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A$AP Rocky Covers Complex Magazine

Harlem native talks Iggy Azalea, coping with the death of A$AP Yams, and why he doesn't like the word "rapper."

A$AP Rocky is feeling “free,” and speaking on life lessons, Iggy Azalea, and coping with the death of A$AP Yams in Complex magazine’s latest digital cover. The feature takes place in New York and L.A., over the span of a couple of weeks, while Rocky works on the forthcoming, A.L.L.A. album.

The 26-year-old rapper revealed how he’s matured between projects by sharing a change in mindset. “I don’t take people for granted anymore," he said. "I cherish everybody while they’re here right now."

With Yam’s passing away two months ago, times are emotionally turbulent for the Harlem native. He listed “drugs” among the inspirations for A.L.LA. However, Rocky claims he’s slowing down on the promethazine and codeine. “I use them to my advantage. It’s not something I wanna f**k with all the time," he admitted. "That’s the beauty of it. You can dip and dab with the psychedelics, but that ain’t something I wanna keep doing. Nah.”

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Another part of the interview features him somewhat defending Azalea, from the constant backlash she faces. ”That [situation with Iggy] is unfortunate because nobody wants to be portrayed that way," Rocky noted of his ex. “I’m quite sure she doesn’t. I think she works hard like the rest of us. Silly or not, 300 million people like to watch it on YouTube, so who the f**k are we to say anything?”

But sometimes a storm of criticism comes with the territory, he said. ”If she fake on something, somebody is going to call her bluff. That’s life. I’m not looking at it from a standpoint of ‘I used to be boning this chick’s back out.’ I’m looking at it [as] ‘She’s just a person.’ You can’t bluff. You gotta just be 100. That’s all I could really say. The question is: Was she not being 100 about something?”

On the topic of music, Rocky played lots of “psychedelic” records to help him "heal" after Yams died. The sound is likely to influence his new album, and just so everyone's up to speed, he'd rather be called an "artist" than a "rapper."

"There’s a difference. Let’s be clear on that,” he explained. "I feel like nowadays, the term 'rapper' doesn’t mean anything honorable."   

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(Photo: Complex Magazine, April/May 2015)

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