, "Peso" and "Purple Swag", which garnered Rocky mainstream attention and led to his first record deal. Upon its release, LiveLoveA$AP received general acclaim from music critics, who praised its production aesthetic and Rocky's charismatic style. It was included in several year-end top album lists by critics and publications. In 2012, the mixtape will be re-released for retail by RCA Records, Polo Grounds Music, and A$AP Worldwide.
Background
In May 2011, Rocky quit selling drugs and decided to focus on a career in rapping.[2] He released a music video for his song "Purple Swag" in July, garnering Internet buzz and attention from record labels, despite negative feedback from his native hip hop scene in New York.[2] He was courted by several labels, including the RCA-distributed Polo Grounds Music.[3] However, he held off from any deal with a label, instead wanting to explore other pursuits.[3] Rocky and Polo Grounds president Bryan Leach, also a Harlem native, subsequently spent time talking about music and lifestyles.[3]
In August, Rocky followed with "Peso", which first appeared on Internet blogs and eventually received radio airplay on New York City's Hot 97.[2] The song also earned him respect in the New York scene, of which he later said, "It bring a tear to my eye to see native New York people give me my props because New York is stubborn and arrogant".[2] After a bidding war among labels, Rocky signed a record deal with Polo Grounds and RCA on October 14.[3][4] It was worth $3 million, with $1.7 million for his solo work and $1.3 million to fund his company A$AP Worldwide.[5] Rocky said that he sought a "bigger platform" for him and his collective with the deal.[4] His first studio album planned to be under the deal, but it allowed him to continue releasing mixtape through RED Distribution.[4]
Before the mixtape's release, Rocky rented a pied-à-terre in Midtown Manhattan and housed his A$AP Mob during Hurricane Irene's landfall in New York City in August.[2] Several producers on LiveLoveA$AP were associated with A$AP Mob,[2] a collective that was formed by Rocky in 2007 and featured rappers, record producers, and music video directors.[5] A$AP Ty Beats, Spaceghostpurrp, and Clams Casino, who had produced several of previous Rocky's songs,[2] were his principal collaboraters in developing the songs' woozy soundscapes.[5] Casino previously produced for Lil B and Main Attrakionz, who appears on the mixtape.[6] Rocky met him after he remixed Casino's song "Numb", which was later recorded as "Demons" for the mixtape, and they both tried to contact one another as respective fans.[7] Their first recording for the mixtape was "Wassup".[7]
Composition
Music and style
On LiveLoveASAP, New York has a new role. Once the universal donor, it’s now the universal recipient. Other cities have been playing that role for years. As New York classicists were holding their ground, the rest of hip-hop looked on, amused, and kept working, taking in outside influences and building their own sounds. [...] LiveLoveASAP would be comprehensible in all of those places.
— Jon Caramanica, The New York Times[2]
The mixtape's music incorporates sounds from hip hop scenes outside of Rocky's hometown scene in Harlem, New York,[2] including Midwest and Southern hip hop, particularly the hip hop production of Houston's scene.[3][8][9] Rocky grew up listening to Southern hip hop artists such as Geto Boys, UGK, Swishahouse, Mike Jones, Paul Wall, and Slim Thug.[10] He also grew up listening to artists of disparate music genres, including Hope Sandoval, Cee Lo Green, and MGMT, influences that music journalist Paul Lester attributes to the mixtape's "languid but futuristic sonics".[11] The beats on LiveLoveA$AP are generally low or mid-tempo and hazy-sounding.[12][13] The songs also have chopped and screwed choruses.[14] Clams Casino's moody, atmospheric production is characterized by fragmented, downbeat vocal samples, basic drum tracks, and ambient, hypnotic synths.[12][15] Songs produced by DJ Burn One, Beautiful Lou, and Soufein3000 incorporate more Southern hip hop elements.[15]
