For the latest episode of Vice Autobiographies, A$AP Ferg shares how art and design became his first passion even before music. The Harlem native opens about his late father, who was an artist, and how growing up around him influenced him to do art. Ferg shares how his dad helped him start his first business painting shirts in junior high school.
"Later on down the line I got into painting on T-shirts. So, he taught me the method of painting on shirts. Once I wore the shirt for the first time at school, kids was like 'where did you get that shirt from?' and they started making requests. I was like bring your own T-shirt in and I’ll paint them for $30..."
Before A$AP Rocky convinced him to start rapping, Ferg hadn't actually considered making music his career. "Rocky was the one who wanted me to rap as a career choice. I just wasn’t with it because I thought it was corny, it just wasn’t believable to me. I wanted to be a designer.” As Ferg explains, he was already making money off his designs and didn't think he needed to rap, but Rocky made him realize he could bring his style to the stage. Clearly, his decision to fuse both worlds together paid off.
Check out the video to hear more of his story.
