Tango En Vogue

There's one thing I love more than ASAP Rocky and that's ASAP Rocky with Chanel Iman. Posing in various dance stances, the couple are looking gorgeous in Vogue's September issue. In a world where "get money, fuck bitches" is the ubiquitous message propagated through much of the music we hear, these two are helping upkeep the standard set by Jay Z and Beyonce and publicly showing their unity and loyalty to one another (whilst looking mighty fine in the process). Preach.

Met Gala Faves

Rihanna stole the show. A$AP Rocky and Chanel Iman look damn good together. And I still love Frank Ocean a hell of a lot.

Jimmy Franco

My crush on A$AP Rocky has returned with almighty force after watching this video. And after a few skeptical first plays, I can say that I do like the song; the mish mash of sound effects in the background is actually quite schnazzy. But I guess I'm a little biased seen as everytime I hear it I imagine A$AP Rocky looking terribly handsome in his shades.

A$AP Rocky

I went to see A$AP Rocky on Thursday evening and it was like all of my dreams came true.

Although we were waiting about an hour between the opening act and actual Lord Flacko, it was totally worth it. Opening with 'Suddenly' he began by rapping from off stage but as the beat dropped, the lights brightened, A$AP appeared and we went bat shit crazy. I'm not kidding, the continous mosh pit that never ceased during the show was mental. After the first few tracks me and my friend had grasped the basic survival techniques to be successful in a crowd of moshers and had managed to weave our way towards the front (you basically have to rotate around the circle they form). By this time everyone was a sweaty mess but we didn't even care. A$AP Rocky had taken off his top at this point too so I all I was bothered about was getting a closer look at the glowing angel before me.

He rapped songs from the latest album, Long Live A$AP, as well as taking it back a few with tracks such as Peso and Hands On The Wheel from the previous album. I'd say that Wild For The Night was the track that got everyone hyped the most but the audience (especially me and Rosie) were going mental throughout, whichever song came on. He also kept calling us all 'family' and got involved in passing out water to our dehydrated selves, which was nice of him.

I'm definitely getting tickets next time he's in town and I'm going to wait all day if I have to just to be at the front. Yahurrrr. Look at how live Wild For The Night was (I was literally just to the left of this guy, right in the middle of the crowd):

some images from clashmusic

LONG.LIVE.A$AP

I have been a fan of A$AP Rocky since Goldie dropped in April last year so I have been waiting in anticipation ever since for the album that followed. Featuring collaborations with artists such as Santogold, Kendrick Lamar, Florence Welch and my new favourite Joey Bada$$ (more on that soon) it would be difficult to find a fault.

The first thing to note about Rocky's major label debut is the sheer diversity within the album. Opening with the hard hitting self-titled track Long Live A$AP, the album progresses to taking shape in all corners of musicality. Wild For The Night features the seemingly contrasting style of dubstep artist Skrillex yet manifests as a completely natural collaboration that provides an upbeat, laser filled track of which Rocky flows to, rhyming to the uncharacteristically fast tempo effortlessly. Immediately preceding this is 1Train, a reversion to classic rap without any structure of a chorus and verse but just a ceaseless beat that is decorated by a host of hot lyricists. Then there is my favourite track Suddenly. With only one mention of those bad bitches that we are familiar to in Fuckin' Problems, this is a more humble track in which Rocky recounts how things have changed from his childhood to now. He also addresses his views towards egality amongst the very good production: "I only got one vision, that’s for kids in every colour, religion...You my brother, you my kin, fuck the colour of your skin."

Yesterday, I ordered tickets for when A$AP Rocky comes to the UK in May and I cannot bloody well wait. Also, this reaction video to the album is brilliant.

Favourite Tracks: Long Live A$AP, 1Train, Suddenly, Ghetto Symphony

Lana Del Rey: National Anthem Video (ft. A$AP Rocky)

Lana Del Rey's latest video for her single National Anthem is, according to A$AP Rocky, "some cool trippy shit, some real 2015 shit".

Proceeding the famous moment in which Lana imitates Marilyn Monroe singing for the president's birthday, the instagram-style video begins in unison with the song and both Lana and A$AP Rocky depict the perfect, presidential American lifestyle of JFK and his wife. This unblemished portrayal heightens the doomed fate at the end of the video as a gunshot sounds and the underlying message of the song comes to it's climax. The lingering shot of a tattoo reading "trust no-one" is quite significant to the story of JFK, considering how Marilyn was his lover and this video comes from the perspective of his wife. The audible voice of Lana is then carried out with an instrumental that is so emotionally burdened and powerful. It's just a perfect seven minute forty piece of cinema that represents the song beautifully.

For me, I find that this video captures the meaning of the lyrics perfectly, which I never quite understood as clearly without the visuals. It also brings into light such a monumental moment in history (JFK's assassination) that maybe the 'newer generation' hadn't known about prior to this.

p.s. Am I the only one who finds A$AP Rocky quite attractive with this powerful and polished demeanour?

Extraordinary Swag And A Mouth Full Of Gold

Just a quick few words, I've been so busy revising lately. I've been reading so much French recently that I have genuinely begun talking to myself in the language. Oh mon dieu. Here's a few songs that I've been playing the heck out of when having study breaks, singing in the mirror.

Pyrite (Fools Gold)
Frank Ocean


Goldie
ASAP Rocky


No Church In The Wild
Jay Z & Kanye West ft. Frank Ocean


Quelle Surprise (Mols, seriously, quit it with the constant French) Frank Ocean has appeared again. He's just too perfect. I love Pyrite, his voice is so beautiful with the melancholy chord progression. Also, Goldie and No Church In The Wild are the perfect songs to blast through your speakers with their similarly addictive and constant basslines.

P.S. thankyou to Emily, Kate and Kendall from Trends With Benefits for the Versatile Blogger Award nomination.