Earlier this year, A$AP Rocky's At.Long.Last.A$AP tried to paint the Harlem rapper as something harder to categorize, something more global. There were the jokes about a mixtape with Rod Stewart, there was the starring role in a coming-of-age movie by an acclaimed indie director, there was the general art installation feel of it all. But all the while, the second-most famous rapper from that same clique, A$AP Ferg, was doing something a whole lot closer to his roots. Last month, the trap lord teamed up with People of Peace to throw a one-day Health Fair for underprivileged kids in Harlem. And according to the "Shabba" star, his forthcoming second solo LP, which is nearing completion, is just as down-to-earth. "It is a real open diary," Ferg tells the BBC.  "It is my 'rags to riches' story, my climb to the top."

As for who else has a hand in crafting the follow-up to 2013's Trap Lord, Ferg says that his newest collaborator, Pharrell, has taken on something of a mentor role. "He is like a big brother figure for me," Ferg says. "He gives me a lot of advice and drops jewels." The MC has also been in the studio with Madonna, which he says was a surreal experience, but one that he hoped would help him create his own "history." Ferg says he has been recording in a studio adjacent to the one Haim is occupying, and that he's become close friends with the three-piece group.

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