RETURNING TO AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND IN FEBRUARY 2016
Let’s take it to the basics, you in the midst of greatness. Illusive and Frontier Touring are pleased to announce American rapper and international tastemaker A$AP Rocky will return next February for his first ever run of headline shows taking in all Australian capital cities plus a show at Auckland’s Vector Arena. His return comes two years after his 2013/2014 visit for festival dates including headlining Field Day in Sydney, Origin NYE in Perth as well as a one-off show at Melbourne’s Festival Hall.
A$AP Rocky’s sophomore full-length album AT.LONG.LAST.A$AP (RCA Records / Sony Music Entertainment) has been a huge international success since its release this May, debuting at #1 on the Billboard 200 and at #5 on the ARIA Album Chart. The 18-track release boasts an incredible list of producers including Danger Mouse, Kanye West, Mark Ronson, A$AP Yams and A$AP Rocky himself among others. It also features an impressive line-up of guest appearances (16 in total) from the likes of Rod Stewart, Miguel and Mark Ronson on ‘Everyday’, Kanye West and Joe Fox on ‘Jukebox Joints’ and ScHoolboy Q on ‘Electric Body’.
2015 has also seen A$AP Rocky feature on Selena Gomez’s international hit ‘Good For You’ which has notched up more than a million sales in the US, with its seductive video clip picking up a whopping 146 million YouTube views and counting.
‘It’s the perfect experiment -- a confident, well-executed one -- for a format-less, niche-happy, streaming-playlist world.’ – Billboard
‘A$AP Rocky ain’t a rapper, folks. Dude is a bona fide All-American rock star…’ – Complex
‘…as he gleefully skipped up and down its stairs, confetti raining down just three songs in, he seemed every bit the headliner that few would’ve expected a couple short years ago.’ – Entertainment Weekly
A$AP Rocky is a member of the Harlem, New York hip hop collective A$AP Mob; a collective of rappers, record producers, music video directors and fashion designers who share a similar interest in music, fashion and art. A$AP Mob also includes members A$AP Ferg and the late founding member A$AP Yams among others.
The collective produced the video for ‘Purple Swag’ and Rocky’s debut single ‘Peso’, the lead single from Rocky’s breakout mixtape Live.Love.A$AP. The mixtape was released in 2011 to wild critical acclaim and captured the attention of many high-profile record labels, with A$AP Rocky going on to sign a famous deal with Polo Ground Music, RCA Records and Sony Music Entertainment, at the same time starting his own label A$AP Worldwide with long-time partner and mentor A$AP Yams. Later that year Rocky, along with Kendrick Lamar and was named as an opener for Drake’s Club Paradise Tour which saw shows played at college arenas throughout the US. Hype was building at an enormous pace.
His debut full-length effort, Long. Live. A$AP, was released in 2013 (RCA Records / Sony Music Entertainment) and shot straight to the top spot of the Billboard 200, Hip-Hop Albums, R&B Albums and Digital Albums charts and made Top 10 debuts in 24 countries. The album solidified Rocky’s new-found star status and featured huge collaborations with the likes of Drake, 2 Chainz and Kendrick Lamar on ‘F**kin’ Problems’, Skrillex and Birdy Nam Nam on ‘Wild For The Night’ and Florence Welch (Florence and the Machine) on ‘I Come Apart’.
In 2014, Rocky got the call up alongside fellow rappers Tyga, Casey Veggies and Vince Staples to star in cameo roles in the cult film Dope which premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. Not only blazing trails musically as an artist, producer, collaborator, label owner and in the film sector, A$AP Rocky has also dipped his toes in the fashion game – having collaborated with visionary Raf Simons on his A$AP clothing brand.
Prior to kicking off his Australian tour, A$AP Rocky will see the year out with international tour dates throughout the US, UK, Europe and Canada with hip hop and rap royalty Tyler, The Creator, Danny Brown and Vince Staples. He recently made major television appearances including performing ‘Everyday’ and ‘Pharsyde’ on The Late Show with James Corden and ‘Electric Body’ with ScHoolboy Q on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
A$AP Rocky is indisputably one of the most revered rap artists of his generation and is at the absolute top of his game. His presence is a present, just to kick it is a blessing. That pretty motherf***er is coming.
TOUR DATES
Wednesday 17 February – Margaret Court Arena, Melbourne (AA)
Thursday 18 February – Eatons Hill Hotel, Brisbane (18+)
Sunday 21 February – Entertainment Centre (Theatre), Adelaide (AA)
Wednesday 24 February – Vector Arena, Auckland (AA)
Thursday 25 February – Hordern Pavilion, Sydney (AA)
Sunday 28 February – Metro City, Perth (18+)
