Mill Magazine by moniqua

NOV 2018

NEW YORK

MILL

'Tokyo - a photo diary' Enter the dark, lonely mood of Monica Rubalcava through her photo diary of Tokyo.

MILL /

MILL MAgazine publishing info MILL MAGAZINE IS ALL ABOUT PROMOTING YOUNG, MILLENNIAL ARTIST USING EVERY MEDIUM POSSIBLE. WE EXPLORE THE WORLDS OF THESE ARTIST SHARING THEIR PASSIONS AND IDEAS.

MILL 428 BROADWAY NEW YORK NEW YORK 11013 USA

PUBLISHER / EDITOR IN CHIEF ANDREW MONTELL ANDREW@MILLMAG.COM

COMPANY DIRECTORS ANDREW MONTELL MATT GUDINSKI

MANAGING EDITOR

SEAN IRVING SEAN@MILLMAG.COM

EDITOR

OLIVER GEORGIOU OLIVER@MILLMAG.COM

ART DIRECTOR

MONICA RUBALCAVA MONICA@MILLMAG.COM

OLINE EDITOR

KHIRUN HAMID KHAIRUN@MILLMAG.COM

SENIOR CONTENT PRODUCER MITCH PARKER MITCH@MILLMAG.COM

SALES DIRECTOR

FRUNCH NAZARRI FRUNCH@ARCHETYPEMEDIA.COM

Contributers AD OPERATIONS MANAGER

MAX RIVERA MAX@ARCHETYPEMEDIA.COM

PUBLICIST

RACHEL GANINO RACHEL@ACMEDIA.COM

PRODUCTION

PRINTED BY DAI RUBICON

SIANANDERSON, OLIVER GEORGIOU, CS LOUIS, MARK OBLOW, BLAKE MEYERS, MATT BIOLOS, ETHAN CHAMBERLAIN, CHRIS STRALEY, DION AGIUS, ADAM WARREN, DANE REYNOLDS, BENNY, GRANT BRITTAIN, GRADY ARCHBOLD, KOLOHE ANDION, RYAN FOLEY, MORGAN MAASSEN, ANDREW SCHOENER, DAMON WAY, KERSTEN WEHDE, SAM NOLAN, JOHN RESPONDEK, STUART GIBSON, RILEY BLAKEWAY

PHOTOGRAPHY BY MONICA RUBALCAVA

MILL /

MILL MAgazine index

WHY SZA IS MORE IN CTRL THAN EVER

SUNNY SULJIC IS THE SKATEOBSESSED STAR OF ‘MID90S’

TOKYO - A PHOTO DIARY

WHY TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET IS THE PERFECT HEARTTHROB FOR 2018

PETRA COLLINS STARTER PACK

WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE A TEENAGER IN LOS ANGELES

10 COMING OF AGE WITH DEXTER NAVY

CONJOINED

THIS YOUNG MOROCCAN DESIGNER IS RECLAIMING HIS ARAB IDENTITY

31 ASAP ROCKY TALKS NEW ALBUM

ON THE COVER: PHOTOGRAPH BY ELIZABETH WIRIJA.

MILL /

WHY SZA IS MORE IN CTRL THAN EVER HAILED BY BARACK OBAMA AND BEYONCÉ, THE AMERICAN R&B SINGER’S CANDID LYRICS AND VELVETY VOICE CATAPULTED HER DEBUT ALBUM INTO THE PLATINUM STRATOSPHERE. SO WHAT WILL SHE UNLEASH ON THE WORLD NEXT? MILL CATCHES UP WITH THE ARTIST TO FIND OUT.

BY LIAM FREEMAN PHOTOGRAPHY BY ELIZABETH WIRIJA

DRESS BY FENDI AND SHOES BY GIUSEPPE ZANOTTI.

hen Solána Rowe’s debut album Ctrl finally dropped, to universal acclaim, in June 2017, stellar reviews quickly turned into sales: by March this year, the album was certified platinum. With album sales came an international tour, which has seen Rowe traverse time zones the way most of us do subway stations on a morning commute. Vogue had two private audiences with the 27-year-old between gigs in two different continents. First stop was New York for a photoshoot in a Greenpoint loft, before she sat down with us in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to bring us up to speed. When we speak, Rowe, whom you will more likely know by her pseudonym SZA (pronounced scissor), is wearing her “Lara Croft Tomb Raider fit” – cargo pants, a “tight-ass crop top” and safari hat, having just returned from a five-mile hike (her favourite activity) through the ancient Taman Negara jungle (environmental science is a long-time passion). It’s August, and Rowe has plans to travel as much as possible – not a vacation, she stresses, because there is “a lot of work to do”. Instead, her ambition is to glean everything she can from her adventures and take steps to be her “best self – as an artist, a woman, a human being”, so in turn she can “regurgitate it out into some wax that makes sense”. Given Rowe’s influence on the music industry over the past two years, whatever she comes up

