ASAP Mob (stylized as A$AP Mob, ASAP being an acronym for "Always Strive And Prosper")
is an American
hip hop collective
Musical collective is a phrase used to describe a group of musicians in which membership is flexible and creative control is shared.Liisa Ladouceur"Collegjthk ctive Souls" ''This Magazine'', November/December 2004. The concept is distinct from th ...
formed in 2006 in
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
,
that consists of rappers (most of whom carry the "ASAP" moniker), record producers, music video directors and fashion designers.
In August 2012, the collective released the mixtape ''
Lords Never Worry''. They released the single "
Trillmatic
"Trillmatic" is a song by American rapper ASAP Nast from the New York-based hip hop collective ASAP Mob. It was released on December 4, 2013. It was originally intended to be a first single from ASAP Mob's debut studio album '' L.O.R.D.'', whi ...
" in December 2013,
followed by their debut studio album, ''
Cozy Tapes Vol. 1: Friends'', in October 2016.
History
Formation and early beginnings (2006–2012)
In 2006, Steven Rodriguez, professionally known as A$AP Yams, formed the collective with fellow
New Yorkers A$AP Bari, A$AP Kham and A$AP Illz.
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...
rapper A$AP Rocky joined later.
In the summer of 2011, the group released
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...
s for Rocky's singles "
Peso
The peso is the monetary unit of several countries in the Americas, and the Philippines. Originating in the Spanish Empire, the word translates to "weight". In most countries the peso uses the same sign, "$", as many currencies named "dollar" ...
" and "Purple Swag,"
produced by A$AP Ty Beats. Rocky followed up with his
mixtape ''
Live.Love.A$AP'' in October, signing a record deal with
Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...
that month.
''Lords Never Worry'' (2012–2014)
![Joey Badass x ASAP Mob - Under the Influence Tour 2013 Toronto](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Joey_Badass_x_ASAP_Mob_-_Under_the_Influence_Tour_2013_Toronto.jpg)
On August 27, 2012, A$AP Mob released their debut project, a mixtape titled ''
Lords Never Worry'', as a free download. From September to November, Rocky toured with opening acts
Schoolboy Q
Quincy Matthew Hanley (born October 26, 1986), better known by his stage name Schoolboy Q (stylized as ScHoolboy Q), is an American rapper. In 2009, Hanley signed to Carson-based independent record label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) and in late ...
,
Danny Brown
Daniel Dewan Sewell (born March 16, 1981), better known by his stage name Danny Brown, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He has been described by MTV as "one of rap's most unique figures in recent memory".
In 2010, after amassing ...
, and A$AP Mob in support of his solo debut album.
In January 2013,
A$AP Ferg
Darold Durard Brown Ferguson Jr. (born October 20, 1988), known professionally as ASAP Ferg (stylized as A$AP Ferg), is an American rapper from New York City's Harlem neighborhood. Aside from his solo career, he is a member of the hip hop collec ...
signed a joint venture deal with
RCA
The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...
and
Polo Grounds, which released his single "Work" for retail on iTunes. An official
remix of "Work", featuring Rocky,
French Montana,
Schoolboy Q
Quincy Matthew Hanley (born October 26, 1986), better known by his stage name Schoolboy Q (stylized as ScHoolboy Q), is an American rapper. In 2009, Hanley signed to Carson-based independent record label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) and in late ...
and
Trinidad James
Nicholaus Joseph Williams (born September 24, 1987), better known by his stage name Trinidad James (often stylized as Trinidad Jame$), is a Trinidadian-American rapper. In 2012, he signed a recording contract with Def Jam Recordings. The label d ...
, followed.
Rocky's debut album ''
Long. Live. A$AP'', was released on January 15, 2013, debuting at number one on the
''Billboard'' 200 chart, with first-week sales of 139,000 copies in the United States.
