Everything you missed from UCLA’s Office Hours with A$AP Rocky

A$AP Rocky came out to Schoenberg Hall on this week as part of MIC at UCLA’s Office Hours series, in partnership with the Herb Alpert School of Music, that allows students to connect with artists in the music industry.

Here’s an inside look into A$AP’s thoughts on life, music, and fashion.

The very first question asked by a UCLA student began with a phrase that most people cringe at: “In light of our recent political climate…” and A$AP stopped it right there. He made it very clear that he didn’t come to UCLA to talk politics, because that’s the stuff that divides people. A$AP’s mission is to make music that unifies people, regardless of any differences, in order to bring people together in a way they never imagined.

What most college students uncertain of their futures wanted to know was how A$AP got to where he is today: successful rapper and GUESS fashion designer. He responded: “Without being conceited, I always knew I had something special,” and it’s that sort of confidence that skyrocketed him to where he is today.

A$AP grew up in Harlem with very little, which is why he attributes his success to the fact that he had to hustle, because “A poor man with confidence is unstoppable, almost invincible” – and invincible is exactly what A$AP is right now. He has just launched his campaign and line with GUESS, officially ushering him into the fashion industry. All of this on top of running the A$AP Mob and his burgeoning rap career.

A$AP said that the main reason he jumped into fashion was because he saw what all these other people were doing and thought it was “trash. Trash. Trash. Trash.” He’s using his position and platform to make a statement about how important clothing is and how what you wear truly affects how you feel and how others perceive you.

Because we’re all sleep-deprived college students, someone asked A$AP if he thought all of this was worth it – school, tests, and all that fun stuff. He said that school is really not necessary if you have the vision – the vision of what you want to achieve and how you can achieve it. However, “if you’re going to be at college, be here because you wanna be here. Not for your parents or anybody else.”

Finally, A$AP posed a question for the students. He said he knew that we’re all really smart since we made it to UCLA, so he sought out some advice on how to code and make apps from UCLA’s technological whiz kids. “I wanna make an app to time travel – I wanna go to Woodstock and see Jimmy Hendrix, and I know one of y’all knows how to make that happen, c’mon.”

If you missed this event, make sure to say hi to A$AP out on the streets, because for him, “having fans come up to me on the streets and thank me for what I do means so much more than a Grammy.”