A$AP Rocky Reveals the Life-Changing Advice Denzel Washington Gave Him 10 Years Ago

Denzel Washington, Spike Lee and A$AP Rocky have been hitting the media circuit pretty hard in support of the just-released Highest 2 Lowest, but their chemistry, and the genuine love they have for each other, has arguably never been more evident than when they sat down for a chat amongst themselves for GQ’s Epic Conversation.

Denzel sets the tone, taking the no-fucks-given mode he’s been in as of late and dialling it all the way up—at one point while Spike and Rocky are talking, Denzel takes note of Rocky’s Rolex and strips it clean off of his wrist to slide it on his own arm like nothing happened. The guys also take a beat to talk about contemporary rap, with Rocky strongly urging Denzel to add JID’s new album God Does Like Ugly to his queue.

But we also get some great rare anecdotes out of their convo, ranging from classic set stories to personal memories. After Spike recounts Rocky’s reaction on set when Denzel went off-script and started literally freestyling bars during a scene, the He Got Game collaborators begin reminiscing about a similar moment in which Denzel’s competitive nature jumped out on that film, when Denzel started raining buckets on Ray Allen even though the scene as scripted called for Ray to win. And later, the man born Rakim Athelaston Mayers—what, you thought his parents named him "A$AP Rocky"?—sheepishly reveals his unique middle name for the first time on camera, much to Denzel’s delight.

But the absolute best story comes at the end, in another reveal Rocky swears he's never shared on camera. It starts with one of his earlier film experiences—a supporting-actor turn in the Netflix movie Monster, which Spike’s wife Tonya produced. Rocky had become tight with one of his co-stars, John D

avid Washington—who as you may be aware is Denzel's son. Shortly after filming, Christmastime rolled around; Rocky divulges that he’s usually depressed around the holiday, which happens to be the anniversary of his father's passing.

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Rocky was holed up in L.A., away from New York family, “sad and drinking lean” with a girlfriend—this was around 2016, as he recalls it. At some point he spoke to Frank Ocean, who urged him to get out of the house. As it turns out, Frank had plans to get together with John David, but since it was the holidays, John invited Rocky over to the Washington family house for Christmas—the first time Rocky met Denzel. (He jokes about a ray of light appearing behind Denzel as he entered the room; Denzel counters that that must’ve been “all the champagne” Rocky was drinking.)

Rocky remembers being especially taken with the warmth of the Washington family’s vibe; he looks back on it fondly as one of the first Christmases where he didn't wind up depressed. At one point, he says, Denzel actually took him aside and said “Is that your girlfriend?” in regards to Rocky’s lady. Rocky’s non-committal response prompted Denzel to say, “[In] a few years, y'know you have to get it together.” Fast forward 9 years, and Rocky is awaiting the birth of his third child, sitting next to the elder Washington, who's now his co-star, as Denzel jokes that his name “would be a beautiful name for a son.”