![]() ![]() This is not meant as a slight against Ab-Soul’s abilities as a lyricist and rapper - which are exceptional, as evinced by his 2012 album Control System - but even if “abstract asshole” is less a business card epithet and more of a self-aware observation, exactly what “image” is Ab-Soul abstracting on These Days…? That Ab-Soul calls himself “abstract asshole” then seems like a calling card while Kendrick turns a handheld camera on gang violence in Compton and Danny Brown spiritedly relays what may be the most poignant story ever told about buying Wonder Bread, Ab-Soul waxes poetic, making a strong enough case for rap’s lyrical legitimacy that it could convince even my grandmother that hip-hop is actually a worthwhile art form. Movies about specific characters in a detailed world are spellbinding because they make no attempt to cater to us they are defiantly, triumphantly, themselves.”Ĭrafting and maintaining an identity as a rapper in 2014 is not an easy feat, especially when your contemporaries consist of Kendrick Lamar and Danny Brown. ![]() “Movies made for ‘everybody’ are actually made for nobody in particular. ![]() There will be a lot of references to the vibe of today, the sound of today and the subject matter of today.” It’s not Ab’s first time experimenting, so while it’s not out of place for him, it stands out like Batman running across a dock while holding a giant bomb.“I want to try and touch as many bases as possible. Herbert finds the rapper so comfortable in his own skin that he replaces rapping with Auto-Tuned crooning on “Positive Vibes Only.” It’s the only detour on an album created for bar fiends, and it’s definitely a risk. They carry a lot of weight throughout the album. “Get yours.” Anyone concerned with Ab-Soul’s fulfillment as a rapper or as a man, look no further than those two words. Ab acknowledges those potential pitfalls on “Moonshot”: “I decorate my emotions in metaphors/ Tell stories with allegories so on, so forth/ But who gives a shit? The long-lost lyricist/ N****s got rich talkin’ nonsense, get yours.” Does that have potential drawbacks? Of course. Even on biographical tracks like “Hollandaise” where he remembers what it felt like doing freestyles in Blackplanet chatrooms (to kids reading this: ask your parents or older siblings), he never makes it easy on the listener. Some prefer simplicity in their rap music, plain speaking, and simple cadences over poetic license and devices. Ab talks about failed relationships, self-doubt, dreams fulfilled, dreams deferred, his inner conflict with religion, California city streets, and he even admonishes other rappers while keeping his skills at the forefront. Making astute self-observations while maintaining that poetic edge isn’t as easy as Ab makes it sound on “Message in a Bottle” or any of the following 17 tracks. “Getting loaded to the point I ain’t controlling myself/ Couple grams and I’m on the Gram trolling myself/ Like, get a hold of yourself, gotta get over myself/ This message in a bottle ain’t gon’ open itself.”Īnd that’s just the opening track. Ab’s vulnerability as an emcee works to his favor here, as he combines his insightfulness with incredibly clever wordplay. The album starts with a loving voicemail from Ab’s grandmother, which plays into the album’s focus on the man behind the rap name: Herbert Anthony Stevens IV. Putting it simply, Herbert reminds everyone that when it comes to rapping, Ab-Soul is a problem. Luckily for the TDE, and more importantly for Ab-Soul, Herbert (out Friday, December 16th) shows he’s more than capable of putting the record label on his back and chiseling his name in hip-hop’s upper echelon. It hurts to lose your best rapper, but one imagines it feels like a thousand beestings all at once when said rapper is one of the greatest of all time. Herbert, his latest offering, has a lot of pressure on its metaphorical shoulders as it represents a post-Kendrick Lamar era for Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE). The game changes so frequently that questions about Ab’s emcee status aren’t out of bounds. But in hip-hop, six years often feels like 15. In the real world, six years is a long time, especially considering these six years. Ab Soul’s last album, Do What Thou Will dropped in 2016. ![]()
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