It isn’t unusual for entertainers to wear multiple hats nowadays. A$AP Rocky is a prime example. He’s not just a rapper — he’s an entrepreneur, fashion innovator and trendsetter. Plus, he’s one half of what Harper’s Bazaar calls a power couple “who will inevitably go down in history” — A$AP Rocky and Rihanna have been official since 2020. They even have a couple of kids together!
Learn who A$AP Rocky is and the titles he holds below.
A$AP Rocky’s musical journey
Though A$AP Rocky is known for many things, his rap career is probably his biggest claim to fame.
Early life and influences
Rakim Mayers was born Oct. 3, 1988, in Harlem to Renee Black and Adrian Mayers. The rapper’s childhood was rough, marred by his father’s arrest for selling narcotics — Rocky was just 12 at the time — and the murder of his older brother, Ricky.
His father’s and brother’s absences made the Mayerses struggle financially. Throughout Rocky’s teenage years, the family moved from one homeless shelter to another, bouncing around New York City, Philadelphia and North Carolina. During this time, Rocky began selling drugs, hoping to bring some income to the family. However, when he was 16, the New York native’s drug dealing landed him in hot water. He was arrested and ended up incarcerated in the Rikers Island penitentiary.
At Rikers, Rocky began taking his rap talents more seriously. He briefly shared a cell with Caswell Senior, a Brooklyn-born rapper who’d later be known as Casanova. The pair’s conversations about the genre, coupled with the hip-hop artists he’d grown up listening to — The Diplomats, Mobb Deep, Wu-Tang Clan and Run DMC are just a few — inspired Rocky to make rapping his career.
Introduction to the A$AP Mob
After his release from Rikers, Rocky joined a Harlem-born collective of creatives called the A$AP Mob, founded by A$AP Yams, A$AP Bari and A$AP Illz. Upon joining the collective, Rocky adopted the “A$AP” moniker and became known as A$AP Rocky.
With the help of three of the collective’s producers, A$AP Rocky released his first single, “Purple Swag,” in July 2011. The following month, his second single, “Peso,” was leaked online. A few weeks later, the Hot 97 New York radio station would play it on-air.
The positive reception to his two self-released singles, plus the popularity he received after releasing the “Purple Swag” music video, put Rocky on several record labels’ radars. Just before the release of his debut mixtape “Live. Love. A$AP.” in October 2011, he signed a $3 million deal with Polo Grounds Music, an imprint of Sony Music’s RCA Records.
Breakthrough album and hits
The next couple of years were pivotal in Rocky’s career, complete with milestones like joining Kendrick Lamar as the opening act for Drake’s Club Paradise Tour, making his network television debut and releasing his debut studio album “Long. Live. A$AP.” in January 2013.
The album, which received generally positive reviews, debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 list and features guest appearances from Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Yelawolf, Florence Welch and more. Two of the album’s singles, “Goldie” and “F**kin’ Problems,” dominated the charts, receiving spots on Complex’s Best Songs of 2012 list.
In 2015, Rocky released his sophomore album, “At. Long. Last. A$AP.” Like his mixtape and debut, this album featured genre-bending. However, this one also has a more psychedelic sound that comes through in singles like “Everyday” and “LSD.”
A$AP Rocky’s third album, “Testing,” released in 2018 and, like his previous records, showcased the rapper’s fascination with psychedelic drugs. The trippy-sounding, experimental album includes a single with Skepta called “Praise the Lord (Da Shine),” which Rocky revealed was written while the two artists were on an acid trip.
Fashion icon status
Though A$AP Rocky first made headlines for his rap talents, he has since managed to build a reputation as a fashion icon — not surprising, as he shared with Interview Magazine in 2012 that he’s been into fashion since birth.
“I grew up in the hood, and everybody in the hood wants to compensate for being in poverty, so they want to look good to keep themselves up,” he told the publication. “That’s been embedded in me. My father, he kept me in the Jordans and Guess stuff and all that other sh*t, so it was just like I grew up on that fashion sh*t.”
Unique style and aesthetic
Many of A$AP Rocky’s most iconic looks include bright colors, funky patterns and combinations of the two. It’s not uncommon to see the rapper stepping out in things like colorful head scarves, jeans decked out in animal appliques or batik prints.
However, since A$AP Rocky’s and Rihanna’s children were born, the rapper has opted for more understated looks than those he sported in the past.
In a 2024 interview with PEOPLE Magazine, Rocky shared,
“If I could define my dad style, I would say it’s way more focused. Prior to that, it was really just like absurd outfits, just mismatching everything for the sake of it. But now, I think it’s a bit more quiet luxury.”
“Quiet luxury” doesn’t mean unstylish. Fashion is still of the utmost importance to the rapper, as seen by the personal touches — bright scarves and ties, embroidered initials and pops of color — he adds to even his more serious outfits.
Collaborations with designers
Rocky’s love of fashion has led him to join forces with several high-profile brands and designers. Some of his noteworthy collaborations include:
- The GUE$$ capsule collection with Guess Originals, released in 2016, marking the first time the brand worked with a collaborator
- A 2019 appearance in the Calvin Klein I Speak My Truth in #MyCalvins campaign
- A design collaboration with JW Anderson called JWA x A$AP Rocky and AWGE, released in June 2016
- Appearances in Gucci’s Guilty perfume ads
- A feature in Dior Homme’s Fall 2016 campaign
- The release of the A$AP Rocky x PUMA Inhale sneakers in 2024
- Becoming the first creative director at Ray-Ban in 2025
Though not a fashion partnership, A$AP Rocky’s and Rihanna’s collaboration is also worth mentioning. In 2024, Rocky joined forces with his partner’s Fenty Beauty to promote the brand’s unisex Lux Balm.
