ASAP Rocky

Rakim Athelaston Mayers (born October 3, 1988), known professionally as ASAP Rocky (stylized as A$AP Rocky), is an American rapper.

Born and raised in Harlem, he embarked on his musical career as a member of the hip hop collective ASAP Mob, from which he adopted his moniker.

Rakim Athelaston Mayers was born on October 3, 1988, in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, a borough of New York City.

His father is from Barbados.

He has an older brother (deceased) and an older sister, Erika.

Both Rakim and Erika's names are taken from the Eric B.. & Rakim duo.

His cousin is fellow ASAP Mob member ASAP Nast.

Mayers started rapping at age nine, when he moved to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

He learned how to rap from his older brother, who also wore the Cornrows hairdo that A$AP Mayers later adopted.

When Mayers was 13, his brother was killed in Harlem.

The death inspired Mayers to take rapping more seriously.

Mayers grew up admiring Harlem-based rap group The Diplomats.

He was also influenced by Mobb Deep, Three 6 Mafia, UGK, Run DMC, Wu-Tang Clan, and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony.

When Mayers was 12 years old, his father went to jail and he spent his teenage years moving around homeless shelters with his mother and sister.

After living for a period in a shelter with his mother in New York City, he moved to Midtown Manhattan.

In 2007, Mayers joined the A$AP Mob crew, a Harlem-based collective of rappers, producers, music video directors, fashion designers, and bikers who shared similar interests in music, fashion, style, and art.

It had been formed by A$AP Yams, A$AP Bari and A$AP Illz.

In August 2011, Mayers' single "Peso" was leaked online and within weeks, began receiving radio airplay.

He signed with Polo Grounds Music, an imprint of RCA Records in October of that year, and shortly after, released his debut mixtape, Live. Love. A$AP (2011) to widespread critical acclaim.

In July 2011, Mayers released his single "Purple Swag" which quickly became a street anthem in New York City.

In August 2011, Mayers’ single "Peso", was leaked online and within weeks received airplay on the high-profile Hot 97 New York radio station.

After he released a music video for his song "Purple Swag", he received attention from several record labels.

In October, he released the mixtape Live. Love. A$AP to critical acclaim.

Earlier that month, he signed a two-year, $3 million record deal with Bryan Leach's Polo Grounds Music, which at the time was distributed by Clive Davis' Sony Music division of J Records.

Upon his record deal, Mayers started a label, A$AP Worldwide, with A$AP Yams.

However, Mayers’ deal with J Records would be short-lived, when on October 7, RCA Music Group announced that it was merging J alongside Arista and Jive Records into RCA Records.

With the shutdown, Mayers (and all other artists previously signed to these three labels) will release future material under the RCA brand.

His father died in 2012.

On December 5, he was nominated for BBC's Sound of 2012 poll.

In February 2012, Mayers joined Kendrick Lamar as the opening act for Drake's Club Paradise Tour.

In June, SpaceGhostPurrp, founder of Miami-based collective Raider Klan and Mayers’ past collaborator, accused A$AP Twelvyy of jumping Raider Klan's Matt Stoops and subsequently disassociated himself from A$AP Mob and Mayers in a YouTube video.

He and Raider Klan also accused ASAP Mob of copying their style, and Mayers of using lyrics from SpaceGhostPurrp's song "My Enemy" on "Goldie".

Mayers responded in a July interview for MTV, saying that SpaceGhostPurrp is "try[ing] to build hype" and told him to "stick to makin' beats".

In July 2012, Mayers performed at the Pitchfork Music Festival.

Mayers' debut studio album, Long. Live. A$AP (2013) peaked the Billboard 200, received double platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and saw positive critical reception.

The album was supported by his first Billboard Hot 100 entry as its lead single: "Fuckin' Problems" (featuring Drake, 2 Chainz and Kendrick Lamar), which peaked at number eight on the chart and received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rap Song.

His second album, At. Long. Last. A$AP (2015) likewise debuted atop the chart and saw continued critical praise; its single, "L$D" earned his second Grammy Award nomination for Best Music Video at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards.

His third album, Testing (2018) peaked within the top five of the Billboard 200 and seven other countries, while his fourth album, Don't Be Dumb is scheduled for release in 2024.

Mayers has won a BET Award, two BET Hip Hop Awards, an MTV Video Music Award Japan and an MTVU Woodie Award, as well as being nominated for two Grammy Awards, six World Music Awards, three MTV Video Music Awards and two MTV Europe Music Awards.

Furthermore, Mayers is also a music video director, and produces records for other artists under the pseudonym Lord Flacko.