It might be a stretch to call A$AP Rocky a creative genius, but you cannot deny that the rapper has style and an artistic eye. This has been becoming increasingly more apparent leading up to and following the release of his latest album, At.Long.Last.ASAP. However, credit must be given where credit is due. A$AP has a slew of photographers, directors, and artists he collaborates with to make his visions a reality.
In an effort to promote his second album he teamed up with artist and minimalist designer Robert Gallardo to completely remodel his Instagram page PRETTY FLACKO. Another photographer A$AP met and befriended at SXSW in Austin, Texas, Tan Camera (also known as Kimi Selfridge), helped in the efforts to turn A$AP’s Instagram page into a feed of elevated artistic content. A$AP allowed and encouraged Selfridge to have total creative freedom in their collaboration, something that he, as an artist, firmly believes in. Selfridge’s intention was to give fans a glimpse into A$AP’s inner world; her final images combined 35mm and Polaroid film photographs, painting, and pattern work, all revealing a more intimate picture of the rapper. A$AP’s bold changes to his social media page resulted in him losing around 100,00 followers. This might be due to the excessive number of posts required to create the final collogues. While most of the posts consist of blocks of color or random pieces of a whole the pictures eventually come together to form a more cohesive, visually appealing image.
A$AP’s Instagram isn’t his only visual arts outlet; he’s also utilized his music videos as a way to further express his creative talents. One of his latest and perhaps most impressive videos is his "L$D" video, also from his album At.Long.Last.ASAP. A$AP aimed to capture the experience of an LSD trip. Working alongside director Dexter Navy, the two created a colorful and somewhat disorienting visual explosion that embodied A$AP’s “trippy” state of mind when experimenting with the drug.
A$AP and Dexter wanted to pay homage to Gaspar Noé’s 2009 psychedelic fantasy film "Enter the Void," and when watching the music video one can’t help but see the parallels between it and the film, particularly the brightly illuminated Tokyo setting.
(taken from "L$D" music video)
(taken from "Enter the Void")
Although it has been a while since the initial changes were made to his Instagram account and his "L$D" music video was released, something tells me the rapper is in the works on his next big piece and I can honestly say I can’t wait to see what he’s come up with. Long Live A$AP!
