On January 17, 2020, the 5th Annual “Yams Day” concert was held at Barclays Center. This event is held every year in honor of Steven Rodriguez, better known as “A$AP Yams”.
Yams was one of the founders of A$AP Mob, a collective of artists of all mediums most famous for its members A$AP Rocky and A$AP Ferg. Yams was considered an almost mythical figure, particularly in the Harlem hip-hop scene. He was key, for example, to A$AP Rocky’s early sounds, which famously introduced Houston-influenced sounds into the Harlem hip-hop that he was providing.
However, Yams met his unfortunate and early demise at the age of 24 on the night of January 18, 2015, from an overdose stemming from a codeine addiction he struggled with. Since his death, Yams Day has been held in honor of his legacy, first at Terminal 5 in 2016 but lately at Barclays Center. Each year, a medley of artists are brought in to perform and pay tributes. The artists have always kept a surprise, typically to the delight of the audiences. These artists were those that knew Yams when he was alive, and those that he likely would’ve co-signed were he still so.
The night opened on a relatively small note, as artists Night Lovell and Gleesh provided opening sets. However, the night livened up as rapper Bun B, famous for being one half of the Texas duo UGK, who were a massive influence on A$AP Rocky’s sound, performed. During the performances, tributes were provided whenever possible. For example, “FREE POP SMOKE” shouts were common. The emerging Brooklyn rapper known best for his singles “Welcome to the Party” and “Dior”, only that afternoon, had been arrested and was charged with stealing a Rolls-Royce. Later on in the night, tributes were paid to rappers who met untimely deaths within the last two years, namely XXXTentacion, Nipsey Hussle, Mac Miller, and JuiceWRLD.
Those who went last year will be familiar with the layout which has been used this year, as a wrestling ring was set up in the middle of the set. Much like last year, amateur wrestlers often provided extra entertainment both in between and also to supplement artist performances. Last year, the main stage followed the “Injured Generation” theme that Rocky was using all tour, which most notably included three sports cars that were elevated on stage. In its place were the fronts of two Lamborghinis, which served as the DJ booths, and a giant bull in the middle, all meant to follow a “Yamborghini” theme.
One thing worth appreciating was how much ASAP Rocky was willing to be of the people. Those in the GA section were greeted with him crowd diving and moshing alongside the crowd. In fact, at one point, he ran up to the seated areas to enjoy the show from there. This isn’t to state this is uncommon in hip hop. However, one may be surprised that an artist as big as ASAP Rocky is willing to do this.
Midway through the night, ASAP Yam’s mother Tatianna Paulino, also known as “Mama Yamborghini” took a time to give a speech. In the speech, she talked about the ASAP Foundation, an organization that aims to provide the youth with education about the dangers of substance abuse, through both performing and visual arts. This isn’t something that the artists merely state – in an interview with GQ in 2019, ASAP Rocky talked about how he aimed to stay clean for 2019 from all drugs, owing to turning 30 and coming to recognize his drug use inhibiting more than it could help. This, along with the recognition of how drugs played a role in the death of artists such as Mac Miller and JuiceWRLD, seems to be part of a changing perception of drugs in hip-hop.
Unfortunately, a show this big will inevitably face problems, and this year was no exception. For example, Slowthai’s performance of “Doorman” was marred by a faulty microphone. For some rappers, this is not an issue – many perform with backing tracks, such as Ski Mask the Slump God. However, Slowthai only had the instrumentals as part of his performance, which left the song oddly silent without his voice. In addition, during Brooklyn rapper Casanova’s set, the Fire Department stopped the show so that the main stage could clear. Due to the amount of time that the mischief took to handle, Casanova’s set was largely left unperformed, to much disappointment.
That is not to say the crowd was left completely unsatisfied. A strong performance was given by the ASAP Mob of “Yamborghini High”, the song which was written in memory of ASAP Yams. In addition, Young MA’s return marked another incredibly strong performance of her breakout single, “OOOUUU”
The night closed out with a surprise appearance Tyler, the Creator. On stage, he led and performed only one song – “EARFQUAKE”. The crowd erupted in singing as everyone joined along to Tyler’s genre-bending hit. After his performance though, curfew was called upon Barclays Center, and the show had to unfortunately end.
It’s important to note though, that this isn’t a concert in the traditional sense. In some ways, this event can be understood just as much like a party as it is a concert. Much of the sets performed last, at most, 15 minutes, and the quality of performance will wildly vary. That isn’t to say that the artists will never give any effort. After all, Yams Day does try its best to be an inclusive event in which everyone will have fun.
Ultimately, for those that wish to attend, it’s important to recognize that this event shouldn’t be treated as a concert. One should not hope for there to be rigorous sets much like a touring artist would provide. Instead, the event should be understood as ultimately a celebration of life. By attending, one is joining the artists in making sure creative visionaries such as ASAP Yams maintain their influence.