A$AP Rocky Isn't Interested in "Making Music to Stay Relevant" for Popularity Sake

On Thursday evening, A$AP Rocky joined Peter Rosenberg as the first guest on the debut episode of Complex's brand new YouTube program, Open Late, where he addressed the delay of his long-awaited third studio album, Testing.

"Everything has to be aligned correctly. One little mishap, one little imperfection, could throw off a whole cycle," Rocky told Rosenberg. "I would prefer to put out music to change people's moods or uplift or get a feeling or reaction, as opposed to just making music to stay relevant for the sake of popularity."

While it's been three years since his last release, 2015's At. Long. Last. ASAP, Rocky believes the time off has turned him into a more deliberate creative.

"I'm experimenting in a more calculated way," he added. "I'm taking precaution to make sure I'm not just drawing [outside] the lines, all crazy, mixing my colors. I'm still trying to give you a beautiful canvas ... but I want to take a different approach. I want to challenge the viewer who's used to hearing the same 'ol shit. The shit is cliche at this point. I'm trying to test my viewers and listeners to see if they're willing to evolve and grow with me." 

So far this year, Rocky has released two singles off the forthcoming Testing, including "Bad Company" with BlocBoy JB and "ASAP Forever" featuring Moby.