Sunday, 8 September 2013

A$AP Ferg - Trap Lord Album Review

The album from the wild card of Yams' new age New York Hip Hop collective, Asap Ferg has recently dropped an album and as a TrapLordian I felt there was no choice other than to buy it. 

The album starts with a Yams introduction, which is reminiscent to Diddy's many interludes and the introduction of Mase's classic album, Harlem World. This is intriguing as it defiantly reflects the groups love for new york hip hop and desperate attempt to bring it back to what it was, ironically doing so by copying the work of the golden days. Let It Go is the opening song of the album and it serves it's purpose of setting the scene for the album, you instantly know what kind of music is going to follow. Asap Ferg is far from a conscious rapper and may even be considered a party rapper however not pop unlike the most successful lead rapper of the group Asap Rocky. Let It Go has a dope beat which doesn't actually reflect the theme of the song, the undertone of the beat gives a sort of jungle feel. The beat doesn't involve any eccentric or surprising instruments, the looping instrumental by Razjah you can tell was made for The Trap Lord to float over with his exceptional flow. Overall, the song is dope however it subscribes to the thought of all of his music sounds the same. But as it's the first song it can be excused from a "WE NEED A NEW FEEL FERG!"

Second song on the lp and first sing is Shabba. This song is a hilarious ode to Shabba Ranks (Dancehall artist) and portrayal of Asap Ferg and his mobs new found flashy lifestyle. 
  





The third track is labelled Lord, in which you cant really make out whether the song has a real purpose or not. It went from sex stories, to praising Allah to detailed ways of how to kill a man. It's a shame but it is honestly one of the worst cacophony of sounds i've ever had to endure. After my first listen my first instinct was to delete the song and never look back. However, if you are a fan of nonsensical rhymes mainly about killing and fast rapping you may, dare I say, enjoy this track. It is compelling as you get the contrast of fast rapping clique Bone Thugz N Harmony to smoked out Asap Ferg. All in all, this song was awful and I had to apologise to my ears for subjecting them to such torture.

Like the third song there is 'F**k Out My Face': This is another feature track that can be easily over looked, it's no stand out on the album but it's always nice to see two 'legends' Onyx and B-Real sharing a track with two up and coming artists Asap Ferg and Aston Matthews. To me the song was far from anything extraordinary but it's good as Ferg didn't get overshadowed on the track despite the three others features. 

There is a remix to his most successful song Work which is actually alright but I prefer the original which consists of four other hot rappers in the game now. It has two nothing more than expected verses from Trinidad James and French Montana. A dope verse from Ferg and nothing too special from Rocky. However, there is School Boy Q's verse that completely overshadowed everyone else's, both lyrically and flow wise. The song serves it's purpose, it's just a shame Ferg had a Jay Z renegade experience.

Ferg completely switches it up with his catchy feature from Flocka in Murda Somethin. This song is good as he Asap Mob aren't really respected as thugs in the game, just a bunch of Hipsters from New York. Murda Something is a sort of cry out from Ferg letting fans know he isn't Rocky, Ferg has a thug side. He put the whole fake rapper is he really from the streets talk away letting everyone know he hasn't killed but he has no problem doing so with just his opening 2 bar. This is much like Fergivicious where he lets those that don't know, know. It's another song where he attempts to stand out and let the listener know who he is and what makes him what he is, this is present in the chorus.

Didn't Wanna Do That and Make a Scene is rare story telling from Ferg in which he tells what would happen if he had to make a scene in both songs. One telling what he will do to those that robbed his friend and the other being if someone was to confront him and the only possible outcome was to be death. Both loaded with euphemisms about killing, much like Murda Something.

402 serves as a perfect interlude to Dump Dump. 402 is a track that wasn't quite sure whether it wanted to be a skit, interlude or track on it's on. It's about a sexual experience of the Trap Lord and is placed before a song that is pretty much about the same thing. Dump Dump is hardly a stand out song or prominent piece of work on the album, it's serves it's purpose of being a sort out drugged up hype party track and that's it. It's a song you hear and want to fight the person next to you, whether for excitement from the upbeat tempo or frustration of the many elements of the song clashing together and not really making sense, that's it.

Hood Pope and Cocaine Castle are two spaced out songs by Donnie McClurkin Frontin' both incorporating a rather slow tempo and venting. One telling about how hard it is in his hood and how even Jesus wouldn't want to be there. The other telling stories about cocaine abusers and what it's really like to be with the notorious 'white girl'. Both songs are prominent and controversial as it shows Fergenstein's versatility; switching up flows and showing how he can ride any beat tailored to his unique style. Also shows Ferg's conscious side, not the side where he is talking about the 3 things that come with fame - Money, Clothes, H**s. 


Overall the album is strong and shows Ferg deserves the same respect shown to group leader Rocky or maybe even more. He shows how much he stands out from the collective and modern age Wu-Tang Asap. As Yams once said Ferg is the wild card of the group, and his debut album defiantly shows this wild card paid off. Best songs for me: Cocaine Castle, Make a Scene, Hood Pope and Let it go.

No comments:

Post a Comment