A$AP Ferg - Floor Seats II (Album Review)
A$AP Ferg, one of the more memorable members of the A$AP mob is back with a new project titled 'Floor Seats II' - a follow up to his 2019 EP which garnered mixed reviews. Ferg's recent output has been described as disappointing by his fans, and on this album with only 9 actual songs he's hoping to make trap bangers that are so captivating they win over his core fan-base again - the question was would he succeed?
The production is full of booming 808s and heavy, deep synth bass', such as on 'Value' which is so explosive as his one liners are made so hard by his delivery, "Pull up to your crib like Domino's // Flip it on a n**** like Cirque de Soleil". He flexes his wealth, success and kills his opps on this track and with a catchy but simple hook, banging beat and great energy - it's a true definition of a banger. The production throughout is very dark and aggressive, shown straight from the first song 'Marilyn Manson' which features these booming drums, heavy aggressive synth bass and eerie atmosphere as well as featuring the man himself Marilyn Manson who doesn't really do much but adds to the chaotic atmosphere with his screeching. The track focuses on how crazy Ferg's life is - he compares them to Marilyn's infamous crazy antics and gives us a dark, murky banger to start things off. I'd say the explosive trap beats on this album are entertaining but a few of the beats are just generally bland, generic or uninteresting.
As a lyricist, Ferg has been better and he's pretty mediocre here - his lyrics aren't bad they just don't stand out and sometimes he gets caught out being very sloppy and basic. He can provide a solid verse and some nice punchlines however at times, such an on 'In It', "She hop on the dick and ride it like a Peloton bike (Woo), breakin' the dishes (Damn)", as he flexes his wealth and tells his opps not to mess him him over this stripped back jungle feeling beat which is a bit generic and bland. Mulatto provides vivid imagery, a fire flow and a great verse and carried this song - I wasn't feeling it until she came in and went H.A.M. - it's a shame Ferg wasn't too interesting here. 'Hectic' has some great bars throughout, "From the // hood, I'm used to horrid things // Back to the basic, no diamond rings // Just you and God when the drama rings", as Ferg talks about making it out the hood focusing on police brutality and social injustices in America. Diddy fits in perfectly with some dramatic monologue over this fast paced trap beat with a beat switch to a more harrowing, slow paced beat but with a catchy drum pattern. It's a decent final song with a good beat - energy wise it just should've gone a bit harder but it's still one of the highlights here. His flow is great and versatile which rides the beat perfectly whether it be slower or faster as his husky and heavy delivery provides so much energy that's required on an album like this.
This album is full of features on nearly every track and the some of them are good, fitting the track they're on and bringing something new to the table such as Antha Pantha on 'Mask' who has a fire flow and cocky delivery which works so well for the track with braggadocios bars, "N**** told me, "Girl, you could have that" (Yeah) // Told that motherfucker, "Duh, I deserve that" (Uh-huh) // 'Cause I'm spendin' them racks like I got that (Got that, got that)". The track is about flexing wealth, Ferg's team and ability to get girls over these booming and deep 808 kicks with lighter, chime bell kicks and rattling hi hats which sounds decent but again Ferg just sounds very uninteresting, bored and generic. Like the last track with a female rapper - they carried but Antha couldn't do enough here as I still dislike the song. The majority of features however are pretty disappointing, such as on 'No Ceilings' where Jay Gwuapo is very generic and Lil Wayne provides a standard verse with a few funny punchlines, "I'm on that Actavis, call it activism // I like my chinchillas soft as caterpillars", a great flow but overall nothing crazy. The dark drill beat is uninteresting and doesn't stand out and that reflects on the track and the hook - there's some moments but on a whole it's very bland and generic. 'Move Ya Hips' see's a repetitive and uninteresting hook from MadeinTYO, but his high pitched voice bounces of Ferg's deep delivery well as the track focuses on flexing and sex over these twinkling synths, booming 808s and suspenseful bass. Nicki Minaj's vocal inflections keep her verse interesting as well as her flow but lyrically she's quite flat. It's not really a bad song it just doesn't stand out amongst the current climate of trap music. Overall the features didn't add to this album at all times.
Content wise it revolves around his life full of sex, wealth and his squad, such as on the Tyga assisted 'Dennis Rodman' as Ferg is pretty mediocre on here and Tyga does well but it isn't his best feature over this banging trap beat with a deep bass and dark atmosphere. It's a decent song - I don't love it but I get some enjoyment out of it but it needed just a bit more energy to bang more - Ferg's fast flow part went hard though. It's nothing interesting, but I didn't expect much more on an album where it's pure intention is making bangers. 'Aussie Freaks' is about hitting up hotspots in Australia and getting with some local girls as Ferg makes many references to anything Australian over this bland trap beat. ONEFOUR's verse was completely uninteresting with basic lyrics as Fivio Foreign had a boring verse himself. There's no appeal to this song - there's no energy, the beat is bad and the whole song sounds like 0 effort was put in from both Ferg and the features.
To conclude, Ferg makes turn up music throughout with dark sounding trap songs and a rough delivery that fits the track near enough everytime. It's feature heavy and sometimes can really boost the track but the majority are poor. It's nothing inventive or crazy, it's just an album to make trap bangers but sadly for the most part it doesn't succeed. The production is booming but flat at times, the features are below bar and Ferg is underwhelming despite a nice flow - A$AP mob's 2nd best member usually by a long distance but his music is really starting to decline.
FAVOURITE TRACKS: Marilyn Manson, Value
LEAST FAVOURITE TRACK: Aussie Freaks
OVERALL RATING: Solid 4/10