ASAP Rocky says that although he appreciates Kanye West's influence, he doesn't agree with everything the older rapper does.
During his interview with DJ Akademiks, 37-year-old Rocky opened up about the rappers who came before him and how they inspired artists in his generation.
“They knocked down the door for us to be us,” said Rocky about Ye, Pharrell Williams, and Jay-Z, around the hour and 18-minute mark in the video below. “They ran so we could walk.”
Rocky specifically spoke about the impact of The College Dropout artist, who's 48.
“He’s one of the most influential dudes to do this shit,” Rocky said. “I don’t agree with a lot of shit anybody does all the time, especially him. He’s on his own mission. Sometimes it makes sense, sometimes he can be Ye.
“I don’t think it takes away from what he did and how he influenced me,” Rocky added.
Elsewhere in the interview, Rocky praised Kai Cenat’s new in-progress clothing line, Vivet, and gave him some advice.
“I told lil bro, 'Come holla at me man,'” Rocky said. “I fuck with him. Some advice for lil bro. Don’t let people see the Picasso before it’s finished. When the world knew Lil Wayne was working on his skating skills, we’re looking through the process, and they gonna judge you off the process."
Rocky also took the opportunity to scold Akademiks for the content that he shared on his page. In a clip from a separate recording of the interview, Rocky is seen giving a rant about what Akademiks chooses to post.
“Bring back the journalism that we need from you,” Rocky said. “Stop having one-sided opinions, cause you gonna lose viewership, you gonna lose a lot of n***as. You changed journalism in the new age. Nobody buys tangible magazines and newspapers anymore.”
“It’s all digital media, and you’re No. 1 outlet and when I go to your page, it’s nothing but drama," the "Am I Dreaming" artist continued. "You used to post shit you thought was fire, on some Tumblr shit. Now, you getting so political that we know that n***a gave you five bands to post it.”