X Urban Music Magazine Preview issue Vol 1 | Page 5

Anthony Alden

A$AP ROCKY
aturday afternoon, four hours and 45 minutes before show time, our email confirmation for media credentials came at 3:15 p.m. The “A$AP ROCKY MOB” would shortly grace Columbus at the Newport Music Hall located on Ohio State University’s main drag for music driven attractions and the like..... High Street. Because of OSU’s homecoming ceremony and my knowledge of the difficulty of finding parking downtown, I grabbed my equipment and rolled out! After 30 minutes of casing OSU’s campus like a shark in hunt for a meal, I finally pounced on the first opening I saw. In a hurry, I jumped out of my car without paying any attention to the “no parking” signs, but before I could put money in the meter, a cop appeared out of thin air. Standing with the posture of Goliath and dressed in a well-pressed uniform and newly polished badge, he informed me to move my vehicle or else it would be towed. Damn, I was arrested with emotion… with the pressure of getting to the venue and the relief of compassion of the law. Lord knows $10 to park versus $175 to tow was an easy choice. One of the hottest newly proclaimed hip-hop rappers in the game was in my city, and by all means I had to be there. 23-year-old Harlem native, Rakim Meyers, is better known as A$AP ROCKY, a video director and lead member of the hip-hop collective, A$AP Rocky Mob. The A$AP Rocky Mob has prevailed from obscurity to hip-hop idol fame, securing a three million dollar record deal from Sony/RCA earlier this year. Arriving on stage wearing a black ski mask and draped in a black and white American flag, A$AP took control of the audience like a heavy weight boxing champion. His high-energy approach brought the packed house to attention, and a frenzy of outstretched arms began reaching, in hopes that they would touch Rocky as he floated across the stage shouting “Wassup Columbus!” The crowd in an uproar echoed even louder “ASAP!” As his name bounced off the walls, I was drenched in a sweat of excitement from his crowd. A$AP and the Mob seamlessly hit all of their fans’ favorites including “Wassup” and “Purple Rain.” Track after track, A$AP and the Mob brought the fire as the crowd turned up the heat. With speakers blasting a stew of mix-tape hits, bass lines thumped to the hearts of loyal fans as they chanted to the melody of the hypnotic rhymes. Was it a great performance? Based on the packed house, applause and the charisma that oozed from the love of his craft, Rocky nailed it.

Live at The Newport

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A$AP Rocky performs for Columbus at The Newport on October 6, 2012.

Four young women enjoy a night of dancing and music at the A$AP Rocky concert.

Two men pose for a portrait during the A$AP Rocky Concert at The Newport on High Street.

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