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The Student Newspaper of DePaul University

The DePaulia

The Student Newspaper of DePaul University

The DePaulia

The Student Newspaper of DePaul University

The DePaulia

A$AP Rocky brings the swag at House of Blues

New York native Rakim Mayers, better known as ASAP Rocky, brought the Harlem swagger to the Windy City May 3. With support from @IBHAPPY and #Been#Trill, the mob gave Chicago a satisfying taste of Rocky’s enshrined, yet melodic, rap style.

If you’re used to watching bands grind through 90-minute shows, then Rocky’s performance was a little grating – a deconstructed, out-of-the-blue mess. However, as far as deconstructed messes go, it was pretty amazing.

During the course of ASAP Rocky’s performance at premiere Chicago venue House of Blues, a mob of nearly 30 people accompanied Rocky on stage throughout the swift 25-minute set. From the very beginning of the beat-blasting performance, mosh pits instantly formed, and crowd surfing ensued.

Rocky pumped up the crowd, spitting many of his biggest hits in the beginning, including “Wassup,” “Purple Swag” and “Brand New Guy” from his debut mixtape Live.Love.A$AP. In his short-lived career, Rocky has taken the industry by storm, signing a $3 million record deal with Sony/RCA earlier this year. Fans were more than familiar with the mixtape as they belted every word to each track that was blasted through the House of Blues speaker system.

At the end of the surprisingly short show, the Harlem rapper concluded with the sensational hit that had everyone’s attention this past summer, “Peso.” But this wasn’t the end. Rocky and his crew members returned and sprung into the crowd, dropping groupie favorite “Trilla.” He again stunned the crowd by transitioning into Chief Keef’s “I Don’t Like” as his encore. Needless to say, Rocky turned a crowd from a bunch of hip-hop heads to, in his own words, “trill motherf*&#ers.”

Despite the recent “swag” overload, Rocky avoids hipster cliches and retains his more organic style. Purple drank, weed, women, currency, getup and a New York edge is the subject matter that defines the Harlem native. In the course of just a few months, Rocky has advanced from obscurity to a golden boy in the eyes of music press.

Rocky, who announced during the show that he’d like to be referred to as Flacko, an alias introduced in one of his recent track’s “Pretty Flacko,” is all part of the interesting and evolving path ASAP Rocky is on. This early rush of fortune and fame may shape his personality and force him to fade quickly from the charts. But maybe the notorious swag king will lead a rap resurrection.

Regardless, we’re all rooting for you, Flacko.

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