CULTURE

Getting Too Cozy with ASAP Rocky, Ferg, and the Rest of the Mob In the Studio

Photo by Alex Hodor-Lee for Vbeal.

The Harlem-based rap group A$AP Mob just returned today with yet another release, Cozy Tapes Vol. 2: Too Cozy. The 17-track mixtape is an ambitious project, featuring verses from Gucci Mane, Playboi Carti, Lil Yachty, Quavo, and an appearance by Jaden Smith, among others. For many of the A$AP artists who have earned acclaim in their own careers, this is a reunion of sorts. “Besides the music, we were just catching up with each other and enjoying bro vibes,” Ferg told me at a listening session for Too Cozy at the Mob’s studios yesterday in midtown Manhattan. The group describes the mixtape as a “low-key dedication to A$AP Yams,” the genius behind the A$AP collective who died in 2015, after an apparent drug overdose. “A$AP is Yams’s vision,” said Rocky, who added: “The whole purpose of this whole Cozy tape was to bring back posse-cut tracks. Nobody makes that. That shit died in the nineties. We’re bringing that shit back.” By expanding their collective to include honorary members like Carti and the lesser-known but lyrically-potent 14-year-old rapper, Smooky Margielaa, A$AP is trying to ignite a rap mob mentality that New York hasn’t seen since the days of Dipset. “We’re trying to lock down every generation,” said Twelvy. “We’re coming for the Teen Choice Awards, the Disney Channel awards,” Rocky joked. Later on, as things got more cozy, he got philosophical: “Life is like a box of chocolates and you never know which one you’re gonna get. I’m on my Forest Gump shit—very optimistic. There are no boundaries. Most people’s rap careers only last for two years, we just want to let you know we’re here to stay.”

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A$AP Rocky and A$AP Ferg in the studio before the listening part of the new A$AP Mob Mixtape: Cozy Tapes, Vol 2: Too Cozy.

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“I need everyone to put their phones and cameras away right now or I’m going to personally kick you out and take it personal.”

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A$AP Ferg shows off his bling in the studio before the listening part of the new A$AP Mob Mixtape: Cozy Tapes, Vol 2: Too Cozy.

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The mixtape listening party, hosted by Platinum Sound Recording Studios in New York City.

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AWGE Creative Director, Kamil Abbas and A$AP Nast during the listening party.

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A$AP Rocky and A$AP Ant before the listening party for Cozy Tapes, Vol. 2: Too Cozy.

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“Bro, I’m so cozy I fall asleep before I leave the house.”

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Put diamonds on my sister / Put Prada on my mama / Eating Benihana full up off the Lobster

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Key! during the listening part for Cozy Tapes, Vol. 2: Too Cozy.

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Rocky, Ferg and Ant in the studio before the mixtape listening party.

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Two audience members before the listening party.

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Rocky and Ferg argue with reporters: which Gucci Mane mixtape is the best Gucci Mane mixtape?

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Inside Platinum Platinum Sound Recording Studios before the listening party for A$AP Mob’s new mixtape, Cozy Tapes, vol. 2: Too Cozy.

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“Bro, cozy means you got the Nike Air Max or the Adidas Slides or the Gucci flip-flops and the suede couch in the crib.”

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Inside the studio with A$AP Mob before the listening party.

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A$AP Rocky raps along to his verse from the “Get The Bag,” the eighth track off Cozy Tapes, Vol. 2: Too Cozy.

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Still sparring with reporters.

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“We ain’t never been to the Bahamas. So we decided to make a song about the Bahamas.” A$AP Rocky during the listening party for A$AP Mob’s new mixtape, Cozy Tapes, Vol. 2: Too Cozy.

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A$AP Ferg before the listening party for A$AP Mob’s new mixtape, Cozy Tapes, Vol. 2: Too Cozy.

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“I may not have the most fashion, but my sock game is the coziest.”

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“We call it Frat Rules—cuz if you’re not fucking, you’re not coming.”

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“Do you remember your first year being rich?” A$AP Ferg asked Rocky during the listening party. “I remember my last year being poor,” Rocky responded.

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A$AP Ant and A$AP Rocky during the listening party for A$AP Mob’s new mixtape, Cozy Tapes, Vol. 2: Too Cozy.