As of August 20, Harlem hip-hop up-and-comer A$AP Ferg has taken his most significant step in distinguishing himself among the hard-hitting A$AP Mob with his debut album, “Trap Lord.”

Since the memorable 2012 release of A$AP Mob’s “Lords Never Die” mixtape, Ferg has continually proven to nay-sayers his voice will not be overshadowed by the colossal success of his counterpart A$AP Rocky, and at times could offer a refreshing alternative to the Flacko flow we’ve become so familiar with over the past
several years.

The album boasts a generally impressive group of features considering Ferg’s relative newness to the rap scene, including household names such as Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and Cypress Hill’s B-Real — with which Ferg proves to be unsurprisingly complimentary on the track “Lord.”

Ferg’s hosting of crowd-pleasers like Schoolboy Q and Waka Flocka Flame seems to validate a sort of trend this year has seen on albums such as Kanye West’s “Yeezus” (which, lest we forget, somehow managed Eau Claire’s own Bon Iver and Chief Keef on the same track).

Sure, there’s no question of impressive production and collaborations being easy repertoire-boosters, but my interest in the album lies in whether or not he can prove himself multi-faceted enough to stand alone.

Judged strictly on lyricism, there’s no question of effort or emotion demonstrated by the new guy — especially in comparison to recent singles. Like the rest of A$AP Mob, Ferg’s quick, breathless sound is an adrenaline rush.

Where the album tends to fall short, however, is in the overuse of Ferg’s sung hook trademark. For me, it just seems to bleed out a little too generously. I can appreciate experimenting with it as an element of his flow, but it feels monotonous when spanned over full tracks.

“Trap Lord” is available now on A$AP Worldwide.