A Brief History of Tyler, the Creator & A$AP Rocky's Bromance
Rap beef is currently in season thanks to Drake and Pusha-T, so the only way to balance it out is with some hearty bromances. A$AP Rocky and Tyler, The Creator recently re-ignited their "fake beef" over a pair of Futura x Nike SB P Rod 1 Elite sneakers (because it's always better to bicker over material possessions over airing out private information).
Lately, the rappers have been keeping it clean with a few playful jabs thrown here and there, it hasn't always been this pleasant between them... Wondering where and when the back and forth initially began? We've got you covered with a thorough timeline of Tyler, The Creator vs. A$AP Rocky. Read on to get the full scoop.
Chapter 1: A$AP Mob vs. Odd Future
During the 2010s, when both rappers were building the foundation of their careers within their respective collectives, A$AP Mob and Odd Future were rivals. The battle between the collectives was merely another case of history repeating itself with a classic case of East Coast versus West Coast.
The first offense can be traced back to 2011 when Danny Brown dropped a music video for "Blunt After Blunt", directed by A$AP Rocky. A few hours after it was posted, Tyler, The Creator tweeted “The Term Video Director Is Thrown Around Very Loosely Now Days.” A$AP Ant proceeded to retweet Tyler's comment and reply with “ill smack the sh*t outta you." Nothing further ensued.
Chapter 2: Tyler, The Creator puts more heat on the beef, but Rocky squashes it
The following year, A$AP Rocky released his hit single "Fuckin' Problems" featuring Kendrick Lamar, Drake, and 2 Chainz. While most people were excited about all the star-studded guests included on the track, Tyler was not impressed and expressed a dismissive remark on Twitter. "So funny when someone releases a new song with the same four people that we expected to be on it with the same shitty ‘Trap’ beat Hahaha," he stated.
In a 2013 interview with Life + Times, Rocky publicly spoke out about Tyler's comment for the first time. "He has his opinions and he’s entitled to them, so it’s whatever," he said. "Hell no, I’m not tripping over what Tyler, The Creator said. I’m Jiggy."
From there, Rocky continued to speak highly of Odd Future and attest that he was a fan of the collective in more interviews - like his first cover for Complex's December 2012/January 2013 issue.
"They were out first. I came out with a group," he said. "We’re all into the same shit. They wear Supreme, we like Supreme. It was silly shit. We’re nothing alike, when you think about it.”
No problems here!
Chapter 3: Tyler, The Creator and A$AP Rocky go on tour
In 2015, A$AP Rocky and Tyler, The Creator joined forces for a co-headlining tour with support from Vince Staples and Danny Brown. It was the ultimate rap experience as the tour showcased a diverse range of styles - at that point, their respective albums Cherry Bomb and At.Long.Last.ASAP were out. After their time on the road ended, Tyler and Rocky were spotted hanging out together on multiple occasions —evidence that a real friendship had finally been formed between them.
Chapter 4: The “WANG$AP” movement
Once the friendship was officially established, Rocky and Tyler began featuring each other on their tracks in 2016. Tyler hopped on the Cozy Tapes Vol. 1 Friends track "Telephone Calls" along with Playboi Carti and Young Geesh. Last year, Tyler formally returned the favor when he featured Rocky on the single "Who Dat Boy". When Tyler held a secret release show for Flower Boy at Webster Hall in NYC, he even invited Rocky as a special guest.
During that time, Rocky was rumored to be dating Kendall Jenner who also happens to be a close friend of Tyler. (The model was previously romantically linked to Tyler as well, but they both quickly shut down those rumors on Twitter).
Chapter 5: Roasting the bromance
Seeing as to how both of the rappers are also style icons, it makes sense that they might be critical of each other's fashion choices. Tyler recently went on Instagram to call out Rocky for wearing a pair of Futura x Nike SB P Rod 1 Elites.
In response to the shot, Rocky put him on blast for rocking socks with sandals...
Later on, Rocky also shared a hilarious image of a man that is a living doppelgänger of Tyler. While the rappers remain competitive with one another, it's all in good spirit now.
There you have it, the complete history (so far) of the beefy bromance between A$AP Rocky and Tyler, the Creator. Stay tuned to see if Tyler has anything else to say on social media.
What do you think about the bromance? Let us know in the comments below.
For more moments in rap history, be sure to revisit our brief history of the Drake vs. Pusha-T beef right here.