''Live. Love. ASAP'' (stylized as ''LIVE.LOVE.A$AP'') is the debut

mixtape A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...

by American rapper

ASAP Rocky Rakim Athelaston Mayers (born October 3, 1988), known professionally as ASAP Rocky ( ; stylized as A$AP Rocky), is an American rapper, music producer and record executive. Born and raised in Harlem, he embarked on his musical career as a membe ...

, who released it as a free digital download on October 31, 2011. It features production by Clams Casino, ASAP Ty Beats, DJ Burn One, and

SpaceGhostPurrp Markese Money Rolle (born April 1, 1991), known professionally as SpaceGhostPurrp, is an American rapper and record producer from Miami, Florida. He was the founder of the American hip hop group Raider Klan and Black Money Boys. Famous Raider ...

, among others. The mixtape also features guest rappers

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 Fat Tony, as well as members of

ASAP Mob ASAP Mob (stylized as A$AP Mob, ASAP being an acronym for "Always Strive And Prosper") is an American hip hop collective formed in 2006 in Harlem, New York City, that consists of rappers (most of whom carry the "ASAP" moniker), record producers, ...

, ASAP Rocky's hip hop collective. The mixtape's music incorporates stylistic and production elements of hip hop scenes distinct from ASAP Rocky's hometown New York scene, particularly

Southern hip hop Southern hip hop, also known as Southern rap, South Coast hip hop, or dirty south, is a blanket term for a regional genre of American hip hop music that emerged in the Southern United States, especially in Atlanta, New Orleans, Houston, Memph ...

. Its production features woozy soundscapes, low and mid-tempo beats, and

chopped and screwed Chopped and screwed (also called screwed and chopped or slowed and throwed) is a music genre and technique of remixing music that involves slowing down the tempo and deejaying. It developed in the Houston hip hop scene in the early 1990s by DJ ...

choruses. His lyrics deal with themes about moral decay, including promiscuity and drug use, expressed through his boastful, tempered flow. The mixtape was promoted with two 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 Dollar sign, same sign, "$", as many currencies na ...

" and "Purple Swag", which garnered ASAP Rocky mainstream attention and led to his first record deal. ''Live. Love. ASAP'' received widespread acclaim from critics, who praised the production aesthetic and ASAP Rocky's charismatic rapping style. It was included in several year-end top album lists by critics and publications. On October 29, 2021, ASAP Rocky re-released the mixtape on all streaming platforms.

Background

In May 2011,

quit selling drugs and decided to focus on a career in rapping. He released a music video for his song "Purple Swag" in July, garnering Internet buzz and attention from record labels, despite negative feedback from his native hip hop scene in New York. He was courted by several labels, including the

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 ...

-distributed

Polo Grounds Music Polo Grounds Music is a hip hop and R&B record label distributed by Sony Music's RCA Records. Polo Grounds Music is a full-service entertainment company with a focus in publishing, management, marketing and promotions. Founded in 2006 by Bryan ...

. However, he held off from any deal with a label, instead wanting to explore other pursuits. He and Polo Grounds president Bryan Leach, also a Harlem native, subsequently spent time talking about music and lifestyles. In August 2011, ASAP Rocky followed with "

", which first appeared on Internet blogs and eventually received radio airplay on New York City's

Hot 97 WQHT (97.1 FM, ''Hot 97'') is a commercial radio station, licensed to New York, New York, which broadcasts an urban contemporary music format. The station is owned by Mediaco Holding and operated by Emmis Communications under a shared service ...

. The song also earned him respect in the New York scene, of which he later said, "It brings a tear to my eye to see native New York people give me my props because New York is stubborn and arrogant". After a bidding war among labels, he signed a record deal with Polo Grounds and RCA on October 14. It was worth $3 million, with $1.7 million for his solo work and $1.3 million to fund his company ASAP Worldwide. He said that he sought a "bigger platform" for him and his collective with the deal. His first studio album planned to be under the deal, but it allowed him to continue releasing mixtapes through

RED Distribution RED Music, stylized RED MUSIC, formerly RED Distribution, LLC (Relativity Entertainment Distribution) was a Sony-owned sales and marketing division that merged under The Orchard in 2017. RED previously handled releases for more than sixty i ...

