A$AP Rocky – LIVELOVEA$AP

As 2011 comes to an end, 2012 should be ushered in with the clanking of wine bottles, half-witted New Year’s Resolutions and a long overdue moratorium on the word “swag.” If not for the word’s blatant overuse, the moratorium should be instituted out of respect for ASAP Rocky’s mixtape, LIVELOVEA$AP.

The young Harlemite’s mixtape is the very definition of the word. Influenced heavily by the chopped-and-screwed, syrup-sipping Houston rap scene, LIVELOVEA$AP funks more style than most rappers could only hope for when they beat their chest with their braggadocios and inflated egos. Enlisting the laid-back production of up and coming beatmakers like Clam Casino, ASAP Ty Beats and SpaceGhostPurrp, Rocky gives his confident, yet
relaxed take on the genre of drug dealing, crime-ridden rap.

Working to propel Rocky to levels of impossible cool, LIVELOVEA$AP is sleepy, smooth and fluid above everything else. Filled with heavy bass and lazy flows, the mixtape isn’t about lyrics, but the illustration the rapper has procured for himself. In a year where image and swag was everything, Rocky came out swinging and stayed light years ahead of his competition.

By Kevin Kunitake