Take yourself back to a better time known as 2011. It was a time when you could blissfully BBM your BFF about the latest developments in the rap world, like what the soon-to-be-released Jay Electronica album would sound like. 2011 was also the year that a group of rowdy Harlem teens broke out of the internet and into the rap zeitgeist with a pairing of videos that went a long way to describing what they were all about. The footage for "Peso" and "Purple Swag" showed a bunch of cool New York kids having fun in ways that only cool New York kids can—by hanging out on street corners and interacting with their urban jungle while wearing the coolest new streetwear.This Tuesday night A$AP Rocky took the next step in his album rollout campaign, releasing the video for "Lord Pretty Flacko Jodye 2" on his Tumblr, where he also took some time to answer fan questions (Q: Do you watch anime? A: NAH, BUT I FUKS WIT CARTOONS HEAVY, DRAGON BALL Z IS THE SHIT THO IMMA COME CLEAN). The video is comprised of the same basic components that made the first batch of releases so popular, highlighting just how much fun you could have at a street corner if you bring the right friends along. But it doesn't just rest on the laurels and tropes that made A$AP Mob popular, it refreshes them an keeps them looking current, employing a horror movie wash throughout the video that meshes perfectly with the menacing production on the song.A lot of people, myself included, thought that A$AP Mob would be a flash in the pan. Upon their genesis, I thought that this was a New York copy of Odd Future, in the same way that people saw Bobby Shmurda and GS9 trying to replicate the Drill Music of Chiraq. But now, almost four years later, those critics are proven wrong. Say what you will about some of the group's lesser members, but A$AP Rocky and A$AP Ferg have taken turns at owning the attention of rap music fans since they came out on the scene. And if you want proof of the influence that was yielded by their mastermind A$AP Yams, look no further than the 2015 Grammys, where we was honored among the musical stars we lost this year—despite never rapping a line.Watch it below.
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