Allmusic editor Andre Barnes views the mixtape's music as distinct from East Coast hip hop, calling it "sonically out of place, recasting the feel of East Coast hip-hop into a quintessential, albeit progressive southern aesthetic with its country funk and cosmic, syrupy backdrops."[1] Jon Caramanica calls LiveLoveA$AP "placeless and universal, an album that sounds as if it has ingested the last 20 years of hip-hop’s travels and would be comfortable anywhere."[2] Caramanica notes characteristics of various hip hop scenes other than that of New York's scene, including "chewy, slowed-down homages to Houston" and "nods to New Orleans and Atlanta and the Bay Area and everywhere else hip-hop is made."[2] Alvin Aqua Blanco of HipHopDX writes that the music's grooves "generally stay on the DJ Screw side of the BPMs".[16] Consequence of Sound editor Mike Madden notes its musical dynamic as "Southern flavors crossbreed[ing] with plenty of cloudy ambient-rap moments" and views that the cadences of the beats consequently "dictate" Rocky's rapping style.[13]
The epic-sounding,[13][17] Clams Casino-produced opening track, "Palace", has Rocky acknowledging Southern hip hop's influence on his sound: "Influenced by Houston / you can hear it in my music".[18] "Wassup" has an ethereal, Houston-inspired soundscape.[6] However, Chase McMullen of Beats Per Minute perceives in the mixtape's sound the "threatening vibe" of Raekwon's 1995 album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... and a grime influence, commenting that "while southern influences currently dominate much of current hip hop, Rocky places as much importance on the Wu as he does Three 6."[19] Paul Lester of The Guardian compares "Peso" to the stylings of The Jet Age of Tomorrow.[11] "Trilla" has a funk and boom bap influence in its production.[19][12]
Lyrics
The mixtape's subject matter of moral decay incorporates controversial thematic elements of mainstream hip hop, including misogyny, glorified male promiscuity, and excessive drug use.[1][11] Songs such as "Leaf", "Get Lit", and "Roll One Up" are odes to cannabis smoking.[6] Music writers note the mixtape's perspective as that of a self-assured youth concerned with simple pleasures and "keeping it trill (true and real)".[6][8][20] Evan Rytlewski of The A.V. Club comments that Rocky mostly "riffs on his four great loves: syrup, weed, women, and fashion".[17] Allmusic's Andre Barnes characterizes the subject matter as "the antithesis of conscious rap" and Rocky's lyricism as "sedate charisma and mannerisms leaning toward UGK-inspired bravado", adding that it displaces "the intricate lyrical concepts that evoke intense listening and the undeniable slang definitive of traditional East Coast rap music".[1]
"Purple Swag", a woozy-sounding homage to Houston's hip hop scene, references the purple drank popularized by the scene's community and used recreationally by Rocky and his collective.[2] His lyrics on "Peso" depict a charismatic, attractive persona, with him referring to himself as a "pretty motherfucker" and rhyming, "Bad bitch, double D's / poppin' E, I don't give a F / Told ya I’m a G".[11] The song also features lyrics about his eccentric and flamboyant fashion sense: "Raf Simons, Rick Owens / usually what I’m dressed in".[2] Rocky also name-drops fashion designer Jeremy Scott throughout the mixtape.[21]
Rocky's flow throughout the mixtape is tempered,[12] and his delivery ranges from nonchalant rhymes to forceful double time.[1][20] Jon Caramanica writes that the subject matter, including "straight-talking boasts" and "heavy intake of drugs and women", is revealed by Rocky's "bursts of short phrases, rhymed in their entirety."[2] On "Palace", Rocky demonstrates alliterative lyricism and singsong cadence and flow.[18] The flow patterns adapted by Rocky have been compared by writers to those of Cleveland-based hip hop group Bone Thugs-N-Harmony.[2][18] August Brown of the Los Angeles Times writes that "his reserved, steely delivery owes equal debts to Houston's syrup daze and Dipset's uptown intensity".[22] Rocky addresses his rapping style on "Purple Swag": "I'm Texas trill, Texas trill, but in NY we spit it slow".[23] On "Leaf", he addresses criticism of his style from hip-hoppers: "They say I sound like André / mixed with Kanye / a little bit of Max / a little bit of Wiz / a little bit of that / a little bit of this / get off my dick".[20]
Release and promotion
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a5/ASAP_Rocky_Coachella_2012_2.jpg/250px-ASAP_Rocky_Coachella_2012_2.jpg)
An anticipated release among Internet tastemakers,[7][24] LiveLoveA$AP was released as a free digital download by Rocky on October 31, 2011.[25] Two days after its release, he proclaimed it to be "better than a lot of people's albums".[3] The mixtape did not chart after its release.[26]