Recording and production

ASAP Rocky recorded ''Live.Love.ASAP'' at Ishlab Music Studio in

Dumbo ''Dumbo'' is a 1941 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The fourth Disney animated feature film, it is based upon the storyline written by Helen Aberson and Harold Pearl, a ...

, a neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. It was engineered by the studio's primary technicians Daniel Lynas and Frans Mernick. Several producers on the mixtape were associated with ASAP Mob, a collective that was formed by ASAP Rocky in 2007 and featured rappers, record producers, and music video directors. ASAP Ty Beats,

, and Clams Casino, who had produced several of ASAP Rocky's previous songs, were his principal collaborators in developing the songs' woozy soundscapes. Casino previously produced for

Lil B Brandon Christopher McCartney (born August 17, 1989), professionally known as Lil B and as his alter ego The BasedGod, is an American rapper. Lil B has recorded both solo and with Bay Area group The Pack. His solo work spans several genres, ...

and

Main Attrakionz Main Attrakionz is an American hip hop duo from Oakland, California, composed of rappers Mondre M.A.N. (Damondre Grice) and Squadda B (Charles Glover). Career Grice and Glover met in the seventh grade when they were both kicked out of math class, ...

, who appears on the mixtape. ASAP Rocky met him after he remixed Casino's song "Numb", which was later recorded as "Demons" for the mixtape, and they both tried to contact one another as respective fans. Their first recording for the mixtape was "Wassup". In August, he rented a

pied-à-terre A ''pied-à-terre'' (, plural: ''pieds-à-terre''; French for "foot on the ground") is a small living unit, e.g., apartment or condominium, often located in a large city and not used as an individual's primary residence. The term implies use of ...

in Midtown Manhattan and housed members of ASAP Mob during

Hurricane Irene Hurricane Irene was a large and destructive tropical cyclone which affected much of the Caribbean and East Coast of the United States during late August 2011. The ninth named storm, first hurricane, and first major hurricane of the 2011 At ...

's landfall in New York City.

Musical style

Musically, ''Live. Love. ASAP'' incorporates characteristics from hip hop scenes outside of ASAP Rocky's hometown scene in Harlem, New York, including Midwest and

, particularly the

hip hop production Hip hop production is the creation of hip hop music in a recording studio. While the term encompasses all aspects of hip hop music creation, including recording the rapping of an MC, a turntablist or DJ providing a beat, playing samples and " ...

of Houston's scene. He grew up listening to Southern hip hop artists such as

Geto Boys Geto Boys (originally spelled Ghetto Boys) was an American hip-hop group originally formed in Houston, Texas. The Geto Boys enjoyed success in the 1990s with the group's classic lineup consisting of Bushwick Bill, Scarface and Willie D, earning ...

UGK UGK (short for Underground Kingz) was an American hip hop duo from Port Arthur, Texas, formed in 1987, by Chad "Pimp C" Butler and Bernard "Bun B" Freeman. They released their first major-label album, ''Too Hard to Swallow'', in 1992, followe ...

Swishahouse Swishahouse is an independent Southern hip hop, southern rap record label and hip hop collective based in Houston, Texas. History Swishahouse was founded in North Houston in 1997 by founder and CEO Michael "5000" Watts and OG Ron C as a response ...

, Mike Jones,

Paul Wall Paul Michael Slayton (born March 11, 1981), better known by his stage name Paul Wall, is an American rapper and DJ. He has spent much of his career affiliated with Swishahouse Records, and has released several albums under the label and collabor ...

, and

Slim Thug Stayve Jerome Thomas (born September 8, 1980), better known by his stage name Slim Thug, is an American rapper. He initially gained mainstream attention for his contribution to the hit single by rapper Mike Jones, "Still Tippin'". In July 2005, h ...

. He also grew up listening to artists of disparate music genres, including

Hope Sandoval Hope Sandoval (born June 24, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter who is the lead singer of Mazzy Star and Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions. Sandoval has toured and collaborated with other artists, including Massive Attack, for whom she san ...

CeeLo Green Thomas DeCarlo Callaway - Burton (born May 30, 1975), known professionally as CeeLo Green (or Cee Lo Green), is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer and actor. He is known for his work in hip hop and R&B, including the Gnarls ...

