A$AP Ferg – Still Striving (Album Review)

A$AP Ferg puts up a phenomenal performance on “Still Striving.”

TOP 5

5. EAST COAST REMIX

NOW THAT’S WHAT I CALL A REMIX RICHARD! N—az that ain’t even from the East Coast is on this s–t!

This song gets me so damn hyped up fam! Like I want to buy my ticket for a trip to NY ASAP!

Busta Rhymes belongs on every NY remix, and this n—a still sounds like the whole cast of Looney Tunes on this s–t.

A$AP Ferg has the second verse, and he actually switched up his verse (No one does that these days). I feel like he’s trying to match Busta Rhymes with the flow, and I think he succeeds.

Cool ass Rocky is actually pretty amped on this song, and it is refreshing to hear him slow it down a bit. His verse is tough, and something you can tell he had fun with.

Dave East is the street n—a, and he is still mobbin’ and letting us know his hood credentials.

French is from NY guys, and as expected, he sounds horrible on this track.

Rick Ross takes his time with the beat, over here sounding like he’s trying to teach us how to rap.

Snoop Dogg is the West Coast representative on this song, and he’s ready to teach us which coast is the best on. Sorry Snoop, it’s still the east!

This is a quality remix guys! Still not better than ‘Work”s remix though.

4. TRAP AND A DREAM

‘Trap and a Dream’ is that one song that convinces me that A$AP is more than just a hyped up black man.

Ferg comes tough on this song, showing off his ability to flow as good as anyone else. His lyrics are violent, they are aggressive, and most importantly hard-hitting.

Meek sounds perfect for this song, cause he’s one of the only people in this industry that can match Fergs energy. His verse on this track is very damn good, as he talks about flossin’, people that want to kill him, and of course the ROLEY!!!!

Not sure I would start the album with this song, but I cannot deny that it is one of the hottest.

3. PLAIN JANE

Did you actually think this song would follow its title and be plain? HELL NAH!

Ferg mimics the famous Three Six Mafia song ‘Slob on my knob’ on the chorus, but utilizes his own hyped up style on his verses. With the album having so many features, this is the one song that Ferg is able to keep listeners interest all by himself.

The production is pretty ferocious on this track, reminding me of something the newer version of Three Six Mafia would rap over. I’m definitely feeling it!

2. NASTY (WHO DAT)

If A$AP and Migos didn’t make a song that got the table shakin’, I’m asking for a refund!

This is some strip club s–t by Ferg, as he loses himself over the hyped up beat. Even though some could find his part annoying (with all that damn Yah yahing), I think it was meant to be heard in a club.

Takeoff & Quavo go back and forth on the second verse, deciding to swag it out rather than go belligerent (Dangit!) It seems like the more and more I hear the group rap, the more distinctive they sound.

Ferg decides to copy some of the most random artists from the past… What made him want to bring out JT Money from the vault? Who’s next, Coo Coo Cal?

1. MATTRESS (REMIX)

“Mattress (Remix)” is some classic A$AP mob s–t!

I LOVE how A$AP Ferg and A$AP Rocky go back and forth on “Mattress (Remix).” I also like the competitiveness that the two rappers spit with on their shared verses. All in all, you can tell that Ferg and Rocky wanted to out-reckless each other on the song.

Famous Dex and Playboi Carti play the southern versions of A$AP Ferg and A$AP Rocky on “Mattress (Remix).”

SONG BY SONG BREAKDOWN

1. TRAP AND A DREAM (4.5/5)

2. RUBBER BAND MAN (3.7/5)

3. OLYMPIAN (3.9/5)

4. AW YEAH (4/5)

5. WHAT DO YOU DO (3.7/5)

6. COACH CARTIER (4.3/5)

7. MAD MAN (3.6/5)

8. PLAIN JANE (4.6/5)

9. NASTY (4.6/5)

10. MATTRESS (5/5)

11. ONE NIGHT SAVAGE (3.8/5)

12. EAST COAST (REMIX) (4.4/5)

12. NANDOS (4/5)

14. TANGO (4/5)

OVERALL RATING

(7.3/10)

I am still astonished at the level of energy that A$AP Ferg is able to fork out from song to song. You can tell dude is high off life, which translates to this hyper ass n—a! Unfortunately, lots of his excitement revolves around meaningless stuff like f–kin’ b–tches and getting money, which means it’s a pretty dumbed down project in terms of content (I’m dumb, I like dumbed down).

I feel like Ferg was able to morph himself into many different rappers on this album, something that I think is important because of all the artists that are featured on it. What I do not like as much is that Ferg seems to play second fiddle to his features at times, letting them outshine him; Someone like Ferg should not let artists outshine him.

Depending on how you look at it, this album could be considered hot or not. While Ferg did create a few more anthems for us on this album (Which is good), at the same time he sounds dumber than ever before to me; This is why I am at a crossroads with this album, and why I think I need to hear this while inebriated to really appreciate it.