Same Problems?

A$AP Rocky has been deeply affected by the premature deaths of many of his peers in the rap industry, due to gun violence (Juice WRLD, Pop Smoke, Nipsey Hussle, Takeoff) and drug overdoses (Juice WRLD, Mac Miller). These losses have led him to reflect on the themes he addresses in his music, and this introspection is evident on "Same Problems."

A$AP wrote the track because he was feeling troubled. "I think I was also feeling a sense of guilt, because every time we lose somebody in our community, we all – especially me – have a habit of just saying things like, 'It's messed up. It's wrong. Why do these kind of things happen?'" he told Apple Music's Zane Lowe. "I never took time out to really understand that I was part of the problem because I was contributing those kind of lyrics and whatnot to songs," the New York born artist continued. "Without preaching too much, I just wanted to touch on something a bit different opposed to just being braggadocios, flamboyant and just regular rap content for me," Rocky concluded. "I just kind of wanted to express myself and tell how I felt without preaching."

Rocky premiered "Same Problems" in December 2022 as part of his Amazon Music Live Thursday Night Football performance. He released the song to streaming services on January 18, 2023. The date is meaningful because it's the eight-year anniversary of the death of A$AP Yams. A founding member of A$AP Mob, Yams passed away from a drug overdose in January 2015 aged 26.