American Sabotage clothing line
In 2024, A$AP Rocky debuted his first ready-to-wear collection at a Hotel de Maisons fashion show during Paris Fashion Week.
Rocky created the line called “American Sabotage” with designers Bede Marchand, Joshua Jamal and Coucou Bebehe and in collaboration with his creative agency, AWGE.
Each of the 30 “American Sabotage” pieces is a work of art and activism, decked out with phrases like “POLITICAL SATIRE” and adorned with bald eagles, American flags and 1865 — that was the year the 13th Amendment was ratified and slavery was formally abolished under the U.S. Constitution.
There are also pieces inspired by the New York Police Department and paramedic uniforms. These are all a nod to what he calls “ghetto expressionism,” a combination of urban style and dark, Tim Burton-esque aesthetics. One piece looked like a bulletproof vest, intended to bring attention to inequality in the justice system.
Of the edgy line, Rocky shared in the show notes,
“Expressing our individuality is great, but sometimes expressing our unity and reliance on each other is a good thing to remember too… especially in the face of the peak intolerance we are experiencing in the world right now. This is fashion with purpose, where art meets activism.”
Cultural impact
As both a musician and fashion icon, A$AP Rocky has managed to raise the bar on cultural innovation in both industries.
Contributions to hip-hop culture
Rocky’s unique sound, complete with chopped and screwed production elements, psychedelic sounds and influence from both the Southern and East Coast rap games have made him stand out. It’s also inspired other contemporary hip-hop artists like Travis Scott, ScHoolboy Q and Playboi Carti to echo his unique music style.
Redefining masculinity in fashion
While many veteran and current hip-hop artists opt to stick to traditional streetwear garments — loose t-shirts, oversized jeans and sneakers — A$AP Rocky’s outfits typically march to the beat of his own drum when it comes to style. His style has not only helped bridge the gap between streetwear and high fashion — hip-hop fans gained access to high-end fashion heads like Raf Simons, thanks to Rocky — but also challenged traditional gender norms.
By choosing to wear things like a Gucci headscarf, lacy tops, pearl necklaces and even skirts, Rocky has helped show some of the traditionally feminine garments and accessories in a new, gender-fluid light.
Role in promoting diversity in the music and fashion industries
By seamlessly blending streetwear and high-end fashion aesthetics and ignoring bending traditional gender norms in his clothing choices, Rocky is making space for others to go against the grain and express themselves as they see fit. He is also allowing a larger group of people to resonate with his fashion choices.
His influence doesn’t just encourage diversity in the fashion space. It promotes diversity in the music industry, too, thanks to his unique sound. Rocky combines traditional 90s boom-bap with psychedelic grooves and chopped, screwed southern production elements to create tunes that resonate with several kinds of rap fans.
Besides that, Rocky has collaborated with artists in other genres, including Florence Welch of Florence & the Machine, Lana Del Rey and FKA Twigs, making music that reaches a broader, more diverse group of listeners.
Continuous innovation in creativity
As an artist, A$AP Rocky has managed to make highly creative moves in both his music and style.
Experimental approaches in music and fashion
Rocky is an experimental rapper who has challenged the boundaries of typical New York rap since his first release in 2011. His sound and lyrics were so out-there compared to the norm that his home state, the birthplace of the genre, was hesitant to embrace him, he recalls in a New York Times interview, stating,
“New York gave me hell for that ‘Purple Swag,’ man. They didn’t respect me until ‘Peso.’”
Back then, even his fashion choices were far cries from what his peers were wearing. In the same NYT interview, Rocky notes that while other Harlem residents were wearing Nike Air Max shoes, he and his friends, a group of eccentric outcasts, preferred Gucci loafers.
Though not all of Rocky’s experiments have been generally well-received — for example, his third album, “Testing,” established him as an experimental rapper, but some listeners thought it failed to reach the standards his previous albums set — he continues to make bold artistic choices. And his culture of innovation encourages young fans to do the same.
A$AP Rocky’s willingness to push boundaries in both musical and fashion spaces has helped set new standards for self-expression. His unique sound has helped inspire a new generation of artists to play around with creating more unconventional music, and his fashion choices have helped bridge the gap between luxury brands and hip-hop culture. Companies and brands have begun to notice the trends he’s setting and have adjusted their strategies to work with them.
Legacy and future influence
Though he’s been working for more than a decade and has already established himself in both the music and fashion industries, A$AP Rocky is far from being finished.
His legacy is still unfolding. Thanks to his current partnership with Ray-Ban as the company’s first-ever creative director and his fourth studio album, “Don’t Be Dumb,” set to be released soon, the public will no doubt continue to see plenty of new, creative ideas in both the fashion and music spaces from the Harlem-born A$AP Mob member.
Though it’s not 100% certain what A$AP Rocky’s professional future holds, it’s safe to assume that, given the rapper’s track record, we’ll get more experimental sounds, boundary-pushing and actions for diversity from him.
