In between dropping bars from his Trap Lord record “Hood Pope” during his “Decoded” segment with Jay Z’s Life + Times, Harlem rapper A$AP Ferg gave a little insight into the record he says touched on the experiences he encountered in his hometown of Harlem.
While decoding “Hood Pope,” Ferg went on to compare living in the city of Harlem to surviving World War II. He further commented on the harshness of the upper Manhattan neighborhood as he informed viewers of the issues that can arise from merely attending a cookout.
“It’s my whole story of Harlem that went into this song,” the A$AP Mob emcee explained. “You know, just me growing up, seeing everything. And retaliation from beefs and how things turn out. Where people wind up. I really survived World War II living in Harlem. To go to a cookout means that you had to prepare yourself to hear gunshots. You might be just going there to get fly and get girls and enjoy yourself, but you had to expect some type of triumph within these realms. I’m basically telling everybody what it’s like being a young kid growing up in these conditions. And how you can kinda channel your energy and just put it into something positive.”
Additionally, A$AP Ferg revealed that the idea to approach “Hood Pope” from the perspective of a preacher was partially inspired by the song’s producers, Virginia trio VERYRVRE. According to the rapper, he feels the song is similar to what it would sound like if gospel artists Donnie McClurkin or Kirk Franklin were to rap.
“The producer of ‘Hood Pope’ is this group from VA named VERYRVRE,” Ferg said. “It’s three of them. When they sent me the beat—cause I call myself the Hood Pope a.k.a. Trap Lord, they sent me the beat and it said ‘Hood Pope’ on it. And then I just said ‘Alright, I’m not even gonna think of another title. I’mma just use this as a theme.’ So, I wanted to speak in the voice of a preacher. If Donnie McClurkin was to rap, that’s how he would sound to me or Kirk Franklin or one of them.”
Released on August 20, Trap Lord is A$AP Ferg’s debut studio album. The 13-track project includes appearances from Waka Flocka Flame, A$AP Rocky, Bone thugs-n-harmony and others.
Video of A$AP Ferg’s “Decoded” segment can be found below (via Xclusives Zone).
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Were bombs dropping on you? This nigga is a clueless moron. There are places all over the world worse than Harlem. Drop his Black ass in Syria and let’s see him survive.
lmao, he aint even been through no damn struggle! lmao these dudes dont have a story to tell
Wow the posters before me are some stupid ass morons. Get some brain cells dipshits.
I like his album quite a bit, he’s got a pretty great voice.
ignorant? naw I’m from the same hood he from. Us ’90 babies’ ain’t have it bad. Harlem in the 80’s n early 90’s was bad hell most of NYC was worse than Detroit today 70s-early 80s. this dude is sugar coating shit. Sure you had drive bys til like 05 but cmon ain’t no bombs dropping or F-16s here
Just said that above JRA.
Ignorance!!!
Harlem = World War II ?
I live in Harlem and I just don’t see the correlation.
I think A$AP Ferglicious needs to STFU.
I grew up in north Belfast during the 80’s n 90’s where there were actual bombs going off everyday murders shootings every day you could get kidnapped tortured to death for being the wrong religion. Get shot for wearing the wrong football shirt in the wrong area.Police n soldiers blown up with land mines or kilt in sniper attacks
Even with all that shit I still know it wasn’t shit compared to WW2 fuck is this dumb fuck talking about. Harlem mite be kinda rough but the asap camp aint live anything like it soft ass fuck-boys
So you’re saying you grew up around a warzone. Well, that’s what he’s saying once you people get off the bad choice of words.
Last time I checked army vehicles were not getting bobby-trapped with semtex in harlem. And police were not getting gunned down with in a co-ordinated attacks with assault rifles.Harlem is very far from being a warzone
This retard don’t know what rough is the asap camp fake as young money they should get that bitch Tyga to join he loves to pretend gangsta so much
Y’all some sensitive guys.
Harlem, hell, many areas in NYC, in that 70s-mid 90s era, had murders, shootings, kidnappings, robberies, rivals doing coordinated attacks on each other, shootouts with cops, crack & heroin houses, broken storefronts and burnt down & abandoned buildings that in some areas this would mean almost a city block.
The blackout of ’77 left many abandoned stores and streets under the subway els, night time was a horror. If you don’t believe me watch “The Warriors”, “Beat Street’, “Wild Style”, “Death Wish 3”, “King Of NY”, those are not studio sets. Actual NYC scenery. The gangs were real, and only 1 facet of the night life.
You say army, we say SWAT. I AGREE saying WW2 is a reach, but I’m not conceding warzone. What I described mirrors what the 1st comment said.
As bad as NY was back then it wasn’t Ferg’s life. He’s been good, his pops made the Bad Boy logo and he’s barely an 80’s baby, so those days don’t apply to him.
Wow. So similar to the Holocaust? Wow. I guess shits real in Harlem.
Other things happened in WW2 besides the Holocaust. Like for instance, the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. Were they incinerating Jews in Japan or having concentration camps at Pearl? No.
We know Ferg is reaching and warzone would have been a better word, but you just made yourself look more of an ass than Ferg did.
hahahah straight schooled your ass!
no shit Sherlock…but I think 99% of people would agree the holocaust was probably the most horrific aspect of the war. Not to mention the millions of Russians that died… the atomic bombed being dropped… doesn’t quite equal living in harlem. but I get what he’s trying to say…he’s just young and dumb so lets just keep it moving.
No, 99% would agree it’s the most popularized part of the war. But you’re getting it, naming others things, seeing other people died for no reason too.
Sometimes you gotta snap people out of the programming.
the only thing these niggas ever had to worry about was showing up the school wearing the same skirt as their homies
LMAO asap crew aint bout shit u know they soft they more worried bout how they look then the bitches.
Compare them to the wu tang or LOX they should be embarrassed to even try front like they street
as Gary said I’m stunned that a student can profit $7476 in four weeks on the internet. pop over to these guys… http://www.Cafe44.com
You talk like Gucci is some cold blooded murderer but the truth is he only killed in self defense and ever since then he been fucked in the head. I mean really an Ice Cream Cone tattoo? How can you justify that shit?
You took that way to far Freg. Ya’ll damn well Harlem been got cleaned up, plus your bodyguard father was there to protect you
This generation is so fake tough
Man this nigga exaggerating. I lived in Harlem and we in the same age group, it’s not all that gangster. If Harlem was WW2 then philly or Chicago is like WW1,desert storm, Iraq combined. Nigga in a cookout most of the time everyone there you know and cool. Not too mention this nigga was never a trapper or anything
harlem aint shit on what it was like back in the big l days
he went ott with the ww2 shit and yeh harlem cleaned up and aint dangerouse like how it was but u cant front- its still a poor area in the projects
ASAP Mob the realest mob on the streets.
THE IGNORANCE IS REAL!!!!!
http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/2EtfZocT0Fo/mqdefault.jpg
i take it none of the commenters have heard of hyperbole
what a fucking idiot
stretching with Harlem is WW2, but I understand the point he trying to make. Uptown has cleaned up a bit
TIL Ferg is a fucking idiot.
Ferg sucks donkey balls.
i can’t take a guy that cares what he wears seriously… faggot
you dont care what you wear? not even a little?
what the fuck you got on today a brown paper bag?
White T-shirt, jeans, and Nikes.
he’s young…. if your under 25 your opinions are irrelevant. don’t stress it… keep it movin.