A$AP Ferg reveals he was molested at nine years old: “I was groped”
A$AP Ferg has opened up about being molested at the age of nine, recalling the incident on a track from his new album DAROLD. In the second verse of ‘Pool’, which took a “lifetime” to write, the Harlem rapper tells the story of the time he was touched in the crotch while playing in a swimming pool.
“At 10 I was drowned and touched when I was in the pool/ All the breath left my body where I couldn’t move/ Violated, hand on my private by a bigger dude/ Seconds felt like forever, really wasn’t cool,” he raps on the song.
Ferg went on to explain that the situation had a long-lasting impact on him, with the abuser teasing him for years to come. He continues, “When he seen me ’round the block, he’d smile and laugh/ As if we had a little secret, and I hated that/ Thinking ’bout what he did really made me mad/ Even thought about murder, wanted to kill his ass.”
During his appearance on The Breakfast Club this week, A$AP Ferg addressed the incident in more detail. The A$AP Mob member admitted he had to research what the word “molestation” meant after seeing headlines about it, stating the description sounds “crazy” to him.
“I was nine years old, the person was way older than me.” he said. “You got different levels [of molestation]. I was touched, to be clear. It doesn’t make it no different because everything effects… I was groped, basically. I just found it weird ’cause it’s another dude. That was mad weird.”
Needing some support after the incident, Ferg confided in his cousin, who gave him the opportunity to get things off his chest. It wasn’t until over a decade later, as an adult, that he informed his mum about the sexual abuse.
“I told my cousin because he was my age and I didn’t wanna feel weird, like I’m holding this thing to myself, so I had to tell somebody,” he explained. “And then years later I told my mum after seeing the Precious movie. I told her on the train and she was just like, ‘What?! For real?! When?! I’m sorry.’ She just felt like a bad mum.”
A$AP Ferg made it clear that it wasn’t his mother’s fault and that the situation could have happened to anyone hanging out in the streets. He feels that many people are affected by this situation and that it isn’t talked about enough.
“But we in the hood, we going to the pool, we going to the park, you just never know, weirdos could just creep up in the mix,” he said. “And you can’t hold your kid by you 24/7. Not just in the hood, everywhere, I feel like this shit is going on and people just not gon’ talk about it. I didn’t make that happen to me, that shit ain’t mines. We try to hold inside.”