The mixtape's lead single "Peso" was officially released on November 16.[27] It charted for nine weeks and peaked at number 81 on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs in February 2012.[28] The second single "Purple Swag" was released on December 5.[29] Previously released as a YouTube video, the mixtape version features guest verses by Spaceghostpurrp and A$AP Nast.[6] A music video for "Wassup" was directed by Rocky with magazine editor and journalist Andy Capper.[11] Rocky's videos depicted a glamorous and dissolute lifestyle led by him and his crew, with images of excess and fashion, including gold fronts, liquor containers, and designer clothing.[9]
In the months leading up to the mixtape's release, Rocky performed several low-key venues in New York, including the Alife Rivington Club, a party for Fool's Gold Records, a Diplomats concert,[2] and Santos Party House.[30] He also played CMJ's music festival in October.[2] In 2012, Rocky toured on Drake's Club Paradise Tour and performed at several music festivals, including South by Southwest, Summer Jam, Pitchfork Music Festival, and Rock the Bells.[31][32][33] The touring experience allowed Rocky to work on his live performance and stage presence.[7] As a part of his record deal in October, LiveLoveA$AP is planned to be re-released for retail by Polo Grounds, RCA, and A$AP Worldwide in 2012.[3][34] Rocky has said that it will be a "deluxe version".[7]
Reception
Critical response
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The A.V. Club | B[17] |
BBC Music | favorable[8] |
Consequence of Sound | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The New York Times | favorable[2] |
Okayplayer | 88/100[35] |
Pitchfork Media | 8.2/10[20] |
PopMatters | 8/10[6] |
Sputnikmusic | 4/5[12] |
XXL | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
LiveLoveA$AP received general acclaim from music critics upon its release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the mixtape received an average score of 83, based on 12 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim".[36] Allmusic editor Andre Barnes commended its tracks as "elegantly produced" and stated, "A$AP maneuvers through these soundscapes with keen agility."[1] On its potential appeal to hip hop listeners, Barnes wrote in conclusion, "For the saints, Live Love A$AP is nothing short of a guilty pleasure [...] But for the aesthetically inclined, Live Love A$AP is a marvel of contemporary rap music, despite its abounding moral decay."[1] Pitchfork Media's Jeff Weiss dubbed the mixtape a "triumph of immaculate taste" and stated, "throughout LIVELOVEA$AP, Rocky embodies the sweat-free cool of someone who has stolen the test and memorized the answers ahead of time."[20] Weiss viewed that Rocky has "great instincts" rather than technical ability when rapping and wrote that "what Rocky lacked in lyricism, he made up for in narcotic charisma [...] Rocky makes no cornball radio plays, nor any awkward attempts to prove his depth."[20] Colin McGowan of Cokemachineglow cited Rocky's ability to "command a variety of sounds" as the reason it sounds "unified without drifting into monochrome territory", commenting that "A$AP's gravity is the animating force of his music, and his gravity is in Harlem."[37] McGowan viewed that, although his "Wayne-ian pattern" is not as "fluid" nor "dotted with exuberant metaphors", his sensibilities make up for technical shortcomings:
[Rocky] enunciates powerfully from within the pocket of the beat, always sounds like he's rapping in facts, and knows how to turn a phrase. His sense of sound and the function of internal rhyme gives the illusion his raps are more complicated than they are. He understands the infectious way a line like "My all gold grill give 'er cold chills / say she got that coke feel 'cause I'm so trill" can pinball around a listener's ear.[37]
BBC Music's Ele Beattie commended the mixtape's "variety of producers" and advised listeners, "If you've come looking for tight flows and witty wordplay, Rocky ain't your man. But attitude and production will win you over."[8] Evan Rytlewski of The A.V. Club found Rocky's thematic scope limited, commenting that "he's a magnetic rapper, and his delivery is reliably sharp, but he rarely uses it to say anything", but commended him for "curating exceptional beats and knowing when to get out of their way."[17] Rytlewski wrote of the mixtape's production, "By enlisting some of the Internet's most forward-thinking young producers [...] he's crafted the year's most stylish mix-tape, a melting pot of nearly every major underground rap trend of the last 16 months, all pitched to the intoxicating slow crawl of Houston screw music."[17] Jesse Gissen of XXL called its music "undeniably the most exciting part of the tape", but added, "A$AP does little to get in the way, oftentimes, enhancing the beats".[15] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times called it "a deeply assured and heavily narcotic album on which ASAP Rocky shows off a well-honed style" and cited its two singles as "among the year's best hip-hop songs."[2] Although he noted a "lack of so-called substance", David Amidon of PopMatters viewed that the mixtape's release helped materialize "the positive influence of the internet on the next generation of hip-hop".[6]