with is likely to continue pushing boundaries. Her impact has been so profound, it’s hard to imagine what an R&B playlist would sound like without her now. There have, of course, been the high-profile collaborations – with Childish Gambino (Donald Glover’s stage name) on his number-one hit “This is America” and Kendrick Lamar on the song “All The Stars” for the Black Panther soundtrack, as well as co-writing credits on “Feeling Myself ” by Nicki Minaj featuring Beyoncé and “Consideration”, the opening single for Rihanna’s album Anti. But what Rowe has achieved as a solo artist is equally trailblazng. Through her honest lyrics, she is bringing a new level of transparency to the genre. Rowe’s candour is perhaps what has chimed most deeply with her audience – her songs lay bare her own vulnerabilities, desires and emotions as she traces the experiences that have forged her identity. From talking about not shaving legs in “Drew Barrymore” to admitting feelings of inadequacy in “Supermodel”, Ctrl plays out like a diary, with no subject off the table. After all, she says, “the black experience, the American experience, the human experience, is multifaceted and there are many avenues to be explored.” A music industry without Rowe, though, was a very near eventuality. When it came to recording Ctrl, she was so wracked with anxiety

and self-doubt that the initial release had to be delayed and she threatened to quit music altogether. Thankfully, her record label coaxed her hard drive out of her grasp and put its contents into production, so she couldn’t keep titivating the tracks. It’s only been six years since Rowe started recording mix tapes in a makeshift basement studio, a blanket in place of actual soundproofing, with her “homeboy”, producer Matt Cody. Growing up in leafy, middle-class Maplewood, New Jersey, Rowe – the daughter of a Catholic, Pan-Africanist mother and orthodox Sunni Muslim father – was raised on a musical diet of John Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday. She loves Coltrane for his “emotive and prayerful” quality. “I can’t tell if it’s sad or not,” she says. She could, of course, be describing her own music – that duality is what inspired Donald Glover to cast Rowe in “This is America”. “She always feels very powerful, but vulnerable, to me,” he explains. “I wanted that feeling in the piece.” A friend of Rowe’s, much to her horror, played those early basement recordings to Top Dawg Entertainment’s president, Terrence “Punch” Henderson. He soon signed her and she joined the ranks of Kendrick Lamar and Schoolboy Q. With such a rapid ascent, it’s perhaps unsurprising she was anxious about Ctrl.

HAT BY JACQUEMUS, DRESS BY NORMA KAMALI, SHOES BY GIUSEPPE ZANOTTI AND EARRINGS BY CALVIN KLEIN.

SZA WEARS TOP BY TROPICAL ROB, TROUSERS BY BARRAGÁN AND SHOES BY GIUSEPPE ZANOTTI

But for the purported second album, there’s no evidence of any uncertainty this time round. “I’ve grown up and realised what I need,” she says in her velvety voice. “I made my first song for the second album in London actually, and that was pretty cool.” Rowe was in the British capital last month to perform at Lovebox – the festival’s only female headliner – alongside Skepta, N.E.R.D, Wu-Tang Clan and her one-time collaborator Childish Gambino. With festivals currently under fire for gender disparity, after Pitchfork published a study last year that revealed only a quarter of artists booked for big festivals were female, Rowe is hopeful they will stay true to their pledge of getting gender-equal line-ups by 2022. “The time is now,” she says. “Feminine energy is dominant, whether you throw it on a line-up or not. Every one can feel it. We don’t need [men] to survive or be valid functioning members of society. [Women are] representing themselves in a new grown-up demographic that’s probably quite threatening to what we’ve always known.” Among the women inspiring her right now, she cites those in Saudi Arabia who have

campaigned for their right to drive, the mothers continuing to fight to be reunited with their children after being separated by US immigration authorities, and black female entrepreneurs who, despite racial and gender discrimination, have formed the fastest growing economic force in the US. So when it came to choosing a photographer for the Vogue shoot, Elizabeth Wirija was the perfect fit. The Indonesian-born New Yorker focuses on shooting women of colour because the media is so “whitewashed”. In her words, she contributes to the world “through being an artist and creating my own narrative – work that I would like to see myself in, or relate to”. Just as she does with her lyrics, Rowe wears her heart on her sleeve when creating a look. “I like clothes to convey the way I’m feeling,” she says, and so every day starts with the colour that she feels most drawn to. If she’s wearing yellow, she’s “happy and full of joy”; red means she’s “feeling grounded”; purple, she’s accessing higher states of consciousness or, as she puts it, “thinking about the crown chakra”. The pastel-pink Versace gown she wore to the Met

Gala signified that she was “thinking about love and sending [loving] energy out [there]”. Her look that night – angelic and multi-layered – was almost the perfect embodiment of her voice. While, as her debut album suggests, only Rowe is in control of Rowe, she seems to be enjoying the fact she doesn’t know exactly where she is heading. “Who knows what my talents are, who knows if music is the best way to share my gift – I’m just gonna follow it for as long as I can,” she says. After all, she never imagined she would find herself here – a certified platinum artist, endorsed by Barack Obama (the former president included her in his favourite songs of 2017 list), with five Grammy and three VMA nominations to her name. “I definitely wanted to be in business – I didn’t want to be in music,” she adds. “I thought I was going to have a really nice corner office, a lot of respect and a power suit.” Rowe seems to have tackled the hardest thing first – respect she has in abundance. The power suit and corner office would no doubt follow if she so wished – and if her impact on the music world is anything to go by, those holding up glass ceilings should be worried. 7

MILL /

THE PETRA COLLINS STARTER PACK AS SHE SHOOTS SZA FOR THE COVER OF I-D, WE MEET THE PHOTOGRAPHER BELOVED BY EVERYONE FROM RYAN MCGINLEY TO CARDI B.

