Mob Ties: Meet A$AP Ferg

Any good underboss worth his weight in body bags knows how to play his position. They know that even though the don may be getting the spoils and shine at the moment, the family wouldn’t be the same without them. Underbosses diversify the family’s strength by being leaders without all the hoopla, thus freeing up the dons to attend to other agendas.

The experience often makes them better leaders due to the amount of time they spend on deck practicing their swing until it’s their turn at the plate.Though “Work” and it’s accompanying clip are hardly what you’d call “practice,” A$AP Ferg is benefiting from observing Rocky’s first endeavors and rise to fame because when it’s his turn to rock (Yams says he’s up next) he’ll have Rocky’s experiences to draw from as well as his own. And the formula is working. One needs to only see the crowd’s reaction at one of dozens of their sold out shows on their recent tour when Ferg performs “Work.” It rivals the reaction to “Peso” and “Goldie” and on some nights has surpassed it.

(A$AP Ferg will be performing at VIBE’s first V-Mix concert this Thursday in NYC – Purchase Tickets HERE)

So Ferg is back off tour and ready to strengthen his position within the family and with his fans. Like Poppa Wu told Raekwon “Your time is coming…”

You have really interesting videos. The images are pretty unique? Is there symbolism behind the images and if so can you explain some of them?
Well, everything in my videos has symbolism. Like say the old boxer is like the washed up old head who thinks he still got it. It’s like if you don’t put it that work in you’ll remain stagnant. A lot people are running but they’re running on a treadmill. So I’m telling dudes to get up put that work in.

How come you didn’t just use the usual club and car shots?
I just wanted to let people know if you think Rocky got creative, wait until they get a whiff of me. [A$AP] real close so we all joke alike, semi dress alike… so when Rocky came out with his videos all the stuff we’re into, you seen in his videos. So at first it’s like, “Damn he did it first.” But I never let that stop me. I learned to be in my mind a little more and explore what I wanted do and not be in group sync all the time. You’ve seen what’s in Rocky’s mind, the Mob’s mind and what’s in my mind and it’s all different. I made a trap song with an artsy video.

How do you come up with some of the ideas for the images in your videos?
I don’t know. It’s just stuff I dream about or daydream about. I just take the rawest thought out of my mind and incorporate that in the video. Same thing with my rhymes. So when you see “Work” or “Roses” and I’m on a cross like “Fuck a casket” or you see a coke storm with the ballerina dancing it’s just different thoughts and influences. The fashion, the hood where I’m from, the cross, the dancer… it’s all me. I just put it all into one concept for videos.

So are you working on new songs and videos that you can talk about?
That’s what I’m trying to figure out now. The stuff on Lords were old songs. I’m kinda trying to reiterate some things but I also want to bring new ideas to the table. So I’m stuck in between sometimes. Right now we’re still brainstorming on what song we should actually do and just going over ideas of what we wanna do for the next video.

Now that you’re conscious of the fact people are watching and listening does it make it harder to create?
No not really. I don’t pay attention to the past I just shoot forward. I’m so in the midst of it I don’t get a chance to reflect much. I’m just working and treally just starting to flourish now. My videos are just starting to hit a million views anyway so it hasn’t really hit me yet. Even now though I don’t get set in my ways and sit back like, “Man, I’m doing it. I don’t think I’ll ever be satisfied or be big headed because I’m always in constant motion.

Speaking of constant motion, now that you’ve toured the country are you guys recruiting new A$AP members?
We always got a lot of associates and we’re always recruiting. This is a real thing, we have a movement so we don’t want to exclude anyone. We want architects, doctors and anyone that can bring something back to the family. Not everybody can be in though. We keep the family close and we’re very choosy of who we associate with.

What about girls? Any female rapper members down with A$AP?
It’s definitely in the future for a female spot but as of now we’re just trying to build with what we have and trying to figure out how to make everyone successful. But who’s to say tomorrow we don’t meet the next Nikki Minaj.

How would describe A$AP in ten words or less?
I can describe A$AP in just one word… Inspirational. Just because not only do we motivate but we inspire lots of young minds to move with what they believe in. We don’t discriminate race, ethnicity, gender. We want the world to do what they wanna do and bring what they can bring to the table. We do what we wanna do and that’s how we won.

Do you think the world will see things from that perspective?
I think they’re seeing things our way. The world is getting more exposed to fashion for instance. Even Fat Joe rapping about Givency. That’s not to say he ain’t know about it but people know a lot more and are more accepting of what we’re up on. It’s just a different approach to it and niggas is seeing you can approach the game all types of ways.

Do you ever worry that people may not see that though, that they may not grasp what you guys are about?
No. To me it’s the stuff people don’t grasp that makes you iconic. I’m comfortable being the black sheep. in the future, if you don’t see innovation from Ferg then something’s wrong with Ferg. Some one is up my ear [detracting] me from that mind set. I’m here to innovate.

VIBE’s First ‘V-Mix’ Concert Feat. A-Trak, A$AP Mob, and Pusha T

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