Darold Durard Brown Ferguson, Jr. (born October 20, 1988), better known by his stage name A$AP Ferg, is an American rapper from New York City’s Harlem neighborhood. Aside from his solo career, he is a member of the hip hop collective A$AP Mob.

Born as Darold Ferguson Jr., named after his father the late Darold Ferguson Sr, Ferg was raised in a northern neighborhood located in Harlem, New York known as Hamilton Heights or The Hungry Ham. See Ferg talk about it more on Complex’s “The Neighborhood”:

Darold pursued fashion at first. Starting a clothing line known as Devoni Clothing he designed and distributed high-end belts worn by Chris Brown, Swizz Beatz, and Diggy Simmons. According to Frank151 he told fellow A$AP Mob member and childhood friend A$AP Rocky:

You do the rapping thing and I’ll catch up when the time is right

Around 2009 he began making music with his friends and music associates. He explains on his site:

I went from painting to making clothes to rapping. I always put myself into everything I do one hundred percent. It doesn’t matter what I’m working on. I want to perfect everything I do. Success is the only option. They call me ‘Trap Lord’ because my hustle game is impeccable

On August 20, 2013, Ferg released his debut album Trap Lord met with generally positive reviews.