BY RYAN WHITE

here’s a funny dichotomy to the photography of Petra Collins. Youthful, modern, yet shot entirely on 35mm, her work is both neoteric and nostalgic: film photography for the digital generation. Shoot it, scan it, upload it. Rising to prominence as curated Instagrams and Tumblrs became sacrosanct visual references for young, creative kids; her distinct, kaleidoscopic aesthetic came at a time when many craved a fresh perspective. Landing her own Gucci campaigns, numerous famous friends and collaborators, and nearing a million social media followers in the process, she’s won acclaim akin to that of her celebrity subjects. But Petra’s presence as a young, female photographer from suburban Toronto means so more than transitory Insta-fame. “Girls would come up to me on the street and be like, ‘Your photos kind of changed my life,’” Petra says on the phone from New York, the week her Mill cover story with SZA hit newsstands. When asked what she thinks it is about her photography that resonates so well with young women, she’s quick to point out the fact that she is one herself. “I mean, just the fact that I’m a young woman creating images, the fact that I get to show my perspective through imagery when so many images we see and consume were made from one angle — an old, white, male angle. It’s exciting because you get to a point of exhaustion where you’re like, ‘I can’t see my story being told by someone else.’ Growing up, images of teenagers or young women weren’t created by them, so to finally see that change is refreshing and exciting.” Even in 2018, there is still a lack of support for young female photographers within the fashion industry. To Petra, this is what she perceives as a fixation one particular style. “I’m obsessed with Harley Weir, but I haven’t been so excited by anyone new recently. In fashion I feel like everything has been quite dull. I see a lot of people moving into one aesthetic — it’s very clean, which is so strange because in the

time that we’re living in you’d think it would be radical, but I feel like we’ve moved into something that’s like, very clean and sterile and kind of boring.” Petra started her ascent to the top about five years ago. She dropped out of university and moved to New York City, but having her own blog growing up was invaluable in gaining attention. “It was all because of the internet really. I was lucky enough to grow up in the age of Blogspot. Tavi Gevinson had a blog. I started a website with my photos, and when I was 18 started an online art collective for women, that was a platform that just took off…” Soon she began working with Tavi’s online magazine Rookie, VICE, and before long was shooting for major fashion magazines. “Mill was one of the first magazines I shot for. We went around Tavi’s hometown and shot in all the places that she loved. They are some of my favorite photos ever.” The shoot, which took place without a stylist or crew, marked the beginning of Petra’s meteoric rise. She soon captured the eye of Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele, starring in and shooting multiples campaigns for the Italian fashion house, as well as walking in its Milan Fashion Week show. But there’s something beyond this success, and the unique visual language she’s developed, that resonates with young kids so much. “What freaks me out is girls or women only seeing one side of my career and being like, ‘Oh she gets to be in Gucci campaigns and that’s so fun.’ I want to make sure that people know that my life isn’t frolicking in a lake in Gucci. Which is also depressing, but I do still experience self-hatred. When you suffer from mental illness... that’s the conversation I want to keep going in my narrative. It’s always hard, body image is a constant battle and it’s something that is never-ending. It’s actually very hard being in front of a camera. I had very bad body dysmorphia from the age of 15 to basically now and it’s really hard to still have that and to still

have your photo taken and to be like, ‘Hey, I still don’t love myself,’ but also with that I try to make sure that I, in any interview I do or whatever I say, I want to make that obvious.” It is perhaps this self-awareness, honesty, and understanding that lends itself so well to photographing some of the biggest musicians right now: SZA, Cardi B, Frank Ocean, to name but three of late. “Shooting SZA for Mill was so awesome. It’s funny ‘cause her and I have known each other for a really long time and have been wanting to work together. We’ve been looking for the most special thing we could do together. Shooting her for the cover of Mill, that was so special for us both. She’s very open about the fact that she’s a young woman, figuring it out.” “Cardi is kind of the same, but she just does not give a crap about what anyone thinks about her. Cardi, straight up to me, when I sent her the first cut of “Bartier Cardi” she was like, ‘I don’t love it, I need to see more of myself in it’, and I was like, ‘That’s awesome that you can tell me that.’ It’s cool that neither of them take on this submissive role when I’m shooting. It’s an exchange of equal power. With Frank, my sister and I are always just like, ‘What happened that he can make such intensely emotional, beautiful music?’” At a mention of the “Petra Collins starter pack meme” that includes the line, ‘do you ever listen to Channel Orange?’ Petra breaks into laughter. “Oh my god, it’s so good right? That actually was the best birthday present. It’s me, anxiety medication, Frank Ocean, Fiji water, and then my comment. Anna [Petra’s sister] laughed so hard one day, we were driving in the car and I was like, ‘Have you ever listened to Channel Orange?’ She was like, “Petra, who the hell do you think I am?”

