I was wholeheartedly let down by this album.
With a sparse offering of legitimately good tracks, a handful of mediocre ones and a majority of terrible songs, Always Strive and Prosper is a poor effort from an artist I quite like, A$AP Ferg.
The opening tracks start this record off on a sour note, as the intro track is a surprisingly weak offering, the Skrillex-produced joint isI was wholeheartedly let down by this album.
With a sparse offering of legitimately good tracks, a handful of mediocre ones and a majority of terrible songs, Always Strive and Prosper is a poor effort from an artist I quite like, A$AP Ferg.
The opening tracks start this record off on a sour note, as the intro track is a surprisingly weak offering, the Skrillex-produced joint is downright terrible and the Missy Elliot song (though admittedly more enjoyable in the context of the album than as a single) is a great example of why Ferg has a poor track record with experimentation that doesn't involve "trap" flavorings. The first quality songs come in at #5 and #6 with Psycho and Let It Bang ft. Schoolboy Q, respectively, which are both great, as Psycho is a surprisingly mellow and well-put story-telling effort and Let It Bang is a veritable "banger" of a song.
Following these, "New Level" is decent, but nothing to write home about, and comes off as a B-Side to EVOL or Ferg Forever, "Yammy Gang" is similar, but the feature of A$AP Mob seems shoehorned, as the only one to really show his chops is A$AP Ferg prior to A$AP Yams' mother hopping in to briefly touch in on her son's untimely death, which is extremely heartfelt.
"Swipe Left" comes with a shockingly listenable feature from the usually-inept Rick Ross, but overall the overall reaction is that the song is amazing due to its not being terrible, and if you compensate, it's really just a simplistic and boring song. Similarly, "Uzi Gang" is a great example of why Lil Uzi Vert is a joke in the industry and it's admittedly disappointing to see an artist as talented as Ferg working with someone so undeniably campy and unoriginal.
"Beautiful People" is the first return to quality songs after a lull of 4 mediocre entries, with a well-appreciated Chuck D feature (good god, Ferg, how did you get Chuck D to make an appearance?) and a kind word at the end from Ferg's grandmother. The song is lovely, energetic and lyrically appealing. It's quickly followed by one of 4 unnecessary skits on the record, before the song "Let You Go", which is an interesting song, which has a similar feel to "Beautiful People" in terms of production, but tackles a completely different (and unique) topic. Great songs.
However, the blessing of these two songs is quickly put to rest with the Big Sean-featured "World Is Mine", which is by and far the worst song on the project. I am appalled that Ferg left this on the project. Terrible singing, a completely generic instrumental, god-awful lyrics, lazy song structure, etc. ****
"I Love You" is not quite as bad as "World Is Mine" but the features drag what might have been a solid track down into the abyss. Not many redeemable qualities, but it doesn't test your willingness to sit through a song quite as malevolently as "World Is Mine" which is the only plus here.
"Grandma" is beautiful, and a great close to the project, I wish this project had maintained a stronger sense of focus, in terms of each of the big three: Lyrics, Production and Theme. Ferg still demonstrates that he is a force to be reckoned with in the industry, but not for the same positive reasons as when we were first introduced to him with Trap Lord.… Expand