, and

MGMT MGMT () is an American indie rock band formed in 2002 in Middletown, Connecticut. It was founded by multi-instrumentalists Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser. Alongside VanWyngarden and Goldwasser, MGMT's live lineup currently consists of ...

, influences that music journalist

Paul Lester Paul Lester is a British music journalist, author and broadcaster from Elstree, North London. Career He began his career as a freelance journalist, for ''Melody Maker'' in the early 1990s, as well as ''City Limits'', ''20/20'', ''Sky Magazine ...

attributes to the mixtape's "languid but futuristic sonics". The beats on ''Live. Love. ASAP'' are generally low or mid-tempo and hazy-sounding. The songs also have

choruses. Clams Casino's moody, atmospheric production is characterized by fragmented, downbeat vocal samples, basic drum tracks, and ambient, hypnotic synths. Songs produced by DJ Burn One, Beautiful Lou, and Soufein3000 incorporate more Southern hip hop elements.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

editor Andre Barnes views the mixtape's music as distinct from

East Coast hip hop East Coast hip hop is a regional subgenre of hip hop music that originated in New York City during the 1970s. Hip hop is recognized to have originated and evolved first in the Bronx, New York City. In contrast to other styles, East Coast hip ...

, calling it "sonically out of place, recasting the feel of East Coast hip-hop into a quintessential, albeit progressive southern aesthetic with its country

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

and cosmic, syrupy backdrops."

Jon Caramanica Jon Caramanica (born 1975) is an American journalist and pop music critic who writes for ''The New York Times''. He is also known for writing about hip hop music. Biography Born in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York, Caramanica received his ba ...

calls ''Live. Love. ASAP'' "placeless and universal, an album that sounds as if it has ingested the last 20 years of hip-hop's travels and would be comfortable anywhere." Caramanica notes characteristics of various hip hop scenes other than that of New York's scene, including "chewy, slowed-down homages to Houston" and "nods to New Orleans and

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

and the Bay Area and everywhere else hip-hop is made." Alvin Aqua Blanco of ''

HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of hip hop music criticism and news. The website's current president and publisher is Sharath Cherian and the Head Of Content is Jerry L. Barrow. ''HipHopDX'' is the flagship publication of Cheri Media Group. ...

'' writes that the music's grooves "generally stay on the

DJ Screw Robert Earl Davis Jr. (July 20, 1971 – November 16, 2000), better known by his stage name DJ Screw, was an American hip hop DJ based in Houston, Texas, and best known as the creator of the now-famous chopped and screwed DJ technique. He ...

side of the

BPMs Business process management (BPM) is the discipline in which people use various methods to Business process discovery, discover, Business process modeling, model, Business analysis, analyze, measure, improve, optimize, and Business process autom ...

". ''

Consequence Consequence may refer to: * Logical consequence, also known as a ''consequence relation'', or ''entailment'' * In operant conditioning, a result of some behavior * Consequentialism, a theory in philosophy in which the morality of an act is determi ...

'' editor Mike Madden notes its musical dynamic as "Southern flavors crossbreed ngwith plenty of cloudy ambient-rap moments" and views that the cadences of the beats consequently "dictate" ASAP Rocky's rapping style. The epic-sounding, Clams Casino-produced opening track, "Palace", has Rocky acknowledging Southern hip hop's influence on his sound: "Influenced by Houston / you can hear it in my music". "Wassup" has an ethereal, Houston-inspired soundscape. However, Chase McMullen of ''

Beats Per Minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ( ...

'' observes from the mixtape's sound the "threatening vibe" of

Raekwon Corey Woods (born January 12, 1970), better known by his stage name Raekwon The Chef, or simply Raekwon (), is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as a founding member of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, which achieved mainstream success ...

's 1995 album '' Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...'' and a

grime Grime may refer to: * Dirt, in the form of black, ingrained dust * Grime (music genre), a genre of music * ''Grime'' (album), a 2001 album by Iniquity * ''Grime'' (video game), a 2021 Metroidvania video game * "Grime", a 2022 song by Dallas Woo ...

influence, commenting that "while southern influences currently dominate much of current hip hop, Rocky places as much importance on the Wu as he does Three 6." Paul Lester of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' compares "Peso" to the stylings of

The Jet Age of Tomorrow The Jet Age of Tomorrow (formerly The Super 3) is an American production duo from Atlanta, Georgia and a sub-group of hip hop collective Odd Future that consists of producer-singer Matt Martians, and producer-rapper Pyramid Vritra. According to Mar ...

