Black Thought Credits A$AP Rocky’s ‘LongLiveA$AP’ with Ushering in New Era of New York Hip-Hop
Black Thought is reflecting on hip-hop and the albums that changed the landscape of the culture over the years.
During an interview with Pitchfork, The Roots emcee was asked to choose specific projects that resonated with him over hip-hop’s first 50 years in existence.
While discussing albums, such as Lauryn Hill’s “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,” OutKast’s “Speakerboxxx/The Love Below,” and Big Daddy Kane’s “Long Live The Kane,” Thought noted how influential A$AP Rocky’s debut LP “LongLiveA$AP” was in changing the sound in hip-hop’s birthplace.
“This album ushered in a new era of New York hip-hop,” he said. “It’s so braggadocious, it’s so macho, it’s so Harlem. But it’s also genre-transcendent. He was able to blur the line between the New York hip-hop aesthetic—which was trending less at the time—and the aesthetic that was beginning to trend more: classic UGK, 8Ball and MJG. He was the bridge between dope and trill in a way that was very necessary.”
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“New Yorkers who had creative blinders on and weren’t able to see beyond two feet in front of them began to adopt a different perspective in their process,” he added. “Rocky represents the beginning of that for me.”
Additionally, the Philly rapper discussed meeting Rocky early on in his career and how he and his crew “were just good dudes.”
“I really rocked with their movement,” he noted. “I see elements of myself in A$AP Rocky, and later on I’d find out we share a birthday. He’s named after Rakim, who’s a huge influence of mine. He’s mellow. But he’s also one of those people I admire for his ability to continue to innovate.”
During the interview, Black Thought also discussed Kanye West’s “808s and Heartbreak” and how he connects less with West’s music than he used to.
