Steven “A$AP Yams” Rodriguez, the co-founder and visionary behind Harlem’s A$AP Mob collective, passed away at the tender age of 26 on January 18, 2015. His death was ruled an accidental overdose due to acute mixed drug intoxication, according to the New York City chief medical examiner.
In a new conversation with comedian Jerrod Carmichael for Interview Magazine, A$AP Rocky opens up about discovering Yams’ unresponsive body in his Brooklyn apartment that fateful day, shedding new light on the tragic situation.
Prompted by a question from Carmichael about finding humor in life’s low points, Rocky recalls an unintentionally funny moment that happened as he and fellow Mob member A$AP Lou attempted to revive their unconscious friend.
“Yo, no bullshit. The day Yams died, me and [A$AP] Lou found him and he wasn’t responsive,” he replies. “We ran to the kitchen to get water, ice, shit like that. I got to the kitchen first, and I could see into the hallway. I’m at the sink pouring water, and I look down the hall and see Lou running to help me grab some ice to wake Yams up.
“It was like a cartoon — my man tripped and slid down the hall on a carpet like Aladdin, bro. He went from the living room and slid all the way to the kitchen. I’m literally dying crying, but I’m crying from laughing, and I’m crying ’cause Yams is dead.”
That lighthearted story doesn’t take away from the horror that A$AP Rocky experienced when he discovered A$AP Yams’ body, though, nor the grief and sadness that he still carries in the wake of his death.
“I just look at his face. I look at Lou. You could just tell. We knew,” Rocky told The New York Times in 2015 while reflecting on the tragedy. “I was scared. I was wilding on everybody, like, ‘Who let him do drugs?’ Even though you can’t blame nobody.”
He added in an MTV News interview that same month, “When it comes down to it, would I trade this music for Yams? Yes. Because in all reality, Yams is the only person that’s actually been through this shit with me and knows how I feel.”
Drake Gifts A$AP Rocky With Custom A$AP Yams Chain For Yams Day 2020
Elsewhere in his Interview Magazine chat with Carmichael, A$AP Rocky talks about adjusting to fatherhood (he and Rihanna welcomed a baby boy in May), admits to being a huge “goofball” and shares his thoughts on the current state of Hip Hop.
“Rap is in its adolescence and it’s been stuck here since Soulja Boy,” he said. “Before, everybody looked 35 and up. When Lil Wayne and JAY-Z and T.I. and Jeezy and Ross was on, rappers looked old. Like, we had Lil Bow Wow and that was it.
“That all changed with the internet and self-releasing. Now, rap is stuck in this braggadocious, adolescent space. It’s not as mature.”
He’s definitely right about the state of rap today. We can all see the immaturity today, like not having to be lyrically talented to be called a “rapper”, not being able to rap over a beat correctly, everybody using the same wack flow, everything autotuned and singing lyrics instead of actually rapping.
Preach. Big facts
The internet angle is solid but the south ruined hip-hop?? You need to have all your fingertips cut off and shoved up your ass slowly… foh
Sure the south gave us a lot of good artists but it also popularlized all that junkie and opiate bs into the rap game. Slurred speech and the beginning of the mumble rap phenomenon, not mention the eventual overuse of autotune in damn near every southern artists music.
yeah becaust the chronic never dropped n feminem never rapped about pills or junkie shit, tpain revived the autotune n there were plenty junkie rappers before people were payin attention to the south. geto boys ugk 8ball mjg outkast goodie….. all master wordsmiths that tell stories with lessons the mumble ish started round 2010 the south been around a lot longer than that
yeah becaus the chronic never dropped n feminem never rapped about pills or junkie shit, tpain revived the autotune n there were plenty junkie rappers before people were payin attention to the south. geto boys ugk 8ball mjg outkast goodie….. all master wordsmiths that tell stories with lessons the mumble ish started round 2010 the south been around a lot longer than that
Not to mention Chicago. I can only listen to old school rappers and I only get excited when they release stuff. They make these younguns look so stupid talent wise. There are a few young rappers that I bump but they actually have bars. As in Millyz says H.L.R. High Level Rap, fuck the rest.
Like a Bird