Another brand new studio LP from Manhattan, New York emcee & songwriter A$AP Ferg. One of the most prominent members of the A$AP Mob, his 2013 solo debut Trap Lord & the debut mixtape Ferg Forever both cemented that further although the sophomore effort A.$.A.P. (Always $trive And Prosper) received mixed responses for its more commercial heavy-sound. Still Striving & Floor Seats both marked a return to form for Ferg although Floor Seats II got divided feedback during the 2020 COVID lockdowns & Darold refined what A.$.A.P. (Always $trive And Prosper) was going for. Celebrating the Black Friday weekend however, Flip Phone Shorty: Strictly for Da Streetz has arrived in the midst of a few singles.

“Ball” drops braggadocio over a generic trap instrumental, which ironically sets the tone for the entire album until the 3rd & easily most salvageable single “Big Dawg” produced by Lex Luger talks about his hustle game being too real. “Dem Boyz” blends trap & dirty south continuing bring more charisma to the boastful lyrics but after the “Cee-Lo Voicemail” interlude, “P.O.L.O” will go down as one of the worst A$AP Ferg singles of all-time mainly because of the goofy beat.

Lil B joins Ferg for “Fisher Price”, ending the 1st half with synthesizers & hi-hats talking about all of their bitches being on go & “Uptown Baby” could be the weakest Lex Luger track here mostly because of the pointless French Montana verse. “Focus on Me” by The Scythe pairs him & Denzel Curry over a BEAUTIFULMVN & iloveit! beat to make their blocks look like parades whenever they pop out while the lead single “Ferg Strong” proved to be better than “P.O.L.O.” & worse than “Big Dawg”.

“Young O.G.” featuring Denzel Curry reunites the pair 1 last time over the final Lex Luger instrumental of Flip Phone Shorty: Strictly for Da Streetz, looking to finish what A$AP Rocky & SpaceGhostPurpp both started after they squashed their beef this spring falling out started while “Shoot Up the Club” featuring Big Boss Vette finds the 2 getting raunchier topically. “Flip Phone Anthem” featuring エイウィッチ & Gucci Mane lastly finishes up with a tribute to the flip phone days 2 decades earlier.

Darold seemed like a step in the right direction for A$AP Ferg, but my biggest question coming away from Flip Phone Shorty: Strictly for Da Streetz is: What the Hell happened? Ferg himself & a vast majority of the guests aren’t much of an issue to me besides only a couple of them. A lot of my criticisms however are directed towards the production being more trap-oriented than Darold because aside from all 4 of Lex Luger’s contributions, it feels uneventful & maybe a little cutrate. If we actually get Don’t Be Dumb in January, it already has everything going for it to be a stronger listen.

Score: 2/5

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