A$AP Ferg announced that A$AP Mob would release their debut album after the release of his solo debut album ''
Trap Lord'',
on August 20, 2013. The album peaked at number nine on the
''Billboard'' 200 and number four on the
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated ...
chart, with first-week sales of 32,000 copies in the United States. In November 2013, A$AP Rocky announced that A$AP Mob's debut album would be titled ''Lords''. On December 4, 2013, the album's first
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
, entitled "
Trillmatic
"Trillmatic" is a song by American rapper ASAP Nast from the New York-based hip hop collective ASAP Mob. It was released on December 4, 2013. It was originally intended to be a first single from ASAP Mob's debut studio album '' L.O.R.D.'', whi ...
."
The album title was then changed to ''
L.O.R.D.'' On January 13, 2014, the single "See Me" by A$AP Ant was released.
On September 26, 2014, A$AP Yams revealed that ''L.O.R.D.'' had been shelved.
''Cozy Tapes'' series (2015–present)
On January 18, 2015, A$AP Mob revealed that A$AP Yams had died
of acute mixed drug intoxication.
On October 15, 2016, A$AP Rocky confirmed that the group's compilation album ''
Cozy Tapes Vol. 1: Friends'' was completed. Dedicated to A$AP Yams, the album was released on October 31, 2016, and featured several artists, including
Playboi Carti
Jordan Terrell Carter (born September 13, 1996), known professionally as Playboi Carti, is an American rapper. Carter was initially signed to local underground label Awful Records prior to signing with ASAP Mob's AWGE Label under Interscope ...
,
Skepta and
Tyler, The Creator
Tyler Gregory Okonma (born March 6, 1991), known professionally as Tyler, the Creator, is an American rapper and record producer. He is one of the founding members of the music collective Odd Future.
Okonma self-released his debut mixtape ' ...
.
On August 1, 2017, A$AP Rocky announced that ''
Cozy Tapes Vol. 2: Too Cozy'' would be released on August 25, preceded by
ASAP Twelvyy
Jamel Phillips (born May 30, 1989),https://www.instagram.com/p/BGCiV-ZhwX9/ better known as his stage name ASAP Twelvyy (stylized as A$AP Twelvyy), is an American rapper from Harlem, New York City. He is a member of the hip hop group ASAP Mob, fr ...
's ''12'' album on August 4 and
ASAP Ferg's ''
Still Striving
''Still Striving'' is the second mixtape by American rapper ASAP Ferg. It was released through ASAP Worldwide, Polo Grounds Music, and RCA Records on August 18, 2017. The album features guest appearances from Meek Mill, Cam'ron, Dave East, Lil Y ...
'' album on August 18.
On January 13, 2019, ASAP Ant announced that he was leaving the collective to focus on his solo career. He returned in April, confirming that the collective had begun work on their third studio album, ''Cozy Tapes 3''.
Deaths of ASAP Yams, ASAP Snacks, Chynna and ASAP Josh
On January 18, 2015, ASAP Yams was found dead at the age of 26. The cause of death was ruled an
overdose
A drug overdose (overdose or OD) is the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities much greater than are recommended. due to
mixed drug intoxication,
although ASAP Mob members and affiliates claimed that Yams had died of
asphyxiating
Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body which arises from abnormal breathing. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects primarily the tissues and organs. There are many circumstances that can ...
on vomit brought on by
sleep apnea
Sleep apnea, also spelled sleep apnoea, is a sleep disorder in which pauses in breathing or periods of shallow breathing during sleep occur more often than normal. Each pause can last for a few seconds to a few minutes and they happen many tim ...
.
On February 2, 2020, J. SCOTT, also known as A$AP Snacks, died.
On April 8, 2020,
Chynna was found dead of an accidental drug overdose. She was 25 years old.
On October 16, 2021, A$AP Josh died.
Discography
Studio albums
Mixtapes
Singles
Music videos
Awards and nominations
BET Awards
The BET Awards is an American award show that was established in 2001 by the Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate black entertainers and other minorities in music, film, sports and philanthropy. The awards, which are presented annua ...
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2014
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, rowspan="2", ASAP Mob
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Best Group
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,
2015
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References
{{Authority control
African-American musical groups
Hip hop collectives
Hip hop groups from New York City
Musical groups established in 2007
RCA Records artists
2007 establishments in New York City
Trap musicians