Making a Change
The rapper first premiered the record during an Amazon Music Live show, using the visual elements to pay tribute to Takeoff, Juice WRLD, A$AP Yams, and more
It’s no secret that generations of hip-hop artists have fallen victim to gun violence and drug abuse, with what feels like an unsettling uptick in deaths throughout the genre over the past decade. On his latest single, “Same Problems,” A$AP Rocky reflects on the cycle of life and death in connection to generational struggles and a yearning for change where possible.
“N—– dyin’ every other night/N—– cryin’, that’s a part of life/Lyin’ to my face, tryna say that it’s all good/No, I’m not alright,” he raps with ad-libbed assistance from Lil Yachty. When he reaches the chorus, he asks: “How many problems get solved?/Am I a product of things that I saw?/How many problems get solved?/Am I proud of the things in my songs?/How many problems get solved?/Am I product of all of my flaws?/How many problems get solved if we don’t get involved?”
A$AP Rocky scheduled “Same Problems” to officially arrive on the eighth anniversary of A$AP Yams’ death. The A$AP Mob member died in 2015 at the age of 26 following an accidental overdose. “You know when you lose somebody, you start to feel alone?” Rocky said in a New York Times interview later that year. “I don’t feel like that at all this time. I don’t feel alone. I just miss him.”
“Same Problems” first premiered during A$AP Rocky’s Amazon Music Live Thursday Night Football performance in December. While he rapped, the monitors around the screen rotated through photos paying tribute to the artists hip-hop has lost over the years. A$AP Yams, Juice WRLD, Takeoff, DMX, Tupac Shakur, Pop Smoke, Mac Miller, Nipsey Hussle, PNB Rock, Lil Keed, King Von, and more were highlighted during the performance.
The single will appear on the rapper’s forthcoming studio album Don’t Be Dumb.
