The official start of Flacko Jodye Season has begun with the release of the video for "Multiply." With the drop of this aggressive and absolute banger, A$AP Rocky is returning to the center of the limelight, and he's making sure everyone remembers how he single-handedly shifted the sound, look, and trends in the culture when he and the A$AP Mob first broke out. Let this serve as a wake-up call that he's setting out to do the same once again.
Clad in an Avirex leather jacket, a Palace T-shirt, and a few other looks throughout the video, Flacko asks "I'm the motherfuckin' lord of this fashion shit / Don't I deserve to brag just a bit?" And, as to be expected from a dude who's incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about style, there are plenty of fashion references within the single. For starters, Rocky calls himself "The original Balmain badass" and "The original Margiela madman."
But unlike previous tracks that big up labels Rocky was fucking with, "Multiply" also takes aim at a few names. The Harlem native spits, "I ain't really fuckin' with that Been Trill / Swear them n*ggas booty like 'Tip Drill' / Nah I ain't really into throwin' shots / But these motherfuckers better give me my props." These lines were first dropped at the Coachella festival this past spring, and are followed by Rocky going after other names and notions in the three sizzling verses.
Rocky also calls out Hood By Air, the lauded CFDA and LVMH Prize-winning fashion label he has consistently worn in the past, even closing their first fashion show just last year. Rocky raps, "HBA shit is weak / You can keep that" despite having dropped the line "Hood By Air / Man I started that," on the song "Angels" from his last album.
We're not gonna speculate on the heater single that'll bang throughout the fall, and we've reached out to A$AP Rocky to comment on his new song, but when he rhymes "We ain't no fashion killas / N*gga we fashionable killas," you better take his word for it.
UPDATE:
Heron Preston of #BEEN TRILL# put out an admittedly level-headed and thought-provoking response to A$AP Rocky's lyrics on his Instagram. The photo is a still from the "Multiply" video that places a verboten sign over the signature #BEEN TRILL# dripping font, accompanied with the following caption:
"what happened to rapper on rapper beef? the days of biggie vs tupac & jay z vs nas are over. Remember how Nas's "Ether" or Tupac "Hit Em Up" made you feel? Remember what that meant for rap music? The fact that a rapper dissed a clothing company is a huge sign of the times. does that mean rap is boring? has rap lost it's edge? Today, power in music is style. power is fashion. Let's keep this shit shocking and competitive! this is how you push things forward. and the song/video is good. let's continue to shake shit up! our culture needs it."
