As Elle’s latest cover star, A$AP Rocky told venerable hip-hop journalist Clover Hope about the reality of some perceived sore spots in his life. The thesis? He’s doing just fine, all things considered.
On the everlasting battle between Kendrick Lamar and Drake in which he threw and caught a few lyrical punches in (he slighted Drake on Future and Metro Boomin’s 2024 single “Show of Hands” after Drake had seemingly dissed him and his partner Rihanna in a series of songs like 2023’s “Fear of Heights”), Rocky said he found himself entertained, but not committed. “It was healthy for hip-hop,” he said. “The battle was between Kendrick and Drake, not Drake and everybody else who might have said something at that time, and that’s mainly why I fell back. I just hate the way it’s turning out with [Drake] suing and all that. What part of the game is that? What type of shit is that? That’s none of my business, I guess.”
More his business is that of A$AP Mob, the Harlem rap crew in which he ascended to fame. Former member Terell “A$AP Relli” Ephron accused Rocky of shooting at him in November 2021. In February, Rocky, born Rakim Mayers, was found not guilty. Despite that rift, Rocky confirmed during his interview with Elle that the group is still intact, though there’s a lot of healing left to do. “I ain’t bullshitting. This ain’t no politically correct answer,” Rocky said. “Anybody who used to be my protégés, my friends, my musical band partners, and they don’t fuck with me, that’s ’cause they don’t fuck with me. I don’t have animosity toward anybody. I don’t have a reason to. I’m too happy.”
While he said he still considers some of A$AP Mob his brothers, he harbors some hard feelings. “I played a father figure for a lot of these guys despite us being close in age. It’s different when people are sleeping on your floor, your couch, your bed. When you’ve got 13 people living in a one-bedroom apartment, and you just got money—especially when you don’t have to. So I look at it as my children just being rebellious.” However, he added, “I’m not trying to paint myself out to be a victim,” and that “I really do sleep well at night, because I know I’m not trying to do anybody dirty. I just want everybody to be together.”
Rocky emphasized that he’s too busy and happy to stress any of this too much. In August, he starred in Spike Lee’s latest film Highest 2 Lowest alongside Denzel Washington and next up he’s in A24’s If I Had Legs I’d Kick You come October. He and Rihanna are also expecting their third child, as they she revealed in May — and according to Elle, Rocky’s got his fingers crossed for their first daughter.