PHOTOGRAPH BY TANYA JONES

MILL /

COMING OF AGE WITH DEXTER NAVY FILMMAKER AND PHOTOGRAPHER DEXTER NAVY HAS RISEN FROM TUMBLR STAR TO CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED TALENT IN SIX SHORT YEARS. DIRECTING MUSIC VIDEOS FOR A$AP ROCKY, WORKING ON HIS FIRST FEATURE FILM AND RECEIVING SHOUT-OUTS FROM KANYE WEST, THIS WEST LONDON BOY...

BY SEAN BAKER PHOTOGRAPHY BY DEXTER NAVY

ix years ago, Mill staffer Milly McMahon was scrolling through Tumblr when she stumbled upon the photgraphy of Dexter Navy. At the time Dexter was a precocious West London teenager with a knack of capturing Kodak moments of his pals and posting them online to an audience in single figures. Seeking a photographer to shoot portraiture for Mill’s burgeoning website, Milly contacted Dexter and enveloped him in the Mill fold. What followed was a break-neck race to international acclaim as a filmmaker and photographer, MTV VMA and Grammy nominations before the age of 25, and a tweet from Kanye West that’s tallied 35,000 thousand likes.

MILL /

NATHAN WEARS SHIRT AND BERET VINTAGE ARMY SURPLUS. NECKLACE MODEL’S OWN. GRACE WEARS JACKET STYLIST’S OWN. T-SHIRT ARIES. TROUSERS AND EARRINGS VINTAGE CHRISTIAN DIOR. SORAYA WEARS 12 TOP ASHISH. SERENA WEARS SHIRT GUCCI.

TATIANA WEARS JACKET TRAGER DELANEY. ELLIOT WEARS BOILER SUIT VINTAGE ARMY SURPLUS.

“

Kids now don’t have to imagine anything. They don’t need to imagine a tree with a flying horse next to it, they can find a picture of it.” So how does being an ‘inbetweener’ impact the way he works? “My style is not old but it’s not new. Every time I take on a project, I look to shoot the opposite way to everyone else. I shoot on film not because I’m nostalgic but because it gives an aesthetic and colors that I like and because it’s different to everyone else. I work with new people and I do things a different way.” The recipe is working. Where previously Dexter’s over-active imagination was inhibited by shoe string budgets, now that teen spirit is something people are keen to get a piece of. “Before I was doing everything with no money. Now I can make these things I’m imagining into a reality.” They’re playing by his rules too: “Success for me is when people will hire you to do exactly what

“

As Dexter’s career has sped from one success to the next, the constant has remained his allegiance to La Haine, Mathieu Kassovitz’s 90s black-and-white feature film that follows three 20-something lads’ struggle to find their place in the politically volatile suburbs of Paris. It’s arresting and honest, depicting real life through the eyes of the youth. On watching the film, the connections to Dexter’s work are immediately apparent. Now 20 years old, the imagery in La Haine is still particularly relevant, it captures a generation but also transcends it entirely. Its depiction of youth communicates a spirit of curiosity and passion and the same can be said of Dexter’s imagery. Although his work lives and thrives in the 21st-century ecosystem of the internet, it also represents much more, because in a world of over-composed selfies they capture a childlike honesty and intrigue.

EVERY TIME I DO SOMETHING, I’M LEARNING. FOR ME, ALL OF THIS IS SCHOOL TO MAKE A FEATURE FILM. EVERY JOB I DO IS A TEST FOR A SCENE IN A FILM, TO FIGURE OUT THE LIGHT THAT I WANT, THE COLOR I WANT.

“I think youth is about how you feel. My granddad is 72, he has energy, he still plays ball and he says he feels 17. It’s not an age bracket or a style, it’s not about saying you’re young, it’s the way you think,” Dexter explains. It’s capturing that youthful energy that has marked his success. Whether photographing rising stars for Mill or shooting critically acclaimed music videos for A$AP Rocky, he’s fast-becoming ‘The Youth Guy.’ “When we were young all we could do was change the channel on the TV. I didn’t have the internet as a kid, I had to use my imagination.

you want. They trust you to make a film the way you want to make it. Luckily that’s happening for me and I know it’s not that common.” Though he may not have been fed an internet-based diet as a child, his adolescence was played out on social media. “I’d only put up a couple of pictures on Tumblr and then I had all these people hitting me up. I just started enjoying it so much. Once I’d got 10,000 reblogs on one picture, it made me hungry to get my stuff all over the internet.” This network has been Navy’s making: “Tumblr was like my own

magazine, that’s how people found me.” Six years on from that first post, social media and Dexter have grown up together: “All the work that has changed me has come through the internet. If someone wants to ask me a question they just ask me. I’m always hitting people up online.” This issue, Dexter has photographed his own IRL social network. “I’ve just shot people I’m friends with, people that I’m surrounded by. There’s Lucien Clarke, who I haven’t worked with before but I met him when I was shooting Supreme in Paris recently. JME and King Krule are great musicians that I really like. Jamie Isaac I just shot a video for. They’re people I admire.” And what’s in it for Dexter? “Every time I do something, I’m learning. For me, all of this is school to make a feature film. Every job I do is a test for a scene in a film, to figure out the light that I want, the color I want.” Born and raised in Notting Hill, Dexter is always inspired by the world outside his window: “In West London you have such a mixture of people. All these second generation kids have been brought up here but with parents from all over the place; the West Indies, Morocco, Iran. There is this amazing mix of languages, energies and cultures. Everyone has a story and everybody is willing to tell it -- and I talk to everybody!” So will London be the Paris to Dexter’s La Haine? “I think people would expect this West London Kidulthood from me for my first film but it’s gonna be based in Egypt and it’s all gonna be in Arabic. Land like that is incomparable to any set I could ever build, from the pyramids to the place my dad grew-up.” Though Dexter’s heart may lie in Notting Hill, he’s headed for bigger things and if the last six years are anything to go by it’s going to be quite the coming of age story. 13

