The success of Harlem rapper A$AP Rocky’s major label debut, “LongLiveA$AP,” meant that it was just a matter of time before the other members of his collective, A$AP Mob, struck out on their own. First out of the gate is A$AP Ferg, in possession of an enigmatic flow just as accessible as Rocky’s, but cockeyed enough to be unique. Though some may write off him off as simply riding on his comrade’s coattails, his solo output — including the club banger “Work” and a forceful guest verse on Bodega Bamz’s “Say Amen” — has proven Ferg to be an MC deserving of our attention. Any remaining doubts should be extinguished by the release of his highly anticipated upcoming mixtape, “Trap Lord.” ARTINFO recently sat down with Ferg for a glass of red wine at Manhattan’s Bowery Hotel to talk about the pressure of being a role model, his other artistic pursuits, and the power of personalities.
What sets you apart from A$AP Rocky and the other members of the A$AP Mob?
If we were to represent artwork, Rocky would be like pop, and I would be too, but more abstract. I say things with a little more pizzazz. People think I’m making up my own language. I want to be decoded. When you’re so simple and people get you, the allure stops. The seduction is over.
Do you see your upcoming mixtape, “Trap Lord,” as being different from everything else that’s going on in rap right now?
I always wanted to make soundtracks to movies. In the studio, I’ve never told anyone this, this is my creative process: I light candles, I dim the lights, and I put on movies with no sound. There’s a part in “Jungle Fever” where Gator and his girlfriend are in this place called the Taj Mahal, which was basically a crack house, a.k.a. Cocaine Castle. So I called the song that. When I was creating this I wanted you to get the feeling of that one scene of Wesley Snipes looking for his brother through the Taj Mahal.
What makes “Trap Lord” different from the other material you’ve put out?
I always just wrote verses and battled people. Now I’ve gotten really into song writing. And sonically I feel like the music is going to take me somewhere else emotionally. “Cocaine Castles” is about my trials and tribulations dealing with people on drugs. Where I grew up, Harlem, you see lots of people on drugs and selling them. I just wanted to put that out there that you can come out of that element. I feel like whether I want to be a role model or not I am responsible for my audience. My brother, he’s only 13, his friends look up to me. I kind of have to be mindful of what I’m saying. Even if I’m fucking up, they can learn from my fuck ups.
Do you find that responsibility limiting at all?
I just think you gotta be cool with yourself. And just be a leader. Once you’re a leader and stuck on what you’re doing, you can be cool. With whatever you’re doing. I don’t smoke weed, but I have other vices. Everybody has their demons they have to fight. You’re just going to hear about mine in my music, and I’m not afraid to speak about them.
Is it tough getting to that point of being comfortable with who you are as an artist?
Most artists think they’re here to talk about big booties and cars. That’s when it gets corny. It’s time for change. This is the revolution. A$AP Mob are the rebels. That’s why we hang our flags upside down. We’re here for change. I was missing the Missys, the Kanye Wests, the Pharells of the game. They’d just come out and be themselves. That’s all we’re trying to do. We’re just the new faces of it — me, Rocky, and [other rappers like] Kendrick Lamar. We’re just here to cultivate our crowd and stand up as one. We represent that. We don’t care about radio and any of that shit. We just want to be ourselves.
People are tired of the same thing. They need something new to follow. It’s like religion. If the preacher keeps preaching the same thing and you don’t feel a difference, then you must change the church. They found a new religion, which is A$AP.
One of your paintings appeared in a recent W magazine interview with Rocky. How long have you been painting?
I painted before I was rapping. That was my minor at the High School of Art & Design — fashion was my major. It’s another form of release for me. When rapping becomes too much, I can rely on going home, playing some Miles Davis, and just going in on the brushes.
So creating art, whether it be music or painting, has always been important to you?
Yeah. My father was also an artist. He went to Art & Design as well. We had the same teachers. He had his own clothing line called Ferg Apparel. He did the Bad Boy logo for [Diddy]. He did the Uptown Records logo for Andre Herrell, [Diddy’s] mentor. I felt like it was so natural for me.
What are you going for with your paintings?
Whatever I’m feeling at the time. It’s just the mixture of emotions. It’s sort of like Picasso, who I kind of compare myself to. The portrait I did for Rocky was John Lennon and Yoko Ono. At the time I was with my girlfriend, she inspired me to paint that. John Lennon and Yoko were so close. They represented us. And Rocky just loved that painting so he was probably just asking me and begging me for it.
Do you think having outside interests like painting and fashion make it easier for you to deal with the stress that sometimes comes with music?
Of course. I feel like with the music comes the visuals and the fashion goes with the visuals. In my dreams I see clothing and clothing lines way different from what other people see. It’s sort of like pop art. Like Jeff Koons doing exaggerated sculptures. That’s what I see in my dreams. Instead of putting cocaine on a mirror on a table for “Work,” I did a cocaine storm with a ballerina dancing in it.
Are there specific artists you draw inspiration from?
I love Salvador Dali. More his personality than his work. He was real spunky, real different. The mustache, flowers, and stuff like that. All the artists that I love, I’m addicted to their personalities. It’s not really the art that gets me, it’s the person behind the art. Like Andy Warhol — what made him take all these Elvises and put them up in a gallery that way? I want to be in their world, I want to see what they see. I went to Fab 5 Freddy’s house the other weekend. He was a very good friend of Basquiat. He showed me so many pictures of him. There were black and white photos of him just chilling in his kitchen with a painted refrigerator. I was just trying to get in his mind. Is he really like that? Was he putting on? How was this person, for real? What inspired him to draw like a little 3-year-old?
I’m always trying to figure people out. I want to know what people are drawn to. Why are people drawn to Michael Jackson, Warhol, and Basquiat? Why are people still talking about them? It’s not always the work, because there are better artists out there. It has to be their personalities that draw people to their work. The person behind the work who’s manipulating everything and making this whole whirlwind of things to happen. There’s something behind that.
“Work (Remix)” featuring A$AP Rocky, French Montana, Trinidad James, and School Boy Q: