So Ferg’s debut album definitely has a lot of expectations surrounding it. And actually, he doesn’t fail to deliver. With all eyes and ears on him, Ferg puts together a nasty, grimy album that’s sure to be pumpin’ from your speakers and headphones for years to come. It’s an expansive, ambitious album, with tracks that range from the straight violent (Murda Something, the deadly collab between A$AP Ferg and Waka Flocka Flame), to the relentlessly spiritual (Lord, featuring Bone Thugs-N-Harmony), to the speculative trippy (Cocaine Castle).

A$AP Ferg does a lot towards further establishing A$AP Mob’s credibility, and the production is like nothing else on earth. It’s an intentional move by Ferg, seeking out unknown producers who could give him his vision of hip-hop today, and it’s sonically spectacular. On the one hand it’s almost what you expect out of hip hop in this post-Kanye era. On the other hand, there’s almost nobody else giving us what we’re hearing. We’re looking more and more for introspection mixed up with our hood life fairytales, and Trap Lord delivers. It’s a definitely must hear, and in a summer packed with heat (Yeezus, Born Sinner, Doris), that’s saying a lot.

Trap Lord releases online on August 20th, 2013.