Nas And ASAP Rocky Play Many Characters In Their New York-Lauding ‘Wave Gods’ Video

Just before the end of 2021, Nas and Hit-Boy — who have become quite the dynamic duo lately — surprised fans with their latest collaborative project, Magic. The album was a welcome inclusion to the rap partnership’s growing catalog of collaborative projects, which already included King’s Disease and King’s Disease II. One of the benefits for Nas of working with Hit-Boy was the inclusion of younger voices to Nas’ list of collaborations, which helped to reverse the narrative the rap vet was out-of-touch with contemporary hip-hop.

One of the voices included on Magic is that of ASAP Rocky, who appears on the Max B shout-out track “Wave Gods” along with a thrilling turntable performance from DJ Premier. Today, Nas and Rocky released the song’s video, a love letter to the gritty New York streets from which both men hail. Rather than showing off tourist destinations like Times Square, though, they display the New York they know, from housing projects to crowded subway cars, as both Nas and Rocky portray a variety of characters from the dice rolling residents of the high-rises to the homeless vagrants who populate bus stop benches.

Watch Nas and Hit-Boy’s “Wave Gods” video featuring ASAP Rocky and DJ Premier above.

Nigo Recruits Tyler The Creator, Pop Smoke, Clipse, ASAP Rocky, And More For ‘I Know Nigo’

For much of 2022, DJ and fashion designer Nigo has been gearing up to release I Know Nigo, his first album in more than 20 years. Nigo is best known as the founder of the clothing line A Bathing Ape, more commonly referred to as BAPE. He’s also a member of the Japanese hip hop group Teriyaki Boyz where he served as their in-house DJ since their 2005 debut. Nigo’s last solo album arrived in 1999 with Ape Sounds, and now, almost 23 years later, he’s just a few days away from dropping his second album.

I Know Nigo has been promoted with four strong singles from some of the industry’s biggest names. They include “Ayra” with ASAP Rocky, “Want It Bad” with Kid Cudi, “Hear Me Clearly” with Pusha T, and “Heavy” with Lil Uzi Vert. Now, just a few days until the March 25 release date for I Know Nigo, Nigo arrives with the project’s official tracklist. Through its 11 tracks, Nigo recruits Tyler The Creator, Pop Smoke, Clipse, Pharrell, Gunna, Teriyaki Boyz, ASAP Ferg, ASAP Rocky, Pusha T, Lil Uzi Vert, and Kid Cudi for I Know Nigo.

You can view the tracklist for I Know Nigo below.

1. “Lost And Found Freestyle 2019” w/ ASAP Rocky & Tyler The Creator
2. “Arya” w/ ASAP Rocky
3. “Punch Bowl” w/ Clipse
4. “Functional Addict” w/ Pharrell & Gunna
5. “Want It Bad” w/ Kid Cudi
6. “More Tonight” w/ Teriyaki Boyz
7. “Paper Plates” w/ Pharrell & ASAP Ferg
8. “Hear Me Clearly” w/ Pusha T
9. “Remember” w/ Pop Smoke
10. “Heavy” w/ Lil Uzi Vert
11. “Come On, Let’s Go” w/ Tyler The Creator

I Know Nigo is out 3/25 via Republic.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

ASAP Rocky’s AWGE Unveils A New Partnership With Mercedes-Benz

ASAP Rocky’s AWGE creative agency/label is shrouded in mystique by design. The “About” page of its website only has two “rules” listed: “#1 Never reveal what AWGE Means” and “#2 When in doubt always refer to rule #1.” Most of their rare product drops in the past have included trucker hats collaborations with brands like Rolling Loud and Mercedes-Benz (the latter, is currently going on eBay for $500.) Now, as ASAP Rocky prepares to welcome his baby with Rihanna into the world, he has also announced a new collaboration series with Mercedes-Benz and this one features much more than just a trucker hat.

Just before noon today, ASAP Rocky posted a short video teaser to his Instagram page along with photos of the drop. The photos were quickly purged, but the internet has done its thing and image captures are everywhere. There’s an orange hoodie with a Mercedes-Benz logo on the back and an AWGE logo across the black hood, a muted salmon bomber jacket, sleek pants, and what looks like a belt buckle shaped like the Mercedes-Benz logo.

ASAP Rocky has been building with Mercedes-Benz for quite some time. In 2017, he was featured in the German car company’s “Grow up. Get a job” commercial campaign:

Meanwhile, he’s was just announced as a headliner for Canada’s Osheaga Festival and will appear at the UK’s Wireless Festival. He’ll also be in LA at the end of April to headline the Smoker’s Club Festival.

Wireless Festival Has Been Expanded To Three Venues With Dave, Cardi B, And J. Cole Headlining

The UK’s Wireless Festival has announced its headliners for 2022, as well as a big change to the festival format. After being held at a single location since 2015, the festival has once again expanded to multiple venues this year, taking place at two of its old locations, Finsbury Park and Crystal Palace Park, as well as the National Exhibition Center in Birmingham.

Fittingly, the roster of headliners has also expanded to include an impressive collection of mostly US-based acts, which include ASAP Rocky, J. Cole, and Tyler The Creator at Crystal Palace Park on July 1-3, then Cardi B, SZA, and Nicki Minaj at Finsbury Park from July 8-10. On that same weekend, BRIT AWards winner Dave, Cardi B, and J. Cole will be the headliners at the NEC.

Local headliner Dave is coming off a strong 2021 that saw him release his sophomore album We’re All Alone In This Together. Dave was nominated for — and won — the Best Hip Hop/Rap/Grime Act award at this year’s BRITS, where he performed “In The Fire” from his new album complete with a flamethrowing guitar. His selection as a Wireless headliner signals his leap from emerging artist to bonafide superstar.

No other acts have been announced as yet, but you can find more information on the Wireless Festival website.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Osheaga Unveils Its Full 2022 Lineup, Led By Foo Fighters, Dua Lipa, And ASAP Rocky

Back in December 2021, Canadian festival Osheaga announced the headliners for its 2022 event: Foo Fighters, ASAP Rocky, and Dua Lipa. Now, the festival, which goes down at Montreal’s Parc Jean-Drapeau from July 29 to 31, has unveiled its full slate of performers and there’s plenty of firepower in it.

Aside from the headliners, the lineup features 100 Gecs, Ashnikko, BIA, Beabadoobee, Big Sean, Bleachers, Burna Boy, Charli XCX, Cordae, Dominic Fike, Freddie Gibbs, Girl In Red, Glass Animals, Idles, Khruangbin, King Hannah, Kygo, Local Natives, Lucy Dacus, Machine Gun Kelly, Men I Trust, Mitski, Pi’erre Bourne, Pierre Kwenders, PinkPantheress, Porter Robinson, Sampa the Great, Slowthai, The Kid Laroi, Tinashe, Tones And I, Tove Lo, Turnstile, Wet Leg, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

This is a big year for the fest, as its 2020 and 2021 editions were canceled for obvious reasons. That said, they did host a mini all-Canadian event in October 2021, which featured Jessie Reyez, Majid Jordan, Dvsn, Roy Woods, Grandson, and Faouzia.

Weekend passes for the 2022 fest are available now, while single-day passes will be available starting this Friday. For more information on that front, check out the Osheaga website.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.