A$AP Rocky sits down with Jerrod Carmichael and discusses the progress on his upcoming album along with working with Tyler the Creator.
A$AP Rocky recently talked with Jerrod Carmichael to talk about various topics from fatherhood to defying masculine stereotypes through fashion. Later on in the interview, Jerrod asked Rocky about the recording he’s currently doing, which A$AP opened up on, revealing that he has been collaborating with Tyler the Creator.
ROCKY: Like the good old days, except the only difference is I’m a pop.
CARMICHAEL: Are you nervous at all?
ROCKY: I’m not nervous, but I crack up at the fact that people who knew me before, such as yourself, are going to have to adjust to seeing me as a responsible dad. Is it challenging to not only direct but also star in your own shit?
CARMICHAEL: It’s difficult. I did it because this movie was the most impossible movie to make on earth. I starred in it because it was hard to get anybody else. I directed it because it was hard to get anyone else to attach themselves to the material, because it’s risky. All of these things were done out of necessity. I don’t think being a multi-hyphenate is always a good thing. In fact, I’m really interested in getting rid of all the hyphens and blurring the lines. I’m more interested in worlds colliding than being a writer/actor/ director. Being a jack of all trades, master of none is a fear of mine. With that said, it was difficult, but I’m glad I did it. A lot of people do it, and I don’t know why. It’s very silly.
ROCKY: Damn, that’s crazy. It’s really similar to how Tyler [the Creator] operates.
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CARMICHAEL: Well, we met through T.
ROCKY: True that. But when it came to Igor, he wrote it, he produced it, he directed the music videos. It’s the same thing.
CARMICHAEL: That’s what I mean about blurring the line, because I don’t think T is a multi-hyphenate. It’s the same with Kanye—certain artists are producers first and foremost. They’re in charge of making all parts of a cohesive song or album, and it all comes from them. It’s just one vision. I think there’s a difference.
ROCKY: Yep.
CARMICHAEL: You’re recording now, right?
ROCKY: You keep asking me mad questions, and I got a million questions for you, but yeah. I’m recording right now.
CARMICHAEL: What’s sparking you right now?
ROCKY: I’ve been working with T a lot, man. We blocked out the last two weeks and have been working on a lot of music, but I’m wrapping up this album right now, about to direct a few of these videos. And I can tell you, just from doing a couple of music videos, it’s so much energy and preparation and curation. And music videos are only three to four minutes long. You’re doing features, man. That blows my mind. I can’t imagine that amount of stress.
CARMICHAEL: It’s hard making anything, knowing that the internet is there, and is going to talk about it. I think it’s the same pressure on all of us. I wonder what it felt like to release work pre-internet, as an artist. How would you even know if anybody liked it? You just wait for the phone to ring? Even if someone wrote you fan mail saying they liked your shit, you still had to wait a week to receive it.