As the sun begins to rise on the East Coast, Hip-Hop fans are learning the sad news about A$AP Mob Worldwide founding member, A$AP Yams, who has reportedly passed away.
With little-to-no details on what happened, several A$AP Mob members—including A$AP Rocky’s manager, Chace Infinite (of Self Scientific)— posted retrospective photos and one 15-second video of the man born Steven Rodriguez. Also known as “Hip-Hop’s Spirit Guide,” Rodriguez formed the A$AP Mob Worldwide collective with A$AP Bari and A$AP Illz back in 2007.
A happenstance meeting with Rocky in 2008 led to the biggest group in New York since the Wu-Tang Clan signing a major label deal in 2011. In a New York Times expose about Yams, done in 2013, he explained the relationship between himself and Rocky, saying, “Rocky’s like Luke Skywalker, and I’m Yoda.” The charismatic and electric self-starter and rap sage served as the next-gen Damon Dash for Harlem’s trill generation.
From his “A$AP” tattooed on his forearm since the age of 17 to his brazen love for flamboyancy, according to the late A$AP founder being big was all he wanted. “We didn’t want to do it by hopping on somebody else’s wave. We wanted to come in the game with our own wave,” Yams explained in the New York Times profile. The shockingly sudden news of his passing has gripped the Hip-Hop world by surprise as we delve deeper into the new year.
While we here at Hip-Hop Wired will continue to update you on the scenario at hand, we took time out to allow you, the fans, to express your sincere condolences at the lost of such a bright and vibrant spirit.
—
Photo: Instagram