Accolades
The mixtape was included in several year-end top album lists by critics and publications.[5] It was named the ninth-best album of 2011 by Stereogum in the publication's year-end list.[38] It was ranked number 10 on Filter's top albums list.[39] Gorilla vs. Bear ranked the mixtape number five and stated, "Sometimes good instincts, an effortless flow, off-the-charts charisma, and just sounding a lot cooler than everyone else goes a long way."[40] In ranking it number nine, Complex commended Rocky's "defined sound and unique aesthetic", calling him "electric and precise on the microphone" and writing that the mixtape's beats "bang so hard they bring Houston to Harlem."[23] Los Angeles Times staff writer August Brown ranked the mixtape number two on her top albums list and wrote that it "cemented" Rocky's reputation, while citing Clams Casino's beats as "some of the year’s most imaginative, evocative hip-hop productions."[22] Jonah Weiner of Slate ranked the it number five on his list and, although he cited Rocky as part of "hip-hop’s abiding misogynist" in 2011, noted that he and his contemporaries "trash so many other genre orthodoxies."[41]
LoveLoveA$AP also earned Rocky a nomination for BBC's Sound of 2012 poll.[5]
Track listing
No. | Title | Lyrics | Producer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Palace" | Rakim Mayers | Clams Casino | 2:42 |
2. | "Peso" | Mayers | A$AP Ty Beats | 2:47 |
3. | "Bass" | Mayers | Clams Casino | 3:17 |
4. | "Wassup" | Mayers | Clams Casino | 2:38 |
5. | "Brand New Guy" (featuring Schoolboy Q) | Mayers, Quincy Hanley | Lyle | 4:48 |
6. | "Purple Swag: Chapter 2" (featuring SpaceGhostPurrp and A$AP Nast) | Mayers, Muney Jordan, A$AP Nast | A$AP Ty Beats | 2:47 |
7. | "Get Lit" (featuring Fat Tony) | Mayers, Anthony Obi | Soufein3000 | 2:58 |
8. | "Trilla" (featuring A$AP Twelvy and A$AP Nast) | Mayers, A$AP Twelvy, A$AP Nast | Beautiful Lou | 4:04 |
9. | "Keep It G" (featuring Chace Infinite and SpaceGhostPurrp) | Mayers, Aaron Johnson, Jordan | SpaceGhostPurrp | 3:49 |
10. | "Kissin' Pink" (featuring A$AP Ferg) | Mayers, A$AP Ferg | Beautiful Lou | 3:31 |
11. | "Houston Old Head" | Mayers | DJ Burn One | 4:18 |
12. | "Acid Drip" | Mayers | Soufein3000 | 2:43 |
13. | "Leaf" (featuring Main Attrakionz) | Mayers, Mondre Man, Squadda Bambino | Clams Casino | 4:52 |
14. | "Roll One Up" | Mayers | DJ Burn One | 2:39 |
15. | "Demons" | Mayers | Clams Casino | 3:00 |
16. | "Out of This World" | Mayers | The Olympicks | 2:48 |
- Sample credits
Information adapted from WhoSampled.[42]
- "Palace" contains a sample of "Adiemus" by Adiemus.
- "Peso" contains a sample of "No One's Gonna Love You" by The S.O.S. Band.
- "Bass" contains a sample of "Guy on Subway Flipping Out - the ORIGINAL Bloody Loco" by Nmboito.
- "Brand New Guy" contains a sample of "John" by Lil Wayne featuring Rick Ross.
- "Purple Swag" contains samples of "Still Tippin'" by Mike Jones featuring Slim Thug and Paul Wall, and "Stay with Me" by Clint Mansell featuring Kronos Quartet and Mogwai.
- "Trilla" contains samples of "Friendship Train" by The Undisputed Truth and "They Want EFX" by Das EFX.
- "Keep It G" contains a sample of "Soft Shell" by Motherlode.
- "Kissin' Pink" contains a sample of "All for You" by Kissing the Pink.
- "Houston Old Head" contains a sample of "B.M.F. (Blowin' Money Fast)" by Rick Ross featuring Styles P.
- "Out of This World" contains a sample of "The Big Beat" by Billy Squier.
- "Demons" contains a sample of "Just for Now" by Imogen Heap.
Personnel
Credits for LiveLoveA$AP adapted from Allmusic.[43]
- A$AP Nast – performer
- A$AP Rocky – performer, producer
- A$AP Twelvy – performer
- A$AP Ty Beats - producer
- Beautiful Lou – producer
- Chace Infinite – performer
- Clams Casino – producer
- DJ Burn One – producer
- Fat Tony – performer
- Lyle – producer
- Main Attrakionz – performer
- The Olympicks – producer
- Schoolboy Q – performer
- Soufein3000 – producer
- Spaceghostpurrp –performer, producer
Release history
Region | Date | Format |
---|---|---|
United States | October 31, 2011 | Digital download |
February 21, 2012 | CD (re-release) |
References
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