“Renaissance Man” has become such a washed term nowadays, but I have to use it when describing Ferg. The music-dominant, multi-hyphenate’s big Miami Art Week is the epitome of why I chose to use the clichéd term to describe Harlem’s very own.

When I first met up with Ferg in Miami, it was on Wednesday evening at SCOPE, one of the centerfold events of the week, for the unveiling of his debut exhibition. Just about an hour prior, he spoke on a wellness panel. About 48 hours later, he led a “FERG STRONG” 5K run – at 8:30 in the morning, nonetheless – and that night, hosted the first screening of his FLIP PHONE SHORTY short film, followed by an A-list afterparty.

Showing at SCOPE is a full-circle moment for Ferg to close out the year, having showcased (and spoken with our Hypeart team) at his first selection of art in New York City back in April. His first-ever painting exhibition, the intimate SoHo gallery housed a handful of pieces from his imminent, at the time, album DAROLD. So “early” in his outward art career, Ferg’s commitment to his craft is refreshing – as is his innate down-to-earth nature.

The first thing on his Miami agenda was Wednesday’s Wellness Oasis panel. Seated alongside DJ BLOND:ISH, probiotic coconut yogurt creator Noah Simon-Waddel, and Siegelman Stable founder/designer Max Siegelman, Ferg spoke to both his passion for art and mental health, and how the two are intrinsically connected.

This was also something he touched on during his SCOPE showcase later that day. At SCOPE, he sat down with the PAMM Acquisition prize winner at last year’s SCOPE Miami Beach, Jahlil Nzinga, and panel moderater Jesse Kirshbaum. The trio sat in front of a full-screen display of artwork, alternating between Nzinga’s current portfolio and Ferg’s, which consisted of the entirety of the artwork for his new album, FLIP PHONE SHORTY.

“I’ve always liked [art] because the aesthetic was nice, but now I ask, ‘Why would you slice the canvas that way,’ and ‘Why did they do that?’ or ‘Why is it even there in the first place?’ and those questions help me create purpose within my work,” he explained of his transition from a painting connoisseur, to a painter himself. “The art community is super lit. When you’re hanging out with artists, you’re listening to some Johnny Coltrane, some Miles Davis, while having a glass of wine, eating cheese.”

Ultimately, Ferg feels as though his painting is the most true-to-form component of his well-rounded artistic persona – even more so than his music. “You paint from your soul, and this is my soul. This is how I feel. If my soul is something else, it would be something else, but this is truly how my soul is,” he explained of his painting portfolio’s soul-baring authenticity. “People can read the truth. People can feel it. You fake it on that canvas, they’re gonna feel it. It’s no way to hide. The weirder it feels for you to release it, the better.”

He also discussed how his music career has granted him this unwavering creative freedom across his foray into fine art. “I’ve made money in music, so I don’t have to rely on the painting, which allows me to be fully free in this space.”

Fresh off the panel, a few attendees flocked to Ferg for photos and autographs, all the while he remained a degree calmer than cool and collected, moving with ease and not once overcome by the frenzy. At least outwardly, that is, which just might be a testament to his commitment to mental health and protecting his peace.

After attending to the slew of fans, Ferg, for a second, contemplated changing his ‘fit before the tour, but then decided he wanted to do it in his new FLIP PHONE SHORTY merch. First, he flexed the display that projected during the panel, proudly pointing me to his name emblazoned on the stage. He then guided me across the main room to his exhibition area, where two of his FLIP PHONE SHORTY paintings hung on the wall.

The cover art draws directly from the short film, in which Ferg plays Flip, “his 15-year-old self,” a struggling record label manager, doubling as a juice shop owner and under-the-table flip phone dealer. The painting emulates Flip in his natural state throughout the movie: stressed out, handling some form of business on the phone. “It’s all Harlem.”

As for the second painting Ferg has on display, it’s the cover art for “P.O.L.O.”, which is an envisioning of A$AP Yams riding a horse against a red background. Ferg actually has a chain with a rendering of the same image, just fully iced out.

 

 

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Not hanging on the wall but showcased during the panel, Ferg also painted the artwork for both “BIG DAWG” and the back cover art for the tracklist. The four pieces from the album not only culminate in the early creative groundwork for the art portfolio Ferg seeks to build, but also mark just one pillar of the highly honed-in FLIP PHONE SHORTY universe, as well as his ever-evolving artistry at large. Every component of Ferg’s persona – even down to his almost second-nature stylistic approach – is seamlessly affixed to another in both inspiration and creative process.

“When I see colors, I’m just thinking about color-blocking and like, ‘What would this red look like inside the collar of a blue jacket,’” citing Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, and Kennedy Yanko as specific inspirations when it comes to his approach to color itself.

Similarly for film, Ferg’s inspirations span the whole spectrum, but for FLIP PHONE SHORTY, he sought to revive the energy of “classic, Black, hood films” like Hype Williams’ Belly, looking to bring the modern age back to “the bootleg DVD era.”

“We don’t even have the album booklets anymore. We get a T-shirt and a cover art, and that’s it. I wanted to make a real conceptual album, because I approach albums just like movies.” The early stages of the film and its narrative arc resemble the early stages of how he approaches music and art as well: getting everything down on paper. “I just started off just writing what I wanted to see and drawing those.”

Ferg was nervous ahead of the film screening, as it was the first time he’d gathered a group to watch. “This film is gonna take you to a place we really miss, or a place we’ve never been to at all,” he prefaced to the crowd at the Miami O Cinema. Almost a full house, among the attendees were Ferg’s “HOT ONE” collaborators Denzel Curry and TiaCorine, and FLIP PHONE SHORTY-stamped fresh juices and popcorn were available at the entrance. The juices, of course, are a play off Flip’s 9-to-5 at Trinidaddies Juice Bar.

Without giving too much away from the film, it clocked in at about a half-hour and featured a slew of local faces, including Stunna Sandy, and a myriad of other emerging rappers Ferg genuinely wanted to platform. He asked everyone post-film if they had a favorite part.

For his first appearance at Miami Art Week, I’d say Ferg had a pretty successful weekend. He sold some paintings. He, Tia, and Denzel ended up shooting the video for “FOCUS ON ME” throughout O Cinema after the screening wrapped. He even presented an award at the first-ever Art Basel Awards.

Yet still, there’s no real end goal for Ferg – at least with his painting, that is. He just wants it to last. “I’m still in the middle of creating my language,” he explained, carefully building his legacy brick by brick. “I just want to grow my style. I want to grow my purpose, and I want to refine. I’ve got so much more painting to do.”