. "Trilla" has a funk and

boom bap Boom bap is a subgenre and music production style that was prominent in the East Coast during the golden age of hip hop from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. The term "boom bap" is an onomatopoeia that represents the sounds used for the b ...

influence in its production.

Themes

The mixtape's subject matter of moral decay incorporates controversial thematic elements of mainstream hip hop, including

misogyny Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. It is a form of sexism that is used to keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the societal roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practiced fo ...

, glorified male promiscuity, and excessive drug use. Songs such as "Leaf", "Get Lit", and "Roll One Up" are odes to cannabis smoking. Music writers note the mixtape's perspective as that of a self-assured youth concerned with simple pleasures and "keeping it trill (true and real)". Evan Rytlewski of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'' comments that ASAP Rocky mostly "riffs on his four great loves:

syrup In cooking, a syrup (less commonly sirup; from ar, شراب; , beverage, wine and la, sirupus) is a condiment that is a thick, viscous liquid consisting primarily of a solution of sugar in water, containing a large amount of dissolved sugars ...

weed A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, "a plant in the wrong place", or a plant growing where it is not wanted.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. ...

, women, and fashion". Calling it a "guilty pleasure" for hip hop

purist Purism is an arts movement that took place between 1918 and 1925. Purism may also refer to: *Purism (Spanish architecture) (1530–1560), a phase of Renaissance architecture in Spain *Purism (company) Purism, SPC is an American computer techn ...

s, AllMusic's Andre Barnes characterizes the mixtape's subject matter as "the antithesis of

conscious rap Political hip hop is a subgenre of hip hop music that was developed in the 1980s as a way of turning hip hop into a call for political and/or social action and a form of social and/or political activism. Inspired by 1970s political artists su ...

" and his lyricism as "sedate charisma and mannerisms leaning toward UGK-inspired bravado", adding that it displaces "the intricate lyrical concepts that evoke intense listening and the undeniable slang definitive of traditional East Coast rap music". "Purple Swag", a woozy-sounding homage to Houston's hip hop scene, references the

purple drank Lean, also known as purple drank, purp, sizzurp, syrup, wock, oil, joy juice, and several other names, is a recreational drug beverage, prepared by mixing prescription strength cough or cold syrup containing codeine and promethazine with a ...

popularized by the scene's community and used recreationally by ASAP Rocky and his collective. His lyrics on "Peso" depict a charismatic, attractive persona, with him referring to himself as a "pretty motherfucker". The song also features lyrics about his eccentric and flamboyant fashion sense: "

Raf Simons Raf Jan Simons (; born 12 January 1968) is a Belgian fashion designer. Beginning in furniture design, Simons launched his own menswear label in 1995. He was creative director at Jil Sander (2005–2012), Christian Dior (2012–2015), and Calvin K ...

Rick Owens Richard Saturnino Owens (born November 18, 1962) is an American fashion designer from Porterville, California. In addition to his main line, Owens has a furniture line and a number of diffusion lines. Early life and education Richard Saturnino ...

/ usually what I’m dressed in". He also name-drops fashion designer Jeremy Scott throughout the mixtape. ASAP Rocky's flow throughout the mixtape is tempered, and his delivery ranges from nonchalant rhymes to forceful

double time In popular music, half-time is a type of meter and tempo that alters the rhythmic feel by essentially ''doubling the tempo resolution'' or metric division/level in comparison to common-time. Thus, two measures of approximate a single measure o ...

. Jon Caramanica writes that the subject matter, including "straight-talking boasts" and "heavy intake of drugs and women", is revealed by his "bursts of short phrases, rhymed in their entirety." On "Palace", ASAP Rocky demonstrates

alliterative Alliteration is the conspicuous repetition of initial consonant sounds of nearby words in a phrase, often used as a literary device. A familiar example is "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers". Alliteration is used poetically in various ...

lyricism and singsong cadence and flow. His flow patterns have been compared by writers to those of Cleveland-based hip hop group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. August Brown of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' writes that "his reserved, steely delivery owes equal debts to Houston's syrup daze and

Dipset The Diplomats (also known as Dipset) is an American hip hop collective formed in 1997 by childhood friends Cam'ron and Jim Jones in Harlem, New York. The group was originally composed of Cam'ron, Jim Jones and Freekey Zekey, all of whom grew ...

