ASAP Rocky

A wildly creative rapper, A$AP Rocky rose from a troubled childhood and youth to achieve hip-hop fame as the center of his own crew, the A$AP Mob. Constructing his success his own way through social media and self-promotion, the rapper caught the world's ear with his 2011 mixtape Live. Love. ASAP and its buzzworthy tracks "Peso" and "Purple Swag." His profile earned a boost when he supported Drake on tour, and his 2013 studio debut, Long. Live. ASAP topped the Billboard charts, helping earn him a slew of prestigious award nominations from BET and MTV.

Controversial yet popular in the vein of all the greatest hip-hop and rap stars, A$AP Rocky represented a new era for the genre and proudly carried the torch passed to him by such luminaries as Kanye West. Born Oct. 3, 1988 in New York City, Rakim Mayers grew up immersed in hip-hop culture, which proved his greatest escape from his difficulty family life, which was marked by homelessness, gang violence, drug use and incarceration. Named for the famous rapper Rakim, the young man funneled his creativity and passion into music, taking the stage name A$AP Rocky and forming his own posse, known as the A$AP Mob.

Very much a modern day sensation, the performer rose up through YouTube and social media, which helped build a buzz for his debut mixtape, 2011's Live. Love. ASAP. Acclaimed by critics and fans alike, the album and its singles "Peso" and "Purple Swag" catapulted him into the majors, earning him a record deal as well as multiple touring slots supporting such stars as Drake. Nominated for a Best New Artist BET Award as well as an MTV Video Music Award and two MTV Europe Music Awards, A$AP Rocky saw his 2013 debut studio album, Long. Live. ASAP achieve major hit status, debuting atop the Billboard charts and spinning off the crowd-pleasers "Goldie," "F*ckin' Problems" and "Wild for the Night."

Battling his fair share of controversy and legal issues, the creative up-and-comer nevertheless inspired many of his peers and collaborated with a wide range of stars, from Rihanna to Kanye West to Lana Del Rey, while going on to headline his own 2013 tour, the LongLiveA$AP Tour. The follow-up album, At. Long. Last. A$AP, dropped in 2015, the same year that Rocky made his film debut with a co-starring role in the indie comedy-drama "Dope" (2015). He followed that with appearances as himself in Ben Stiller's comedy sequel "Zoolander 2" (2016) and The Lonely Island's music industry satire "Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping" (2016). A$AP Rocky returned to his solo career with 2018's Testing.