On Jan. 18, an announcement came out that A$AP Yams, the co-owner of A$AP Worldwide Global Enterprises had passed away. Dying at the age of 26 of causes that are unknown at this time, Yams left behind a legacy that will live through the continual success of the A$AP Mob take over. Yams helped engineer famed rapper A$AP Rocky’s rise to the top of the hip-hop scene so fast that it seemed he acquired fame over night. Rocky told the New York Times, “Yams is the hip-hop encyclopedia. He’s no joke. That’s one person I can’t front on when it comes to music.” It was through his operations in the background and the promotion of Rocky through the internet that he will forever be remembered as a hip-hop icon.

All members of A$AP mob have the following interests in common: fashion, Texas music, purple drink, being open minded, and roots in Harlem, said by A$AP Rocky himself in VICE’s five part series on A$AP Mob called, “SVDDXNLY.”In their case, A$AP does not stand for “as soon as possible,” but for “always strive and prosper.” 

Rocky’s rapid rise to the top was paved with the plan that Yams had laid out for him. Yams’ real name is Steven Rodriguez, and he was absolutely obsessed with hip-hop. As a kid he spent most of his time listening to and looking up music online. He told the New York Times, “Even though I lived in the 'hood, I was still on my internet-y geek stuff.” Through working with him on the SVDDXNLY documentary, Andy Capper from Vice said that Yams was the sweetest, smartest young dude in the industry. He was always “deadly serious about A$AP but never took himself seriously.” He called him a creative, visionary genius that, even at big parties, was very real. Most importantly he says that, “his influence on modern culture can’t be over stated."

Yams started out with an internship with Diplomat Records, which is the home to rappers Cam’ron and Julez Santana. At the age of 16, he was already managing a few producers. His main inspiration was Irv Gotti who guided Jay-Z, Ja Rule, and DMX at Def Jam records, all of whom had immense success in their musical careers. Growing up on the southern edge of Harlem, he met Rocky through mutual friends. At the time, Rocky had his hair pulled straight back into a ponytail (completely different from his current iconic braided hairstyle). Rocky said Yams was seeking, “somebody who could actually kind of direct to get to where we needed to go, and that’s what Yams was. He was like the director.” Yams saw the potential in Rocky and molded his talents like clay to make him a conglomerate of rapping styles from all over the world.

Yams became a celebrity though two entities. The first was his cameos in A$AP music videos. He is very easy to spot as a short and stocky guy with braids and a birthmark on his right cheek. The second way he gained popularity was though his Tumblr page. He liked the website for its easy ability to republish photos through a single click, and saw the potential in spreading a rapper’s music this way. His page became a one-stop shop for songs, scans of old magazine covers, rare photos, and insider jokes. After meeting and working with Rocky, he began to write about him on the page as if he did not know him. 

“Purple Swag” was the first track put online, which was not even the mob’s favorite song, and it blew up like crazy. By the beginning of 2011, Rocky had a bunch of music ready to go, and released his first mixtape on Halloween of that year, “LiveLoveA$AP.” The mixtape had big radio hit, “F__kin' Problems feat. Drake, 2 Chainz & Kendrick Lamar,” but other than that it did not have much radio friendly music. Still, it was one of the most successful mix tapes of all time.

Yams tweeted on Jan. 17 at 1:17 a.m. “Bodeine Brazy” which is a reference to drinking lean. Yams’ death was announced on Sunday, Jan. 18 on social media by A$AP Rocky and A$AP Ferg. This, and a previous story of him almost dying by aspirating while on Xanax and lean at Coachella a few years back, led a lot of people to believe that he passed away similarly. A$AP Ant responded quickly via Vibe saying, “It ain't no overdose. People stop saying overdose cause that’s not what it is…” Rocky also denied rumors that drugs played a part in his passing in talking to Billboard, "People were saying that Yams overdosed on drugs -- he didn't overdose on any drugs," Rocky said, though he declined to discuss the real cause of Yams' passing. "I feel like people feel that way because that is all he is doing in pictures. When you see A$AP Yams you see Hennessey or purple drink, you see some type of controlled substance or illegal narcotic."

On Saturday, Jan. 24, Rocky was at Sundance film festival in Utah for the premier of Dope, in which he plays a supporting role as a drug dealer. At the premiere’s after party he played two songs and left the stage, dedicating the second song to Yams. He told Billboard that he left the stage because he is still mourning and was leaving right after that performance to attend Yams’ burial in New York City at the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Home,  and the fan ceremony which followed.

Rocky insists that he is doing better and will recover and that he has a new album coming out that was co-produced by Yams. Condolences were received from people all over the world: Drake, Mac Miller, Russell Simmons, 2 Chainz, Action Bronson and Juicy J are a handful of artists who tweeted their condolences. Every person who ever met him always talked about his sincerity and intelligence. He always had a plan in mind for A$AP, and we all can rest assure that the A$AP Mob will continue to “strive and prosper” despite the loss of Yams.

Rest in peace Yambhorgini.