Yams’ presence was mostly behind-the-scenes (though he’d often appear in the videos, in all his jiggy splendor), but he was the heart and soul of the A$AP Mob, and Rocky’s success is no short of unfathomable without his guidance.

But the most glaring change between then and now is the absence of Yams, or Steven Rodriguez, who died this January at 26 of a drug overdose. There’s been a two-plus year gap between Rocky’s sophomore studio album, At., and his chart-topping major label debut, during which he dabbled in fashion design, modeled for Ferragamo, and made his acting debut in Sundance darling Dope. In between the conceptual Instagram stunts and Harry Potter-themed sartorial wisdom, it’s hard not to wonder about the Rakim Mayers beneath the swaggy labels, and if we’d ever get a lasting impression of his point of view beyond the infinite affirmations that it is, indeed, lit.

That triumph of personal taste has been one of the reasons Rocky’s resonated most with this generation of rap fans and beyond, but it’s also led to his most persistent critique: all vibe, no substance. As he should: his own success can be directly traced to early promo on his mentor and A$AP Worldwide co-owner A$AP Yams’ highly influential RealNiggaTumblr, one of the savviest indie-to-major reconnaissance missions this century. A$AP Rocky, the baby-faced fashion killa and primary figurehead of zeitgeist-wheelie-poppin’ Harlem goon squad A$AP Mob, has always understood this better than anyone else in the rap game. As it’s grown easier to translate our identities through these careful assemblages of stuff we fuck with, good taste has taken on a new leveraging power. We are in the age of the curator, from meticulously-arranged, aspirational Tumblrs to Drake’s recent stint at Sotheby’s.

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