When Tame Impala performed with A$AP Rocky

Every now and again there will be an artist who comes along and garners unanimous acclaim from fellow musicians regardless of genre. In the past, stars like Prince, have been hot property throughout all realms of music for the unique way that they push the creative envelope and the seeming studio mastery that they exhibit. Now, it would seem that Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker resides in that rarefied mould. 

His perceived studio wizardry has led to collaborations with everyone from Mark Ronson, Lady Gaga and the Flaming Lips, to Kanye West, Travis Scott and, of course, A$AP Rocky. Whether he’s crafting the perfect drum sounds for the stars, lending a psychedelic edge to their oeuvre or simply appearing on stage with them, he is in hot demand to bring something new to the table of the greats. 

Even Rhianna loved the Tame Impala song ‘New Person, Same Old Mistakes’ so much that she described it as one of the best tracks of the year in 2015 and added a cover of it to her album ANTI. And when Kanye West invited him to the studio to work on YE, Parker told Billboard, “I was completely starstruck, obviously,” when working with him. “My contribution ended up being some drums on the last song [‘Violent Crimes’].”

In 2018, Tame Impala’s link with hip hop grew even stronger with the A$AP Rocky song ‘Sundress’. The single was co-produced by fellow legendry producer, Danger Mouse and it saw the rapper sample Tame Impala’s classic 2010 psych-rock song ‘Why Won’t You Make Up Your Mind’. While Tame Impala never actually entered the studio with A$AP Rocky for the track, the sample landed with an appreciative nod from the Aussies.

In 2019, live at Campingflight To Lowlands Paradise Festival Tame Impala, took a pause in proceedings to announce, “It’s only right we do this song properly, it’s only right that we bring someone very special out to do this song with us”. A$AP Rocky then waltzed out onto the stage in typically upbeat fashion and the band burst into a scintillating rendition of ‘Sundress’ followed by the A$AP tune ‘L$D’. 

You can catch the well-received performance below.