UB Spotlight: A$AP Rocky Talks ‘Highest 2 Lowest’

Denzel Washington stars in the new pulse pounding NYC thriller “Highest 2 Lowest” currently #1 in many regions on AppleTV+.

Brothers Denzel Washington and Spike Lee reunite for the 5th time in their long working relationship for a reinterpretation of the great filmmaker Akira Kurosawa’s crime thriller “High and Low,” now played out on the mean streets of modern day New York City

For the pivotal supporting role of aspiring rapper Yung Felon, Lee cast Grammy nominee A$AP Rocky.

The filmmaker had been impressed with Rocky’s performance opposite Jeffrey Wright and John David Washington in the 2018 drama “Monster,” which was produced by Tonya Lewis Lee, Spike Lee’s wife. “He’s multitalented,” the director stated. “He’s not moonlighting. He’s a serious, serious actor, professional. Respectfully, actors get kind of intimidated working with the GREAT Denzel, but he was right there, toe to toe, respectful but not in awe. I would say that’s the same thing that Clive Owen did in Inside Man with Denzel. As I might say, A$AP Rocky was not light in the butt. He was bringing it.”

Rocky always hoped someday he might share the screen with Washington, and his early scenes with the actor did not disappoint. “When we introduce Yung Felon, it was quite the experience because I wasn’t there in person—I was actually on the phone with Denzel, well, King David, while we were talking and whatnot,” Rocky stated. “And it was something, man. Just me being a part of that, it was a dream come true.”

A$AP Rocky also contributed to the “Highest 2 Lowest“soundtrack, writing original tracks that he performs in character and which becomes integral to the plot of the film. “Yung Felon’s music, I didn’t want to be too much like A$AP Rocky,” stated A$AP. “I wanted it to have its own identity. Yung Felon is more so an eclectic New York Bronx native with an urban hood tendency. So, we sprinkled a bit of that on it with some flayers of some exquisite sounds and came up with something a little different.”

Multi-hyphenated artist, entrepreneur, actor and fashion icon A$AP Rocky, born Rakim Mayers, has taken the world by storm since his emergence in 2011. Rocky has continued to dominate the music industry by clocking over 22.5 billion total streams to date. In addition, his music videos have earned a staggering 4.2 billion combined views on YouTube.

Late last year, Rocky dropped his latest singles, “HIGHJACK” and “Ruby Rosary” featuring J. Cole, both of which will appear on his highly anticipated fourth studio album, “Don’t Be Dumb.” Additionally, his music video for “Tailor Swif” received a nomination for Best Music Video at the 67th Grammy Awards.