As someone who came up interning for two of the greats in Max B and Messy Marv, Stevie Yams deserved so much better than a neo-rap clotheshorse like A$AP Rocky and a talentless chancer like A$AP Ferg. Yet he didn't give a fuck what any of us thought 'cause he was gettin' money AND pussy like Rico, and he was such a convincing public face for the A$AP brand that he somehow managed to convince a entire generation that the group were Houston rap mavens despite the fact that A$AP Ferg is oblivious to the existence of Z-Ro.
Yams was a marketing genius as proven by the results he got out of such mediocre rappers and the trail of copycat Tumblr-blogger failed A&R bums trying to push the likes of Kitty Pryde and Khalil Nova in the wake of his RNT okie doke working, but I liked him best when he was cracking jokes about Eskay being an "outta pocket Bun B lookin' hoe" or finding a wife with "a pussy that smells like Visvim candles", and when he was simply posting music I'd never heard before. Here's my ten favourite songs as discovered via ChoppasOnDeck, RealN*ggaTumblr, and Yamborghini:
2. Gunplay - Mask On (2011)
3. Cam'Ron, Cardan & Ma$e - DJ Clue freestyle (1998)
4. A-Mafia - 1000 Grams (2010)
5. Husalah ft. Kool G. Rap - Hus G. Rap (unreleased)
6. Messy Marv - Ima Tell You Whut's Real (2008)
7. Sicko Mobb - Fiesta (2013)
8. Triple C's - White Sand (2009)
9. Will Smith ft. Big Pun, R.O.C & Cam'Ron - Gettin' Jiggy With It So So Def mix (1997)
10. Wooh Da Kid ft. Waka Flocka Flame & Bo Deal - Body Bag (2010)
Hope the fella is up in rap-blogger Heaven still wearing his trademark 28" leg APC New Standards and talkin' No Limit deep cuts with the late great Matthew Africa. Also hope the rap industry will finally stop using and promoting codeine; of all the confusing paradoxes contained in rap music, perhaps the most baffling one is the glorification of a substance that's turned a plethora of great rappers to into washed-up wrecks and is responsible for the untimely demises of numerous DJs, rappers, producers, & managers.
https://twitter.com/notrivia/status/23934674736
ReplyDeleteHe makes an important point.
Ah, the days before Kevin Powell retired Soderberg from the rap internet.
ReplyDeleteR.I.P
ReplyDeleteHis comp of all the original versions of Pac songs was incredible.
Really saddened by this, he was a huge presence as a blogger and his writing + his appearance on disrespectful radio convinced me he was a safe guy too. Whatever you think of the ASAP crews music their success as masterminded by Yams was truly impressive and I'm glad that Stevie made his impact on the rap game in whatever way. 26 is ridiculously young.
ReplyDeleteThis is a predictably irreverent and touching tribute Martholomew. Salute.
R.I.P.
Oh and Mask On / 1000 Grand / Body Bag is a holy ghost trinity.
ReplyDeleteA$AP afterparty was fun!
ReplyDeleteWay more fun than the show.
ReplyDeleteGuess that makes Rocky the chief Weed Owner over at the ASAP clubhouse now.
ReplyDeletenever understood the thing about codeine, if you're serious about downers it's a real C-list drug, real poor man's stuff...why don't rap dudes buy high quality pharmaceutical heron if they're serious about opiates instead of drinking cough medicine? prolly safer too innit
ReplyDeleteI dunno why they can't just smoke weed like rappers in the 80s and 90s.
ReplyDeleteYeah but surely lean has produced some brilliant music? Not saying it's worth it for people to die obv but I think its given birth to some weird production/rap over the years.
ReplyDeleteThey did Stevie like Dame Dash did ODB fuck dis industry.
ReplyDeleteyeah seriously bummed about this shit. Yams had SERIOUS rap knowledge. Having sipped lean a few times all I gotta say is I agree with N. Brown above: straight up garbage . Don't do it. Shit is so trendy here in the states that a pint of it goes upwards of $650 bucks sometimes.
ReplyDeleteBloggers die everyday, b
ReplyDeletebut legends live on forever.
the idea that hard drugs like lean make for better and "weirder" music is straight up high school rumor bullshit, as the careers of wayne and keef show
ReplyDeleteI'd still back Kitty over A$AP Frog any day, no matter how many unlistenable dance/pop songs she puts out as revenge for Charli XCX cycling through her aura for a minute.
ReplyDeleteBut obviously Yams will be missed.
Yams' best music writing ever was the time when he hypothesized that when your girl lets you put your music on her iPod it's even more monumental than when she lets you put your dick in her butt.
ReplyDeleteTHAT'S REAL
ReplyDelete