A$AP Rocky: SVDDXNLY

One of my favorite stories of an artist going from unknown to global superstar belongs to ASVP Rocky – who we originally covered back in late 2011 - when he broke onto the scene as an independent rapper from Harlem looking to make it in the big city of NYC with his crew.

Due to some solid A&R work Rocky was picked up from the plethora of artists that fit into the underground hip hop scene and was quickly signed for $3m to make two albums; one solo record for himself and another for his crew. This was not a route that many record labels were taking, as the industry was still in a tough period of transition and this method obviously had some serious risk associated with actually paying off. In ASVP’s case; both Rocky and the crew had that something very special and it worked out like no other – with sold out shows, critically acclaimed albums and a second record already in the works. The best part is that it's not only about him - because when you’re a group that’s getting compared to the Wu Tang Clan, you know that you can't really be in a better place. Now Vice Media (one of my favorite media outlets these days) has had its music arm, Noisey, pick up on this epic story for ASVP and has released a 5 part synopsis of this journey that the crew has been on. This includes not only how they got picked up, but the development and growth that has inevitably occurred along the way. 

Peep the first video below and the other 4 parts after the jump. This will be officially premiered at SXSW this year and definitely won't be the last time Vice gets A$AP Rocky in front of the camera.