Rakim Athelaston Mayers was born October 3, 1988, known professionally as ASAP Rocky stylized as A$AP Rocky, in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, a borough of New York City. His father is from Barbados. He has an older brother (deceased) and an older sister, Erika. Both Rakim and Erika’s names are taken from the Eric B. & Rakim duo. His cousin is fellow ASAP Mob member ASAP Nast.
Mayers started rapping at age nine, when he moved to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He learned how to rap from his older brother, who also wore the Cornrows hairdo that A$AP Rocky later adopted. When Mayers was 13, his brother was killed in Harlem. The death inspired Rocky to take rapping more seriously. Mayers grew up admiring Harlem-based rap group The Diplomats. He was also influenced by Mobb Deep, Three 6 Mafia, UGK, Run DMC, Wu-Tang Clan, and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony.
When Mayers was 12 years old, his father went to jail and he spent his teenage years moving around homeless shelters with his mother and sister. After living for a period in a shelter with his mother in New York City, he moved to Midtown Manhattan. His father died in 2012. is an American rapper, record producer, and record executive. Born and raised in Harlem, he embarked on his musical career as a member of the hip hop collective ASAP Mob, from which he adopted his moniker. In August 2011, Rocky’s single “Peso” was leaked online and within weeks began receiving radio airplay. Rocky released his debut mixtape Live. Love. A$AP, later that year to widespread critical acclaim. The success of what is considered his breakout project led to a joint venture record deal with Polo Grounds Music and Sony Music’s RCA Records.
In 2007, A$AP Rocky joined the A$AP Mob crew, a Harlem-based collective of rappers, producers, music video directors, fashion designers, and bikers who shared similar interests in music, fashion, style, and art. It had been formed by A$AP Yams, A$AP Bari and A$AP Illz. In July 2011, Rocky released his single “Purple Swag” which quickly became a street anthem in New York City. citati
In February 2012, Rocky joined Kendrick Lamar as the opening act for Drake’s Club Paradise Tour. In June, SpaceGhostPurrp, founder of Miami-based collective Raider Klan and Rocky’s past collaborator, accused A$AP Twelvyy of jumping Raider Klan’s Matt Stoops and subsequently disassociated himself from A$AP Mob and Rocky in a YouTube video. He and Raider Klan also accused ASAP Mob of copying their style, and Rocky of using lyrics from SpaceGhostPurrp’s song “My Enemy” on “Goldie”. Rocky responded in a July interview for MTV, saying that SpaceGhostPurrp is “try[ing] to build hype” and told him to “stick to makin’ beats”.
On March 16, 2014, Rocky announced that he was working on his second studio album, entitled A.L.L.A. (an acronym for At. Long. Last. A$AP) which was a follow-up to his debut album, Long. Live. A$AP. Upon the wake of a delay of the ASAP Mob album, L.O.R.D., Rocky subsequently collaborated with cohorts A$AP Ferg, Nast and Twelvyy on the album’s third single, “Hella Hoes”, which was released on June 6, 2014. Nonetheless, A$AP Mob leader A$AP Yams announced on his Tumblr account that the album had been shelved.
On October 3, 2014, his 26th birthday, Rocky launched a short-lived music giveaway called Flacko Jodye Season, which first premiered with “Multiply”, which featured additional vocals from Juicy J; later released on iTunes one week after its premiere.
On January 23, 2018, ASAP Rocky released “☆☆☆☆☆ 5ive $tar$” on SoundCloud, produced by Metro Boomin, Frans Mernick, Jordan Blackmon and Daniel Lynas and featuring uncredited vocals by DRAM. Over the following two days he shared “Above”, produced by Mernick and “Money Bags Freestyle (Dean Blunt Meditation)”, produced by Blunt and featuring uncredited vocals by Lil Yachty. The songs were captioned “TESTING COMING SOON” and “THIS IS JUST A TEST”, leading to speculation that they were in promotion of an upcoming studio album entitled Testing. On February 16, Rocky collaborated with Gucci Mane and 21 Savage for “Cocky”, in promotion of the film Uncle Drew. He released the single “Bad Company” on March 27. It features rapper BlocBoy JB, as well as further allusions to Testing in its marketing. On April 5, he released a second single: “ASAP Forever”. The song samples record producer Moby’s 2000 single “Porcelain”, crediting him as a featured artist. It was premiered on The Tonight Show alongside new track “Distorted Records”, and a music video was released the following day. A day later he was featured on the song “One Track Mind”, from rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars’ fifth studio album America.
