CULTURE

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

Photo by Alex Hodor-Lee for W Magazine.

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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Photo by Alex Hodor-Lee for W Magazine.

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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Photo by Alex Hodor-Lee for W Magazine.

“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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Photo by Alex Hodor-Lee for W Magazine.

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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Photo by Alex Hodor-Lee for W Magazine.

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

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Photo by Alex Hodor-Lee for W Magazine.

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

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Photo by Alex Hodor-Lee for W Magazine.

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

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Photo by Alex Hodor-Lee for W Magazine.

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

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Photo by Alex Hodor-Lee for W Magazine.

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

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Photo by Alex Hodor-Lee for W Magazine.

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

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Photo by Alex Hodor-Lee for W Magazine.

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

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Photo by Alex Hodor-Lee for W Magazine.

Two audience members before the listening party.

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Photo by Alex Hodor-Lee for W Magazine.

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

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Photo by Alex Hodor-Lee for W Magazine.

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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Photo by Alex Hodor-Lee for W Magazine.

“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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Photo by Alex Hodor-Lee for W Magazine.

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

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Photo by Alex Hodor-Lee for W Magazine.

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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Photo by Alex Hodor-Lee for W Magazine.

Still sparring with reporters.

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Photo by Alex Hodor-Lee for W Magazine.

“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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Photo by Alex Hodor-Lee for W Magazine.

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

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Photo by Alex Hodor-Lee for W Magazine.

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

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Photo by Alex Hodor-Lee for W Magazine.

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

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Photo by Alex Hodor-Lee for W Magazine.

“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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Photo by Alex Hodor-Lee for W Magazine.

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