MILL /

TOKYO - A PHOTO DIARY IN HOUSE PHOTOGRAPHER MONICA RUBALCAVA SHARES HER LOVE FOR STREET AND BLACK AND WHITE THROUGH A COLLECTION OF IMAGES TAKEN WHILE IN TOKYO.

BY TRISHA JOHNSON PHOTOGRAPHY BY MONICA RUBALCAVA

apan, being one place our in house photographer Monica Rubalcava was constantly drawing inspiration from, met every expectation upon her visiting. Rubalcava, shooting mostly street, was in photograph heaven while wandering the busy streets of Tokyo. She shares, “Japan was a place I always wanted to go but wasn’t sure when it was going to happen. When I was living in New York, it seemed almost impossible due to how far and how expensive it would have been. But, I made it happen and I am so happy I did.” Having a very dark and distinct style, Rubalcava’s perfect balance of black and white complemented the city perfectly. “Black and white is what I find the easiest to express myself through. There is something about dark blacks and bright whites that I am so drawn to. It shows the shadows and the sadness of the city versus the brightness and happiness.” shares Rubalcava.

MILL /

Con join ed EXPLORES THE WAY HAIR REFLECTS HUMAN CONNECTION

WORDS DEREK TSING PHOTOGRAPHY BY ELIZABETH WIRIJA

ndonesian photographer Elizabeth Wirija has an interest in the way fashion — at its most whimsical peak — can reflect, and raise larger conclusions about, society. Her last photo series, “Alien Children,” imagined a world where colorful mythical creatures could coexist, and now “Conjoined” examines relationships using hair that’s literally shared by two different bodies. “Conjoined presents two women connected by the root of their hair, interacting with the world and with one another,” Wirija says. “It accentuates their strong bond together. Their movements and demeanor complement their existence. It will flow together as a fluid think piece about how we express our multiple selves and the different ways we perform in certain contexts.” She continues, “I find myself conditioned to be attached to certain versions of myself that I need to perform in different contexts due to social requirements or emotional especially wielding my existence as a person of color in a systematic world. There’s something to be said about how we connect with one another too that is signified in the appearance of being physically attached. This connection have various foundations such as our similar identities, struggles or experiences that ultimately brings people together and how we move forward and be able to function in an environment that is not built for our success.”

ON MECCA: JACKET BY LAURENCE & CHICO, PANTS BY MISBHV, SHOES BY 3.1 PHILLIP LIM; ON ANNAHSTASIA: DRESS BY GRETA CONSTANTINE, SHOES BY MISBHV

MILL /

ON MECCA: JACKET BY LAND OF DISTRACTION, DRESS BY LAYANA AGUILAR, PANTS BY LAURENCE & CHICO, SHOES BY MISBHV; ON ANNAHSTASIA: TOP BY GUCCI, SKIRT BY CLAUDIA LI, SHOES BY 3.1 PHILLIP LIM

ON MECCA: JACKET BY CLAUDIA LI, TOP BY NOON BY NOOR, SKIRT BY GUCCI, SHOES BY MISBHV; ON ANNAHSTASIA: JACKET BY MISBHV, BLAZER BY CLAUDIA LI, PANTS BY LAURENCE & CHICO, SHOES BY 3.1 PHILLIP LIM

MILL /

COAT BY ISSEY MIYAKE MEN. SHIRT BY EMPORIO ARMANI. PANTS BY OFF-WHITE C/O VIRGIL ABLOH.

MILL /

A$AP ROCKY TALKS NEW ALBUM, UNDER ARMOUR DEAL, AND HIS DEEP LOVE OF FLOWERS PLUS, ROCKY ANSWERS QUESTIONS FROM RAF SIMONS, ANDRÉ 3000, MAHERSHALA ALI, AND MORE FOR THE COVER OF GQ STYLE’S HOLIDAY ISSUE.