In May 2019, Juicy J announced Rocky began working on his upcoming album, formerly titled All Smiles. On August 28, ASAP Rocky released the music video for “Babushka Boi”. It was directed by Nadia Lee Cohen. In October 2021, ASAP Rocky released his 2011 mixtape Live. Love. ASAP to all streaming platforms in celebration of its 10-year anniversary.
Rocky appeared on two tracks from Nigo’s album, I Know Nigo!, released March 25, 2022, the opening track “Lost and Found Freestyle 2019” with Tyler, the Creator, and the single, “Arya”. Rocky supported the Red Hot Chili Peppers on their 2022 international stadium tour. After he arrived late for a performance at Old Trafford, Manchester, he performed a shortened 20-minute set after the Chili Peppers.
In May 2022, Rocky released the single, “D.M.B.”, and followed up in December with “Shittin’ Me”. Also in December, he appeared on producer Metro Boomin’s album Heroes & Villains, on the track “Feel the Fiyaaaah”, which also featured late rapper Takeoff, who was gunned down a month prior to the album’s release. He then confirmed a new album with production from Metro Boomin to materalize in the future. Later that month, he named his upcoming fourth album, Don’t Be Dumb.
From 2011 to 2012, Rocky dated Australian rapper Iggy Azalea. He began dating model Chanel Iman in early 2013, and in April 2014, they were reported to be engaged, but broke up in June 2014.
On May 19, 2021, Rocky revealed during an interview with GQ that he is in a relationship with Barbadian singer Rihanna, describing her as “the love of my life”. The two were first linked in 2013, after Rocky opened up for Rihanna’s Diamonds World Tour. On January 31, 2022, People reported that the couple is expecting their first child. On May 19, 2022, it was confirmed that Rihanna had given birth to a boy. During the Super Bowl LVII halftime show, Rihanna revealed that she was pregnant with the couple’s second child.
Rocky was a pescetarian. In 2012, he transitioned to a vegetarian diet with the help of his vegan manager after learning of the horrors of the poultry industry. On his 2019 single “Babushka Boi”, Rocky stated he is now a vegan.
Rocky has said that while he was raised in a Christian household, he does not like going to an organized church, and instead has “[his] own relationship with God… I pray every day before I go to sleep.” He addresses these views in the song “Holy Ghost” on his 2015 album At. Long. Last. ASAP. During Rocky’s 2019 incarceration in Sweden, he prayed to keep himself occupied.
In July 2019, A$AP Rocky was arrested initially for aggravated, then for simple assault in Stockholm, Sweden, after an altercation in the street against a man named Mustafa Jafari and another person that involved A$AP Rocky and three of his entourage on June 30. Jafari was beaten, kicked, and cut with broken bottles when down on the ground. He suffered several cuts, requiring stitches, and a fractured rib. A$AP Rocky uploaded two videos of the incident to Instagram. In the first, he and his entourage repeatedly ask two young men, including Jafari, to stop following them as the latter complains about his headphones. In the other, created from footage of assorted events, Jafari’s headphones break during a scuffle, and he is seen hitting A$AP Rocky’s bodyguard with them. A woman is also seen in the video, accusing the two men of groping. Henrik Olsson Lilja, the defense attorney for A$AP Rocky, maintained that his client acted in self-defense after being attacked by Jafari.
Alleged assault in Hollywood, On April 20, 2022, A$AP Rocky was arrested by LAPD officers upon arriving to the Los Angeles International Airport after a vacation with his partner, Rihanna. He was arrested for a potential assault with a deadly weapon in a Hollywood shooting on November 6, 2021. Bail was set at $550,000 and he was released shortly after.
After his arrest, detectives executed a warrant to search his home, gaining entry by using a pry bar to force the gate open. Detectives took several boxes from his home to use as evidence. On August 15, 2022, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office filed charges against Rocky.
His accomplishments include three BET Awards, two MTV awards, and nominations for two Grammy Awards and six World Music Awards, for a total of five wins and 37 nominations overall
