A$AP Ferg – Trap Lord (ASAP Worldwide/Polo Grounds/RCA)

A$AP Ferg – Trap Lord (ASAP Worldwide/Polo Grounds/RCA)

A$AP Ferg - Trap Lord

Trap Lord came out in the dog days of summer, but its spooky sonics are more befitting of Halloween. Fergenstein’s monster is a product of its time — if anybody embodies the internet rap sensibility of ominous fashion-minded trap music, it’s A$AP Mob — but like his pal Rocky, Ferg has an appreciation for his forebears. Hence formative influences Onyx, Bone Thugs, and B-Real share space with contemporary stars French Montana, Schoolboy Q, and Waka Flocka Flame. That kind of guest list belies the always-entertaining “All this shrimp and nobody to share it with!” skit, but the Hood Pope really is a man alone. No one else this year owned his aesthetic so fully or had more fun with such mournfully bleak music, setting his burly sing-song free to wreak havoc in a house of horrors. –Chris [LISTEN]