BY WILL WELCH PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBERT WUNSCH

ur interview with A$AP Rocky was supposed to take place backstage after an A$AP Mob concert in Philly, in a quiet, empty room, but in the moment, Rocky had a better idea. “We need to capture this chaos right here,” he said, gesturing around his dressing room, still packed with Mob members, girls, security guards, other unidentified loiterers, and even (according to A$AP Ferg, anyway) a loose mouse. “Let’s embrace the chaos,” Rocky suggested. “Rolling Stones in 1967, feel me?” He took his spot in the middle of a leather couch, surrounded by his old friends from Harlem—Ferg, Nast, Ant, and Twelvyy—and started methodically breaking down a small mound of weed as he spoke in a post-concert rasp. Every so often, he’d tease me for asking so many questions. But some of them he didn’t mind so much: Mill had collected them from a few of Rocky’s notable friends and admirers, with a promise of bringing back answers. The chaos Rakim Mayers attracts is a result of his charisma, which is raw and uncut. It is el puro, perhaps the purest of any star in pop culture—Hollywood, music, fashion, whatever. And given that Rocky’s mom named him and his elder sister, Erika B. Mayers, after Eric B. & Rakim, it was only natural that a kid who seems to crank up the color saturation whenever he

walks into a room would channel his God-given wattage into rap music. From the beginning, though, Rocky also established himself as a style innovator and made fashion an inextricable part of his music. In his breakout video, for “Peso,” he repped hard-edged, gothic-leaning streetwear like Black Scale, as well as more established avant-garde fashion like Rick Owens and Y3, while rapping, Raf Simons, Rick Owens usually what I’m dressed in. That was back in 2011, long before he cemented Simons’s unlikely hip-hopicon status with the song “Raf ” this July. It’s not a stretch to say Rocky is partially responsible for making European high fashion as much a part of hip-hop and pop culture as streetwear. In the six years since he first appeared on YouTube, everything he’s touched has taken on a sort of magical flyness. He’s put out three successful solo albums; recorded hit songs like “L$D,” “Yamborghini High” with the A$AP Mob, and “F****** Problems” with Drake, Kendrick Lamar, and 2 Chainz; stole scenes in the surprise-hit indie film Dope, co-starring Shameik Moore; and launched a creative agency, called AWGE. Later this year, he’ll appear in Anthony Mandler’s Monster and he’ll begin a wide-ranging, long-term collaboration with Under Armour. He’s become a rap star, a fashion godhead, a music mogul, an actor, a designer-

entrepreneur-influencer—a true creative in universes where everyone calls themselves creatives. Now, after two years spent racking up all those hyphens, he is ready to return to the first thing that made him: rap music. But things are a little different this time. In January 2015, Rocky’s best friend, business partner, and mentor, A$AP Yams, passed away in bed at his Brooklyn apartment from an accidental prescription-drug overdose. Rocky was there the night of Yams’s death and was among those who found him. A few months later, in May, Rocky released At.Long.Last.A$AP; on the album cover, Rocky’s face bears Yams’s signature purplish red birthmark. This new album will be Rocky’s fourth, but his first ever made entirely without the guiding presence of Yams. When we met in London for the Mill cover shoot, Rocky was deep in his work zone, trying to finish the record. He was keeping his phone turned off, more or less, so he could try to complete the LP before jumping to Milan for the Gucci runway show and then returning to the States for a long tour with the Mob. He’s 29 now—he’s seen a lot, and even his friends have questions about where he’s been and where he’s going next.

MILL /

A$AP Rocky:

Wow, that’s a good one. Let me

think on it. M:

You’re punting on the first question?

Yeah, but only because it’s so good. All right, we’ll come back to it. The second question comes from Dior designer Kris Van Assche. You may have heard of him.

had the blue jean jacket with the seam, with the black Acne pants, and the black Timbs, with the Super glasses on, with the ‘fro, ‘cause you was on your Jay-Z shit, trying to wolf up. A lot of A$AP members were there that day. I’ma come clean, we was in the club, and A$AP Bari was trying to talk to some dude’s girlfriend. Next thing you know, the dude got mad. He looked like some wrestling dude. He was big, with long hair. He’s like, “What?!” to everybody. We was like, “Yo, chill,” but he kept going crazy. So [Harlem-based visual artist] Jay West put him in a headlock, I snuffed him, he fell, everybody kicked him, we all dispersed, we ran. A$AP Nast:

Rocky:

Let’s talk about the Ferg punches.

Dior boys. Rocky: Don’t

A$AP Twelvyy:

From Paris!

Kris asks, “What was a typical Friday or Saturday night out for you like when you were a teenager?”

forget about the Ferg punches! Ferg said, “Don’t touch my friend!” Boom, boom, boom! [laughter]

Rocky: So

then, we all leave out the club. We outside. Your man, he was a manager of the club, so he come out, bugging out with his security guards. He throw ice at all of us and hops in a cab. We run down on the cab, take him out the cab, and start beating him up while we’re screaming “A$AP!” So that’s how everybody knew us back then. Next question. M: What’s your number one priority?

Rocky: Right

now, it’s music. Last year was businesses and developing all our new artists. Playboi Carti went platinum. Smooky MarGielaa is on the rise. Twelvyy album came out. A$AP Ferg mixtape came out—he always got number ones and bangers. Nast, Addie, up next. Cozy Tapes Vol. 2 is out right now. Now it’s all about me making music again.

“

Mill: The first question comes from Mahershala Ali: “Considering you were named after Rakim, one of the greatest MCs of all time, what legendary MC would you name your child after?”

A$AP Ferg: Rocky:

Fighting in clubs.

Oh, you want me to tell them the Santos

story? Ferg:

You love telling that story.

