Honorable Mention- A$AP Ferg- Trap Lord

Release Date- August 20^th

By: Dequan Huggins

     Trap Lordian A$AP Ferg intercepted shine from label mate/mob member A$AP Rocky this year with his debut album Trap Lord. Die-hard fans of the Harlem array A$AP Mob have always revered Ferg as the member with the most talent. Looking to capitalize off the momentum of his contributions on the 2012 A$AP Mob mixtape, Ferg delivered one of the more exciting and entertaining releases of the year Trap Lord.

The rap game has always been fascinated with lyrical onslaughts and metaphorical excellence, but Ferg has never been tremendously concerned with forcing himself in that particular lane. While other rappers have seemed to channel their energy into lyricism, Ferg equally distributes his attention to melody, imagery, and aggression making him one of the more unique rappers of our time. On his opening track “Let It Go”, Ferg rides a melody garnished with colorful rhymes that leave listeners in a trance. The melody is continuously displayed throughout the album but perhaps best presented in the song “ Hood Pope.”  One of the few tracks where Ferg is in 100% croon mode, the New York emcee envisions himself as a religious figure in and for the hood. Aware that he is not a perfect man by any means, but God has bestowed this power in him to be the voice for those not only in streets of Harlem where he grew up, but around the world in similar neighborhoods. “I’m the Hood Pope, these my children, And I’ll be their Donnie McClurkin”, Ferg bellows with conviction.

Aggression being the other component to A$AP Ferg, “Dump Dump” creates a sense of empathy of what vengeance would be like when fucking another enemies bitch; which essentially is the chorus in a nutshell. The aggression of Ferg’s raps on Trap Lord are of a punk rock song that ignites riots and mosh pits. The lyrics of “Fuck Out My Face” are so profane and vulgar that hipster fans have no choice but to reciprocate the energy amongst themselves at shows.

Ferg was able to continue his streak of club bangers in 2013 by successfully remixing his 2012 smash “Work”(featuring French Montana, Trinidad James, Schoolboy Q, and A$AP Rocky). Defusing the rumors that he is only a one-hit-wonder, Ferg also delivered with the chantastic anthem “Shabba” named after none other than dancehall legend Shabba Ranks. After a successful year of tearing up clubs and charts, Ferg showed that he was more than a grill wearing hype man for Rocky. Developing credibility for being an original, the sky can only be the limit for the Fergenstein in 2014.

Favorite Songs: Hood Pope, Let It Go

Weakest Song: Murder Something