ASAP Rocky still hasn't delivered his long-awaited album, Don't Be Dumb, but he may have found more hip-hop inspiration in unexpected places. It turns out that his Highest 2 Lowest costar Denzel Washington is a massive rap fan, and might even have better bars than A$AP Rocky himself.
To explain, Rocky and the film's director Spike Lee recently appeared on Wallo and Gillie's Million Dollaz Worth Of Game podcast to promote the Kurosawa remake. It premiered today (Friday, August 15) in theaters and will come out via streaming on Apple TV+ on September 5.
During their conversation, the Harlem rapper and the Brooklyn-based filmmaker recalled the legendary actor's love of hip-hop. It manifested not just through direct quotes, but a full-on rap battle with the A$AP Mob's frontman.
"Denzel was such a great actor, he did something that wasn't even on the script," Spike Lee remarked concerning Highest 2 Lowest's process, per The FADER. Apparently, Washington rapped from Nas' Illmatic and Rocky rolled with it, asking at one point, "What is it, a rap battle?"
"That was crazy because I did not know that that man was such a fan of hip-hop like that," A$AP Rocky expressed about Denzel Washington. "I presumed that he was on some Miles Davis s**t, maybe some Alice Coltrane. [...] Yo, your man came on set talking about Moneybagg Yo lyrics, NLE Choppa lyrics, DMX lyrics. So in the scene, he just start freestyling like regular, so it caught me off guard, but I was fanning out the whole time. [...] And just to see him freestyle, he got me up out of there. I lost a battle to Denzel."
Read More: A$AP Rocky Continues His Acting Streak In Trailer For New Film, “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”
ASAP Rocky New Songs
Elsewhere, A$AP Rocky's other hip-hop homages and references concern his family with Rihanna. The RZA, the iconic leader of the Wu-Tang Clan, recently suggested that the couple should name their next child after the Wu's late trailblazer, Ol' Dirty Bastard.
We will see how audiences react to Rocky, Denzel Washington, and Spike Lee's craft alongside Ilfenesh Hadera, Jeffrey Wright, Ice Spice, and more. Highest 2 Lowest has a lot of buzz, and it might just inspire fresh bars from many different corners. At least we know A$AP Rocky was inspired enough to drop two new songs for the film's soundtrack.
