A$AP Twelvyy: Food For The Soul

Now let’s hop right into this lead single / video, “PASS THE TORCH” — Tell me about this particular track; how did it come to fruition?

“Pass the Torch” to me feels like the fire that ignites Lady Liberty every night. The black gloves raised in the air by Tommie Smith and John Carlos during the ’86 Olympics; that’s the fire I felt in my heart when I heard the amazing beat produced by Zeke and Ran Van Dam, a beautiful session of the minds speaking on the changing of the times and beginning of a new regime.

“PASS THE TORCH” comes courtesy of your still forthcoming solo LP, KIDS GOTTA EAT — Conceptually, what does this title represent both to and for you?

Kids Gotta Eat is the mantra, the movement. I had to rewire myself, recreate my aura in the sense of what I enjoyed when I was younger on this beautiful journey we call life. After catching Covid, I felt like I had to start over and the last song I recorded before I had to quarantine was “Kids Gotta Eat.” I recovered, heard the title track and felt like this was the best I ever sounded. The world needed to experience this, digest it. It’s food for the soul.

How then does KIDS GOTTA EAT either differ and / or compare to previous A$AP TWELVYY efforts?

It’s a new Twelvyy, a new mindset, not worrying about the numbers or trends. I’m following my heart with no safety net; I’m releasing singles that are true to me and also fresh to the universe. I feel the stars and planets aligned this perfect timing. I feel in complete control of this release, unlike my first Sony release where I didn’t feel healthy or happy due to different reasons…but this time I’m beyond grateful for life.

KIDS GOTTA EAT is a Two Twelve Technologies (through ONErpm) project — What are your future plans and / or goals for the label? And who all else, besides yourself of course, currently makes up its artist roster?

That’s a fact! It’s just me at the moment under TTT; this is our first release, but trust and believe I have huge surprises in store. At the moment, I’m releasing my artists’ music under Last Year Being Broke [LYBB]. We have Billz Raw, Emillz, Mack Bo, Cozy (Blanco) and producers Ran Van Dam, Skidrow and many more. We’ve been going crazy with the SoundCloud playlists; we’re up ten volumes this year. A LYBB tape is coming soon; shout out to the thinkers, and much love to Snaps for helping me run the brand

As a lyricist, when you sit down to pen your rhymes where do you draw your inspiration from?

I draw inspiration from my heart, my family, and my true experiences. Sometimes I like to take the train and people watch; you can see the pain in their eyes, I feel for ‘em.

Switching gears here, what exactly do you want people to get from your music?

I want people to fall in love with my authenticity. This is true music, no gimmicks or trolling. From my heart to your ears, from me to you, I make music because I love doing this. I help people with struggles daily, and my art is medicine.

If you could collaborate with any one artist, living or dead, who would it be and why?

Nah, this is hard to answer…but it would be a three way tie between Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and Stack Bundles. Mike is the GOAT; he showed the world immaculate imagination. Whitney Houston reminds me of my grandma – that would be a dope collab – and Stack Bundles is my favorite rapper ever; he inspired my way of making music. RIP TO THE LEGENDS!

If you could play any venue in the world, which one would you choose and why?

It would be Madison Square Garden; if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. My moms took me to my first concert there; we saw Jay-Z’s Blueprint 3 concert, shit was wild!

On a more serious note, are you happy with the current state of Hip Hop?

Aside from the unfortunate losses we take, I’m glad that we have a community where our people can be seen, heard and understood. Some people knock the Drill artists and can’t fathom how these kids survive in this world, I’m here to uplift all. I know how crazy life is and can be, we’re just try’na feed our families. Kids gotta eat!

What do you feel has and will continue to be the key to your longevity?

I gotta keep passing the torch ’til the whole world is illuminated.

Do you have any other outside / additional (future) aspirations, maybe even completely away from music?

Of course I’m heavy on gaming, I have a gaming team down in Virginia playing in the UEL. I would love to develop a game and curate video game soundtracks…shit, also scoring movies and films. Also, acting and making my clothing brand bigger than anything I ever thought of. I would love to start a basketball tournament in memory of my brody Yams. I want platinum everything; we going diamond with ideas. I’mma take over the slide / sandal game, “Last Year Being Broke [LYBB], First Year Being Broke [FYBR].”

To date, what has been your biggest career moment(s), at least thus far anyway?

Traveling the world with A$AP MOB, releasing successful albums and projects. Being able to feed my family, kids gotta eat!! I feel like my colossal moment hasn’t arrived yet, but I can’t downplay the fact that everyday on God’s beautiful earth is a big career moment.

What’s an average day like for you?

I wake up, work out, play chess, eat good, and study the universe’s current events. I might Tweet, hop on Discord, take the train, or drive around. Sometimes I’ll travel to another stay, plant the flag, shake hands, greet the babies, get fly, and smile for the camera. I always make sure I tell my mother, “I love her!” I attempt to speak to as many loved ones as I can. I’ll give a dollar or two to the homeless, play 2K, clean up…shit, it varies. I try to live everyday like it’s my last.

Please discuss how you interact with and respond to fans…

I support them, I listen to their thoughts and music, I’ll check for their art. I don’t see them as fans, I see them as thinkers. Everybody got an idea, they just need to be heard.

What is your favorite part about this line of work? Your least favorite? And, why?

Writing out my answers is least favorite! Lol. Nah, I don’t really have a least favorite; life could be worse. But my favorite thing about this line of work is being able to take care of myself and others.

What advice would you have for someone wanting to follow in your footsteps?

Stay authentic. It’s no manual or one way to do this, just do it for real. Don’t be like me, be better! Pimps fuck up, too! Lol.

Looking ahead, say five or maybe even ten years from now, where do you see yourself?

I see myself in motion pictures and recording studios with ownership percentage on a sports team. I want a massive multi-media corporation that gives voices to the voiceless.

As for the immediate, what’s next for A$AP TWELVYY?

To become a supermodel, they gotta see I really am the mood board. They also gotta see me on the silver screen. They tripping, I’m going for it!

Oh, and by the way, what’s up with A$AP MOB (as a collective)?

We still striving and prospering; it’s always us never them.

Is there anything I left out or just plain forgot to mention?

You covered it all!

Any “parting” words for our readers?

Make sure to check out the album, Kids Gotta Eat, on July 7th! I got a lot of fire things coming, other projects dropping…stay tuned for sure!