On this day 11 years ago, A$AP Rocky released AT.LONG.LAST.A$AP, his sophomore album and also his darkest and druggiest. The record came after the death of Rocky’s close friend and mentor A$AP Yams. Before he passed away, he executive-produced the album alongside Danger Mouse and Juicy J. There was a lot of butting heads with styles initially that showed their perfectionist tendencies.
“You’re talking to a bunch of perfectionists. So it’s me and Yams, it’s different. If I’m doing something by myself, I could just be like, you know, well, I like it like this, I like it like that. It’s two opinions, and, you know, I’m more alternative and weirdo-y, and he likes like straight rap s**t,” A$AP Rocky told Red Bull Music Academy in 2015.
The name of the album saw Rocky declare himself the best in the world, and figured the acronym ALLA would help depict that. “I’m claiming ownership of my legacy. Look at it: At.Long.Last.A$AP. A-L-L-A. Like slang for ‘Allah.’ It’s the return of the god MC. I’m named after Rakim, and I’m finally facing what it means: I was born to do this s**t. And I hope I get to do it for a very long time,” A$AP Rocky told GQ.
A$AP Rocky Releases ‘AT.LONG.LAST.A$AP’ 11 Years Ago Today
Together, Rocky and Yams formed an extremely murky, moody, and drugged-out experience. Critics were largely pretty kind to his sophomore effort, applauding its large ambitions, flaws and all. “Playground misogyny aside, ‘ALLA’ is a thrillingly focused follow-up that betrays its anxieties even as it mostly makes do with extolling the virtues of vice,” Alex Denney wrote for NME.
Similarly, Jon Caramanica wrote that A$AP Rocky came into his own as an artist on AT.LONG.LAST.A$AP, not falling victim to the star-studded guest features. “He doesn’t absorb and repurpose his guests’ styles. He’s fully formed, a rapper who understands his talent in relation to that of his peers and that of his influences, unafraid of showing you his blueprint,” he said for The New York Times.
Some outlets were less than impressed, though. Clash Magazine noted that, despite A$AP Rocky showing his immense charisma and presence on songs, the record felt monotonous. “As a collected body of work At.Long.Last.A$AP is far from dreadful,” they wrote. “But taken as a whole, it lacks the elements of depth and star quality that – having set the bar incredibly high with his debut – many expect from A$AP Rocky.
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