A$AP Rocky – Long. Live. A$AP album art and singles

Long. Live. A$AP is the debut studio album from American rapper A$AP Rocky, with guest appearances from Schoolboy Q, Santigold, OverDoz, Kendrick Lamar, 2 Chainz, Drake, Big K.R.I.T, and others. It was released on January 15, 2013 by ASAP Worldwide, Polo Grounds Music and RCA Records.

The album was supported by four singles – “Goldie”, “Fuckin’ Problems”, “Wild For The Night” and “Fashion Killa” as well as the title song, “Long. Live. ASAP”, featuring rappers Schoolboy Q and Danny Brown.

The cover shows A$AP Rocky wearing an American flag, with a glitch effect superimposed on the black-and-white photo by Phil Knott. The artist’s name and the title are set in capital letters, accentuated by a black band to distinguish it from the photo. We find Alternate Gothic also on the back, where the track list uses the same principle of highlighting. The exact version appears to be Bitstream’s Alternate Gothic No. 2, which is distinguished from other digitizations by a dollar sign ($) with an uninterrupted vertical bar. Unlike the cover, the records themselves are yellow, yielding a nice contrast with the photo and the title.

The choice of a white title on a black background with a classic typography is a judicious choice considering the very detailed background image. This title band creates a contrast with the background image and gives it a strong impact despite its simple layout and design.

This album is very well known in rap for its musicality but also for its creative direction. It’s part of the rap covers directed by Virgil Abloh in the 2010s (here together with RCA’s Erwin Gorostiza). Other cover designs of his from this period include Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and Lil Wayne’s I Am Not A Human Being II. Abloh’s presence on the album is not surprising given the expectation of this first solo album and its importance in the American rap scene, and subsequently its international impact. Joe Perez frequently collaborated on the projects by Virgil Abloh, and is here credited with art direction and design.

[More info on Discogs]