All right, one time in Santos [Party House, a New York City nightclub], it was like 2008. We took the train from Harlem. I had on this Marc Jacobs shirt, these D&G pants—’cause I was wearing D&G back then—and Marc Jacobs sneakers. Ferg, you had on the black Acne pants, with the blue jean jacket, and Nast, you Rocky:

Ferg:

I did not say that.

Rocky: It was echoing through the man’s body! When the dude got up, the first person he spot was me with the pink shirt on, so he just start charging, like a mad raging bull, and he grabbed my head. Now we on the dance floor, fighting like females, pulling each other’s hair. I’m biting this motherfucker’s thumb and pinkie and shit, going crazy, snuffing him. This dude must’ve been on mollies and liquor. Next thing you know, I just see feet running my way. Ferg came through. Nigga said, “Get off my friend!” Ferg was mad concerned. It was sincere. He was like, “Get off my friend!” Ferg:

I did not say that.

I’M A BUSINESSMAN— YOU GOTTA TAKE ME SERIOUS. I CAN’T HELP THAT I LOOK GOOD DOING IT. What do you say to people who say that you’re “more fashion than music”?

Rocky: I

can see why they think that sometimes. I really wanted to take time out to show people I was an entrepreneur. I’m a businessman—you gotta take me serious. I can’t help that I look good doing it. But if you just look at my catalog

from this year, everything I get on, I body. I’m selective about what I get on. I’m particular. I wasn’t really featuring with other artists. But this year, I’m showing niggas stop playing me, stop sleeping on me. I’m the god of this stuff. M: So when we saw you in London recently, you were on a phone-off lockdown, making an album. What was the vibe—the starting point for the new album? Rocky: My

new album is really about testing new sounds. People are scared to test new sounds, so they go with what’s current ‘cause it’s the easy thing to do. The top 100 songs sound a certain way. People cater more to that because it’s a bigger demographic behind that, or it’s a guaranteed demographic behind that. I prefer to experiment and have my crowd grow with me and to reach new crowds. I don’t just rap—I actually make music. That’s why it takes time. These sonics represent me.

outside of musical arts—more contemporary art. She taught me the difference between masters and Renaissance and contemporary and Pop art. It’s been a journey. Raf, we talk about collections, we talk about his favorite scenes—what rave scenes inspired most of his career.

M: “Dear

Rakim—”

Rocky: That’s

my guy. Lord right there, big bro.

M: “If you could not do what you’re doing now, what would you do? What’s another life dream of yours?”

Do you talk with them about, like, feelings and personal stuff ? Or is it mostly art and the industry?

Rocky: If

Rocky: Yeah,

Nast:

M: Here’s

Rocky: Yeah, I could. I have such good taste. I love flowers. I think decor value and feng shui is important. If not, I’d be a video director or a film director. But my whole life, I just wanted to be a rapper. That was it.

Michèle Lamy be hooking me up with all type of models—not all type of models, but her friends who she thinks is sweet. She says, “You need to meet her, she’s a nice girl…,” and I go meet her. They either crazy or nice. a question from Raf Simons.

Rocky: Oh,

it’s lit.

I wasn’t doing this, to be real with you, I’d probably be an interior decorator. You could be a florist.

M: You’ve been wearing lots of yellow recently— shoelaces, hoodies, et cetera. What’s the deal?

M: Did you go to London for the sound of London, or was it more just getting away so you could focus? Rocky: Both. London has a cool sound. I always record in London. But I needed to get away. London’s my second home. M: When

do you want to put the album out?

Rocky: ASAP—no M: This

pun intended.

year?

Rocky: Yes,

sir.

M: Your travel schedule is intense. When you’re always on the move, where’s your center, or your home? Do you ever wake up in another hotel room and wonder, “Who am I?” Rocky: Hell

no. Sometimes I do wake up like, “Where the hell am I?” But not “Who am I?” I’m the same nigga I was when I went to sleep.

M: You’ve had relationships with Dior and Gucci. You seem to have a personal relationship with Raf. How do you characterize those connections? Rocky: Sometimes

it’s business, and sometimes it’s friendship. Raf had me flying out to Antwerp so I could smoke my weed and just catch a vibe with him back in 2012 and 2013. I’ve been looking at him and [Rick Owens’s wife and muse] Michèle Lamy for advice. Michèle Lamy is like my fairy godmom.

M: What do you and Michèle talk about when it’s not Paris Fashion Week double-kiss time? Rocky: Art.

She’s the reason I got all these diamonds in my mouth. She had hers since 1985. She puts me on. She tries to make me evolve as an artist. She encourages me to do more things 33

MILL /

COAT AND 34 PANTS BY DIOR. SHOES BY ADIDAS X RAF SIMMONS

ask a lot of questions. I’m just preparing for a final test, that’s all.

M: Okay, well, the next question is from Shameik Moore.

M: But commerce being commerce, you’re going to have to sell some stuff to fund those programs. So are you gonna design a line with Under Armour? A$AP Rocky sneakers? Rocky: I’m

Rocky: That’s

my son.

M: “What advice do you have for getting more creative with your personal style?” Nast:

Wear what suits you and not what’s trendy.

