A former street con artist whose father was incarcerated for drug trafficking and whose older brother was murdered, Rocky has increasingly revealed the artistic, eccentric and dazzling side of his character, as he moved away from Harlem into the creative surroundings of downtown Manhattan. Now a front-row member of the fashion world, he has collaborated with designers Raf Simons and Jonathan Anderson, and in 2016 became the face of Dior Homme, the first person of color to represent the menswear brand. deluxe.
Born in Harlem to Barbadian parents on October 3, 1988, Rakim mayers It is named after his mother’s hip-hop hero, Eric B & Rakim. One of her two sisters is named Erika B. She started rapping at age eight, but only took her craft seriously a decade later. Although he was a native New Yorker, growing up he was a fan of southern hip hop, which explains the pronounced carryover in his rap style. When he was 12 years old, his father was jailed for drug trafficking. A year later, his 20-year-old brother Ricky was shot and killed by a rival merchant. Rocky He was 13 at the time, and was on his way to school when his mother rushed to tell him the tragic news.
Despite his brother’s fate, the lure of the streets proved too powerful to resist the teenager. Rocky, who started selling weed before gravitating toward crack.
With his father in jail and his brother deceased, Rocky, his mother and his two sisters spent time living in shelters. They moved frequently: Harlem, Bronx, Philadelphia, and North Carolina.
At the age of 19 in 2007, Rocky joined A $ AP Mob, a sprawling collective of rappers, producers, and video directors co-founded by entrepreneur A $ AP Yams, Harlem’s answer to Malcolm McLaren. It was then that Rakim mayers acquired the name A $ AP Rocky.
He worked in particular with three of the A $ AP Mob producers to develop the spatial soundscapes that underpin his raps: Clams Casino, A $ AP Ty Beats and SpaceGhostPurpp. Released two singles, “Weight“(in which he dropped the names of fashion designers such as Rick Owens and Raf Simons, a future collaborator) and”Purple swag“in 2011, sparking a major label bidding war that started even before they released their first mixtape, Live.Love.A $ AP. That same year, he signed with the Sony / RCA subdivision of Polo Grounds Music for $ 3 million. It was a combined agreement that incorporated his solo projects and those of his collective, on his record label A $ AP Worldwide. The split was reportedly $ 1.7 million for Rocky, $ 1.3 million for A $ AP Worldwide.
Although 2013 was a harvest year for Rocky, his successes were bittersweet because his father had passed away in December 2012. Rocky He told Vice that his father had been a huge influence on him when it came to fashion. “He was a clean guy … He told me to always be myself and to always feel comfortable with whatever decision I made because I had decided to make it. Just because something doesn’t fit doesn’t mean it’s not right“.
But as with his debut album, the year of Rocky was marked by loss. His creative partner, friend, and mentor, A $ AP Yams (Steven Rodríguez) died of an overdose at age 26, in January 2015. His passing caused Rocky assess his life and career, according to an interview he gave to the UK Guardian newspaper in July 2015.
For 2015, Rocky he was at the height of his success, with an apartment in Manhattan’s posh Soho neighborhood and a house in Hollywood. By June, he had made his acting debut in director Rick Famuyiwa’s adult film, Dope, playing a small-time drug dealer, a role he had already surpassed in real life.
Although he has insisted that he does not want to become a fashion designer, he has embarked on a series of high-profile collaborations. Rocky’s passion for fashion was there for everyone to hear on At.Long.Last.A $ AP, in the course of which he verified the names of more than 20 brands, including Hermès, Prada and Saint Laurent. This is something he has done from the beginning, and it has paid dividends. After including the names of designers Rick Owens and Raf Simons in the lyrics of his single, “Weight“In 2011, he befriended both of them. The following year, A $ AP Mob partnered with West Coast label Black Scale on a capsule collection of T-shirts and sweaters; while Rocky teamed up with designer Jeremy Scott on a pair of all-black Adidas Wings sneakers. In 2016 he was announced as the face of Dior Homme; In 2017 he collaborated with Guess Jeans.
In August, Rocky he was found guilty of assault and ordered to pay damages to one of the victims. He also received a suspended sentence that culminated his time in jail with the month he had already spent behind bars.