While millions of shoppers were out and about yesterday, trying to take advantage of all of the insane Black Friday deals, A$AP Ferg decided to release a full 19 track mixtape for his fans—for the low price of free. The DJ Drama hosted, Ferg Forever, is more that a collection of throwaways or loose songs Ferg had stashed on his laptop; it is a well rounded project, with big name producers (Clams Casino, Childish Major, and Big K.R.I.T. to name a few), top notch features (M.I.A., Big Sean, and Twista counted among them), and a well executed shift of sound. While he is still as bombastic as ever, Ferg Forever finds the "Shabba" emcee diving into a more soulful and introspective sound, showing his growth as rhymer and a musician.
Fans of Trap Lord may find it harder to vibe with Ferg Forever, due to the fact that Ferg spaces out his bangers. On his debut, it was a non-stop hyped mobbing session. However, for this tape majority of the pure energetic Fergenstein comes on the latter half, with tracks like "Dope Walk", "NV (which contains an awesome A$AP Nast feature)", "Ja Rule," and "Reloaded Let It Go 2." Majority of the early tracks are preoccupied around Ferg's anxieties and haunting past; most notably "Uncle," which is a chilling open letter to his deadbeat Uncle.
Ferg displayed a level of lyrical talent that many might have overlooked previously or thought missing. "Bonnoroo" shows that he can spit a story and keep interesting; "Talk It" is a powerful track and the smooth talking flow that he picks up on it serves to clearly get his point across; "This Side" sees him going toe-to-toe with YG, spitting grimy hood tales; while "Commitment Issues" finds Ferg uncharacteristically vulnerable and bare. The way he goes from rambunctiousness Shabba gangsta to meek Hood Pope is breath taking and incredible.
Like Trap Lord, Ferg Forever's production is all on point. Ferg enlists the A$AP Mob favorite Clams Casino for a few tracks. Big K.R.I.T. shows up and shows out on two tracks, and Childish Major contributes the beat on "Commitment Issues." However, the real star has to be Stelios Phili, who produced three of the best tracks on the tape ("Doe-Active", "Dope Walk", and "JA Rule"). Ferg and Phili have a chemistry that, hopefully, they continue to build on in proceeding projects
Ferg Forever is a solid project and one that is worth the time commitment. Ferg has been one of the more consistent A$AP Mob members, showing progression with every release. This has us excited to see where he goes next, hopefully we get an album soon.
