A$AP Rocky Plays JFK In Lana Del Rey's New Video

I first met A$AP Rocky in New York last summer and we agreed to make the "Wassup" video together. In about nine months, we’ve seen him go from a barely-known kid to one of the world’s most sought after rappers. 

Now that Lana Del Rey's new video for "National Anthem" came out (with a cameo from Rocky as the black JFK), he’s gonna become about 28 million times more famous than he already is. 

I called him up today to ask how he’s coping with all these awful things that keep happening to him. The money, the girls, the free clothes, the magazine covers, the sold-out shows, and now the international superstardom. I’m worried about him. I worry about how he’s coping with it all. I hope he’s bearing up ok.

Andy and A$AP. Photo by Matthew Caron.

Noisey: Rocky, are you okay? 
A$AP: Yo Andy!

So this video is like “a whole 'nutha level” of “WTF."
You fuck with it? You like it?

I love it, yeah. I think you make a great JFK. How did it come about?
Lana wrote the treatment with me in mind. She wanted me to be the lead guy. Shit is like, everybody knows we got a thing for each other and we wanted to show that on screen. She wanted me to be the main guy and she wrote the treatment herself and came up with all the ideas. She came you with all that shit herself. And this guy Andy, nah, Anthony, what’s this nigga’s name…. Anthony Mandler shot it with some old cameras and shit to get the 1960s look and they had a set of extras. They had so many extras there, Interscope paid so much fucking money for this video that it’s not even true. 

I tell you man, on set, I never did any kind of shit like this before with this much people involved and nothing like that so when I came on set with everybody dressed like they in the 60s and shit I really thought I was in the 60s. I’m serious. All joking aside - it was so realistic, I’m like DAMN.

Yeah.
And so I got in character like, “Fuck that like, I’m gonna be the black, trill JFK.” But basically I was just me, I don’t really think I did JFK no justice, (laughs). I was just me and it was like, “what if JFK met A$AP Rocky?” And that’s what you got. She looked like Jackie O, and I was kissing the shit out of her all day and shit. 

Must have been a tough gig.
Nah that was good. I was like squeezing on her buns and all that shit. Doing all that perverted shit. (laughs) That was the fun part.

Has she got a boyfriend?
Nah, she hasn’t got no boyfriend.

So, like, what’s up with that?
You tell me….. 

No, you tell me…
Nah, we just cool. I don’t look at her like that no more. I used to wanna do her, I used to wanna bone her but after this video I don’t like her like that no more, I just think she’s cool, know what I’m sayin?

So she’s gonna be on your album, correct?
Yeah, she’s gonna be on the song “My Bitch.” It was gonna be called “Ridin',” but it’s actually “My Bitch.” 

Waka is on the A$AP album right?
Yeah, Flocka’s on there, Pharrell’s on there but that’s all I can really announce right now. I can tell you, but not here with this conversation being in the press right now.

Ok cool. Oh, I heard the London shows were crazy.
Yeah, somebody tried to take my watch and shit. And all London started fucking the dude up and I got my watch back. They beat his ass. That’s what trill motherfuckers do, you should know. You’re a trill motherfucker from London.

Stop it. I’m blushing. However, you are correct.
I wanna move to London, wanna buy a crib in London.

I think Rhianna’s got a place in Shoreditch near the VICE office there.
She does? Ok, I’m a go and visit her the next time I’m in London. Then, try and knock some boots y’know (more laughs and giggles).

@ANDYCAPPER