Earlier this week, the trailer for Spike Lee’s upcoming A24 film Highest 2 Lowest gave fans the first glimpse of ASAP Rocky acting alongside the legend Denzel Washington. They’re playing a rapper and a music exec, respectively, so at least one of them is well inside his comfort zone, and in a new interview with Variety, Rocky said he wasn’t even nervous to be performing with the iconic actor.
Rocky also revealed a surprising detail about his veteran co-star. “Denzel plays more Memphis rap than anybody I know,” he gushed. “He’s just like, ‘Alright, so what you f*ck with, kid?’ [I’m like,] ‘Pardon me?’ I tried to sound all old school and sh*t like, ‘I like Slick Rick…’ and he’s like, ‘Oh, I fuck with Rick, of course. Rick the Ruler.’ Then, he started saying Nas lyrics out of nowhere. Then Pac, then DMX, and then he starts talking about the young cats — Moneybagg Yo, NLE Choppa, NBA YoungBoy, and these guys. I’m like, ‘What is this man doing?!’ But I’m here for it, like I f*ck with it. I was shocked. He’s an OG. You would expect him to listen to Miles Davis all day. Nah, he said, ‘Throw on NLE Choppa,’ [then Washington rapped] ‘I don’t do drive-bys no more, I walk ’em down’ That’s verbatim. I was like, ‘This is gonna be lit. It’s on now.’”
Although Rocky insisted he was “born for this,” regarding acting opposite his hero, he did admit, “it was difficult to not fan the f*ck out every millisecond of the f*cking duration.”
In addition to starring in Highest 2 Lowest, Rocky’s busy 2025 still includes releasing the long-awaited Don’t Be Dumb, as well as becoming the father of a third child with Rihanna — a secret that, now that it’s out in the open, the couple admits they were tired of keeping.