Rocky: Yeah, but when we wear stuff that suits us and not what’s trendy, it becomes a trend. So that might be confusing for people. I would just say that everybody’s different. Everybody got different body shapes and whatnot, so I would say stick to what you know fits you best and what you feel comfortable in, even if it’s not in style. Just wear whatever makes you feel cozy. M: What

have you learned about leadership since the Mob’s rise into the public consciousness? Rocky: Fellowship.

Brotherhood. I try to manifest leadership into anything I do as an entrepreneur, as a businessman. But when I’m doing music, it’s the element with the brothers. We all lead by example and lead each other, so I lead and follow, too, you know?

talking about giving away to schools. That’s not selling, bro—you don’t make any money off of that. What are you talking about? I want to facilitate ways for kids to get better education without calling it education, ‘cause that sounds boring. I want to make a way for being smart to be cool. There’s nothing wrong with being a thinker. Where I’m from, being smart has a negative connotation—that means you sold out, that means you’re a geek. I’m just trying to say, “Forget all that. This is the plan: You are the future, that other stuff is the past, so let’s make a better way.” And if I feel like designing some stuff with Under Armour, I will. M: Question from André 3000. Rocky: Oohhh,

it’s lit.

M: “What hidden talent do you have that only your parents or close people know?” Twelvyy: He’s good at playing Pokémon and shit. Yo, you see him with like 500 Pokémon cards. Nast:

He’s the best at double-Dutching.

M: You announced a deal with Under Armour. Why Under Armour? What can we expect?

M: A hidden talent—something maybe only your mom knows.

Rocky: People

Rocky: Well,

would assume, with me going into a business deal with a sports brand, that it would be all about designing or curating a line—making things more lit. But what I liked about Kevin Plank, the CEO of Under Armour, was that he had a vision. He gives, gives, gives. When you donate or you do charities, it’s not about showing people “Look, I’m doing this.” I was in a shelter myself. And I know that when people be donating, you ain’t get no fly stuff at Christmases and all that. You don’t see no money. Pardon my French, but you don’t see no money. So I really want to make a difference. So I got with Kevin and Under Armour so we could open up real rec centers with fly stuff in them. Not hand-me-down toys and technology—new stuff. And programs for kids to learn to become entrepreneurs, designers, athletes. They can screen-print their own tees and sell ‘em from the store, get that commission on it. I think it’s smart. Those kids need laptops and phones today—that’s their platform. So I want to do something that’s really gonna make a difference, as opposed to fronting with the cameras like, “Ah, I’m doing this, doing that.” We gonna show and prove when we go and design uniforms. We’re gonna start in New York, the tristate area, ‘cause that’s where I’m from. And then go to different junior high schools and high schools throughout the country.

we might have to call my moms, then. [pauses to think] I display mostly all my talents. Right? I’m creative, intricate—angelic at moments. You gonna make me sound real conceited right now talking about myself. Why don’t you tell me what it is?

“

Rocky: Everybody

has a different God. I don’t know if God is a female, male, or even in human form. I pray to somebody. Religion is deep. Everybody got a different God, but I just respect everybody for their beliefs. It is what it is. I’m more spiritual than anything. Because I find flaws and contradiction in a lot of religions, respectfully, and I just take the good out of all religions and try to practice to be a better person.

M: You’ve experienced loss in your family. A few times over the years, as far as I know, and then you guys as friends and collaborators and a crew experienced the loss of Yams. Do you feel like you’ve grieved, or did you just keep working? Rocky: Keep

working. I’m not gonna lie. Because if we grieve it, it might take everything out of us. [long silence]

M: How’d

you get the scar on your face?

Rocky: When

I was 15, I had a fight with some niggas in the Bronx, on Arthur Avenue. This older guy gun-butted me while we was fighting. He was trying to rob my Pelle Pelle jacket. I still kept it, though. It was bloody. My sister Erika bought me that for Easter. I wasn’t about to give that up. Get outta here. If you’ve ever seen Jim Jones’s “Certified Gangsters” video, he had it on in black. I had it in white with the colorful Easter P’s on it.

“

Rocky: You

M: All right, so we’re back to where we started— the question from Mahershala Ali. “Considering you’re named after Rakim, one of the greatest MCs of all time, what legendary MC would you name your child after?” Twelvyy:

Yambo?

I TRY TO MANIFEST LEADERSHIP INTO ANYTHING I DO AS AN ENTREPRENEUR, AS A BUSINESSMAN. BUT WHEN I’M DOING MUSIC, IT’S THE ELEMENT WITH THE BROTHERS. WE ALL LEAD BY EXAMPLE AND LEAD EACH OTHER

M: Well, there’s a second question from 3000: “What hobby or craft would you like to be doing that is completely outside music or fashion?”

Ferg:

Rocky: I

Rocky:

want to design furniture. Maybe a sofa.

Or a bed. Ferg:

Yami’s not a MC, though.

Twelvyy:

What you mean?

No, he was a singer, bro. He was an R&B singer. As far as rapper…I’d probably name my child Pharrell.

You did design one of your beds in the

house.

Ferg:

I knew he was gonna say that.

Rocky: I know I did, but I want to sell my joints. That was just me testing. M: Switching

gears: What does God look like?

MILL /

MILL magazine