's uptown intensity". He addresses his rapping style on "Purple Swag": "I'm Texas trill, Texas trill, but in NY we spit it slow". On "Leaf", he addresses hip-hoppers' criticism of his style: "They say I sound like

André André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew, and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries. It is a variation ...

/ mixed with Kanye / a little bit of Max / a little bit of

Wiz Wiz may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Wizard (MUD), or wiz, a developer or administrator of Multi-User Dungeon game *"Wiz" Zumwalt, the hero of a series of novels by Rick Cook * Wiz (''KonoSuba''), a character in the light novel series ''Kon ...

/ a little bit of that / a little bit of this / get off my dick".

Marketing

An anticipated release among Internet tastemakers, ''Live. Love. ASAP'' was released as a free digital download on October 31, 2011. Two days after its release, A$AP Rocky proclaimed it to be "better than a lot of people's albums". The mixtape did not

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...

after its release. The mixtape's

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

"Peso" was officially released on November 16. It charted for nine weeks and peaked at number 81 on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

in February 2012. The second single "Purple Swag" was released on December 5. Previously released as a

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

video, the mixtape version features guest verses by SpaceGhostPurrp and

ASAP Nast Tariq Amar Devega (born July 26, 1990), better known by his stage name ASAP Nast (stylized as A$AP Nast), is an American rapper, songwriter and model from Harlem, New York. Nast is best known as a member of the hip hop collective A$AP Mob. As ...

. A music video for "Wassup" was directed by ASAP Rocky with magazine editor and journalist

Andy Capper Andrew Richard Capper (born 14 February 1973) is a British US-based Film director, director, journalist and former editor and executive producer at ''Vice Media''. In 2018, he founded Happy Now Film. Career Capper's career in journalism started ...

. His videos depicted a glamorous and dissolute lifestyle led by him and his crew, with images of excess and fashion, including gold fronts, liquor containers, and designer clothing. In the months leading up to the mixtape's release, ASAP Rocky performed several low-key venues in New York, including the

Alife Rivington Club Alife Rivington Club is a shoe store located in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Alife Rivington Club sells newly released, exclusive and limited-edition sneakers from companies such as Nike and Adidas. The store is located at 158 Rivington St. ...

, a party for

Fool's Gold Records Fool's Gold Records is an independent record label based in Brooklyn, New York, United States. The label is known for its annual series of Day Off concerts across the US and Canada. History Fool’s Gold Records was founded in 2005 by DJs A- ...

, a

Diplomats A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internatio ...

concert, and

Santos Party House Santos Party House was a New York City nightclub located at 96 Lafayette Street between Walker and White Streets in the TriBeCa neighborhood of downtown Manhattan. Originally named the "Lafayette Street Jungle Gym", Santos Party House was recogni ...

. He also played ''

CMJ CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' and ''CMJ New Music Report''. Th ...

''s music festival in October. In 2012, he toured on

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...

's Club Paradise Tour and performed at several music festivals, including

South by Southwest South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...

, Summer Jam,

Pitchfork Music Festival The Pitchfork Music Festival is an annual summer music festival organized by ''Pitchfork Media'' and held in Union Park in Chicago, Illinois. Starting in 2011, the festival announced a branch staged in Paris at Grande halle de la Villette. The fe ...

, and

Rock the Bells Rock the Bells was an annual hip-hop festival that originally took place in Southern California only, but has since toured throughout the world. The concert featured a line-up of high-profile alternative hip-hop artists, often headlined by a mor ...

. The touring experience allowed ASAP Rocky to work on his live performance and stage presence. Reportedly, as a part of ASAP Rocky's record deal, there were plans for ''Live. Love. ASAP'' to be re-released for retail by Polo Grounds, RCA, and his then-created ASAP Worldwide in 2012. He had said that it would have been a "deluxe version". On October 29, 2021, the mixtape was released for the first time on

music streaming A music streaming service is a type of streaming media service that focuses primarily on music, and sometimes other forms of digital audio content such as podcasts. These services are usually subscription-based services allowing users to stream d ...

services. The rereleased edition featured the new song "Sandman", produced by Kelvin Krash and Rocky's longtime collaborator Clams Casino, although "Kissin' Pink and "Out of This World" were omitted.

