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ASAP Yams dead: ASAP Mob founder dies, aged 26, label confirms

Steven Rodriguez, aka Yams, founded the Mob with fellow New Yorkers ASAP Bari and ASAP Illz in 2007

Roisin O'Connor
Sunday 18 January 2015 14:37 GMT
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ASAP Yams, far left, pictured with other members of the ASAP Mob in August 2014
ASAP Yams, far left, pictured with other members of the ASAP Mob in August 2014

A$AP Yams has died aged 26, his record label has confirmed, following posts on social media by other A$AP Mob members.

The main Twitter account for A$AP Mob posted the message RIP @ASAPYAMS at 1.14pm on 18 January 2015.

A$AP Rocky also posted an image of Yams on his Instagram with the caption: "R.I.P YAMS, I LOVE YOU BROTHER."

Steven Rodriguez, aka Yams, grew up on the southern edge of Harlem. He founded the Mob - one of the most successful hip hop collectives in recent years -with fellow New Yorkers A$AP Bari and A$AP Illz in 2007. They met A$AP Rocky in 2008, and by 2011 had signed major label deals.

Other artists have paid tribute as the news has spread across social media.

Yams told the New York Times in 2013: "Rocky’s like Luke Skywalker and I’m Yoda."

"We wanted to become big," he explained in the NYT profile, "but we didn't want to do it by hopping on somebody else's wave. We wanted to come in the game with our own wave."

There are currently no further details available and there is yet to be any official confirmation of Yams' passing.

More to follow…

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