Possible Rihanna collaborations, and more.
ASAP Rocky is “moving to the beat of his own drum,” and in his latest single and commercial directorial debut, it just so happens to be powered By Dre.
This morning, July 20, ASAP Rocky partnered with Beats to unveil the latest iteration of its Beats Studio Pro (available now).
And his new Pharrell-produced single “RIOT (Rowdy Pipe’n)” in their new “Iconic Sound” commercial that he directed.
The visuals for the commercial mirror the fast-paced, disruptive energy of the song, and give viewers a glimpse into the new work-life balance that Rocky has been perfecting since he and Rihanna welcomed their baby boy, RZA. “Iconic Sound” follows Rocky embarking on the perilous quest to retrieve more “AWGEY’s” diapers for baby RZA so he can get back into the studio, with glimpses of bodegas and barbershops flashing across the screen as he sprints through the streets in Timberlands like a Harlem-bred Usain Bolt.
“[Beats] is a heritage brand at this point,” Rocky tells Complex over the phone. “And I think that they really advocated to have me display my different talents. They also showed love and made sure that the [new] music was in video; they were just open to the ideas that I wanted to do. And I think that’s what made them a great partner, for just allowing me to really take the wheel.”
The rapper has been busy since the release of his last album, Testing, in 2018. Between headlining several festivals, becoming a father, and opening a design studio, Rocky has meticulously tinkered at his next full-length offering. “RIOT (Rowdy Pipe’n)” is just the latest of several tracks, including “Same Problems,” “Shittin’ Me,” and “D.M.B.,” which will reportedly be on his upcoming album.
Rocky announced last year during Amazon Music’s live concert series that his fourth studio album will be titled Don’t Be Dumb, and “DBD” Easter eggs littered throughout the commercial support this. Now, the Harlem rapper reveals that the project will tout impressive production credits from the likes of Tyler, the Creator, Madlib, Hit-Boy, Boi1da, Alchemist, Metro Boomin, Mike Dean, and several others. This latest single also features a bar teasing a collaboration between Rocky and Rihanna. “Collab with my baby mom,” he raps.
“I’m always down to collab with my partner,” he tells Complex. “She’s a phenomenal creative. Yeah, there’s a lot of things we’re going to collaborate on, from products for children, there’s a lot of things to look forward to.”
A collaborator that Rocky confirms will be on the album is rising Latin star Peso Pluma. The two artists were seen together recently, and Rocky confirmed the speculation that they were working together on new music.
“I fuck with him,” Rocky elaborates. “I love the fact that he’s successful right now, he’s doing his thing all over Spotify and Apple and whatnot. And he’s going crazy overseas, especially in Mexico, doing his thing. But I genuinely like him because he is of the culture. He told me a crazy story. He was just like, ‘Yo, I remember I used to work at this pizzeria at this restaurant downtown in Little Italy. I remember just taking the train and listening to ‘1 Train’ and ‘Peso’… So for me, it felt like the right thing to do,” he explains on the feature.
As Rocky continues to battle the leakers that are pushing back his album’s release, his latest Beats commercial illustrates how he plans to do it all his way. We caught up with AWGE head honcho to talk about directing the latest Beats commercial, his new single “RIOT (Rowdy Pipe’n),” his upcoming album, and more.
Why was Beats the perfect partner not only for your commercial directorial debut, but also to reveal this new music?
Beats is a heritage brand at this point. And I think that they really advocated to have me display my different talents. They also showed love and made sure that the [new] music was in video, they were just open to the ideas that I wanted to do. And I think that’s what made them a great partner, for just allowing me to really take the wheel.
What was the difference between directing a commercial for the first time and handling the creative direction of your music videos?
It really wasn’t a different process. It was just a different experience, and each job or each project that I’ve worked on, it seemed like all of them had different experiences. I had different experiences with each of them, but what stood out about this commercial more than previous commercials was that this time it was like, a lot of the responsibility of the edits and After Effects and all of that, you really got to be on point. It’s a little different when you’re dealing with a corporation as opposed to just your people in your label and your music buddies. You got to be more verbal about what you’re doing and break it down to a T. But other than that, shit was cool. Shit was wavy, I had a good time.
All of the Easter eggs in the video were dope as well, like the DBD (Don’t Be Dumb) Hotel and the abstract Testing logo art on your apartment wall. Were there any other album Easter eggs you hid in there?
I think it is beautiful that you even notice how I meticulously placed these things in this commercial. But yeah that’s really it. Just the Don’t Be Dumb Hotel, that’s an Easter egg, and just the death of the dummies is my new vibe.
When did you record “RIOT (Rowdy Pipe’n)?”
I recorded it probably a year ago and a half ago with Pharrell in Miami. It was fire. I came down to visit him. Chad [Hugo] from [The] Neptune was there. The vibes were good, the studio had a lot of good feng shui and good vibrations. ASAP Ferg actually surprised me and came down to a session because he and P was working on something separately. And the energy behind that was just like right away. I knew Pharrell was feeling it, I was filming it. I connected with it. When I heard the beat, it just sounded disruptive. That’s kind of what I wanted to do, is make a disruptive record.
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