DISGRACELAND

A$AP Rocky’s upbringing; Harlem, Riker’s, and his own instincts and sense of history informed his world view: A view that included not only a healthy respect for the healing powers of LSD but also to want no part of the political maelstrom surrounding our cartoon president, Donald J. Trump. The bottling and selling of American outrage, for Rocky was a race to the bottom, a distraction. Despite my own distaste for Trump and for all politicians, I respect Rocky’s decision to attempt to ascend above the fray. The irony is that A$AP Rocky’s own behavior led him straight into the political fray; jailed in an international incident and in the end, in need of the unlikeliest of political allies to help him escape. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers