New Wave
Updated: Jan 3, 2021
The A$AP Mob has been energising the new-gen of hip-hop for a hot minute now, shaping street culture through various disciplines such as Fashion, Music and Art. The American collective was birthed in Harlem over a decade ago and remains one of Hip-Hops biggest collectives to date.
I got the chance to speak to one of the members; A$AP TyY about his recent mixtape ‘Project Rockstar’. A$AP TyY may come from the legendary streets of Harlem but that doesn’t necessarily define who he is. Releasing various mixtapes such as ‘Best Kept Secret’ back in 2016 and ‘Troubles Of The World’ last year, he also featured on the infamous ‘Cozy Tapes Vol.2’ along side other members of the A$AP mob. A$AP TyY has excelled beyond expectations, performing at YAMS Day earlier this year alongside the likes of A$AP Rocky.
The rapper’s love for biking doesn’t go unknown and he has in-fact popularised the subculture throughout New York. They are known for their love of ATV’s and Dirt Bikes and riding them through the streets of New York which is evident through TyY’s Instagram. TyY collaborated with clothing brand HoodLab last year and formed a line that was influenced primarily through his love for biking, which you can see in the video below.
A$AP TyY released his latest project ‘Project Rockstar’ earlier last month which consists of 11 tracks. Project Rockstar features Young Syrup, Royal Rel, Cee Sims, Jah and London’s very own Pak-Man. Project Rockstar carries with it a gritty feel of Rock which ironically fits perfectly with the title ‘Project Rockstar’. The first track ‘Warning’ which features Young Syrup fuses both Rock and Hip-Hop together moulding an aggressive beat combined with heavy guitar. In comparison to tracks like ‘Pillow Talkin’ which is my personal favourite has a solid production and ‘Fine Print’ featuring Cee Sims and Jah which takes a more laid back approach bringing back that essence of Hip-Hop. A$AP TyY isn’t afraid to show his love for London, so it was only right that Pak-Man featured on the project.
The Interview
Q: What inspired the rock feel to the project?
TyY: What inspired the rock feel? Erm, I’m just kind of like a wild boy so the rock feel is something I ran with because I just consider myself a Rockstar. I like to get wild, break shit get outta control and shut shit down. You know what I’m sayin? That’s where the Project Rockstar came from.
Q: How did the features come about?
TyY: The features came about.. I have some dope friends that I was working well with. I got a guy out there, my boy Pak-Man from London he on there I got a couple other people on there but you know my features come on game nothing’s every pressured…You know what I’m sayin.
Are you dropping anymore visuals for Project Rockstar?
TyY: Stay tuned there’s always visuals on the way. New music, new videos coming soon dropping any minute now so look out for that, you feel me.
Do you listen to any of the U.K. music scene. If so, who?
TyY: I listen to a bunch of U.K. artists. I listen to a lot of U.K. artists shout out to the U.K. I fucks with a lot of people I aint gon’ go with there names but London is like a home away from home so I definitely know about the culture. The London way.. the right way. You know what I’m sayin.
Listen to the full project below!