Critical reception

''Live. Love. ASAP'' was met with widespread critical acclaim. At

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional critics, the mixtape received an

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...

score of 83, based on 12 reviews. Aggregator

AnyDecentMusic? AnyDecentMusic? is a website that collates album reviews from magazines, websites, and newspapers. Primarily focused on popular music – covering rock, pop, electronic, dance, folk, country, roots, hip-hop, R&B, and rap – albums are adjudg ...

gave it 7.6 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus. Reviewing for ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'',

Jim Carroll James Dennis Carroll (August 1, 1949 – September 11, 2009) was an American author, poet, autobiographer, and punk musician. Carroll was best known for his 1978 autobiographical work '' The Basketball Diaries'', which inspired a 1995 film of ...

hailed the mixtape as "a dashing statement of intent", while ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

''s Jeff Weiss said it is a "triumph of immaculate taste" that shows "Rocky embodies the sweat-free cool of someone who has stolen the test and memorized the answers ahead of time." AllMusic's Andre Barnes wrote of the mixtape's appeal to hip hop purists and listeners, "For the saints, ''Live Love ASAP'' is nothing short of a guilty pleasure ... But for the aesthetically inclined, ''Live Love ASAP'' is a marvel of contemporary rap music, despite its abounding moral decay." Colin McGowan from ''Cokemachineglow'' cited his ability to "command a variety of sounds" as the reason it sounds "unified without drifting into monochrome territory". McGowan viewed that, although his "Wayne-ian pattern" is not as "fluid" nor "dotted with exuberant metaphors", his sensibilities make up for technical shortcomings:

BBC Music BBC Music is responsible for the music played across the BBC. The current director of music is Bob Shennan, who is also the controller of BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 6 Music, and the BBC Asian Network. Officially it is a part of the BBC's Radio o ...

's Ele Beattie advised listeners, "If you've come looking for tight flows and witty wordplay, Rocky ain't your man. But attitude and production will win you over." Evan Rytlewski of ''The A.V. Club'' felt that "he's a magnetic rapper, and his delivery is reliably sharp, but he rarely uses it to say anything", and instead commended him for "curating exceptional beats and knowing when to get out of their way." He added that, "by enlisting some of the Internet's most forward-thinking young producers ... ockys crafted the year's most stylish mix-tape, a melting pot of nearly every major underground rap trend of the last 16 months, all pitched to the intoxicating slow crawl of Houston screw music." Although he noted a "lack of so-called substance", David Amidon of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'' viewed that the mixtape's release helped materialize "the positive influence of the internet on the next generation of hip-hop". Jon Caramanica of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' cited its two singles as "among the year's best hip-hop songs."

Accolades

The mixtape was included in several year-end top album lists by critics and publications. It was named the ninth-best album of 2011 by ''

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'' in the publication's year-end list. It was ranked number 10 on ''

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''s top albums list. Gorilla vs. Bear ranked the mixtape number five and stated, "Sometimes good instincts, an effortless flow, off-the-charts charisma, and just sounding a lot cooler than everyone else goes a long way." In ranking it number nine, ''

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'' commended ASAP Rocky's "defined sound and unique aesthetic", calling him "electric and precise on the microphone" and writing that the mixtape's beats "bang so hard they bring Houston to Harlem." ''Los Angeles Times'' staff writer August Brown ranked the mixtape number two on her top albums list and wrote that it "cemented" his reputation, while citing Clams Casino's beats as "some of the year's most imaginative, evocative hip-hop productions." Jonah Weiner of ''

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'' ranked it number five on his list and, although he cited him as part of "hip-hop's abiding misogynist" in 2011, saying that he and his contemporaries "trash so many other genre orthodoxies." ''Live. Love. ASAP'' also earned ASAP Rocky a nomination for

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Background

Recording and production

Musical style

Themes

Marketing

Critical reception

Accolades

Track listing

Personnel

Charts

References

External links