The Rundown: Ab-Soul, These Days
A track-by-track look at the TDE rapper's latest.
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The Rundown: Ab-Soul, These Days - The mastermind of the Black Hippy crew returns with LP number three. Staying deep with his zone of soul-searching thug-a-tude, Ab-Soul stays tossing three dimensional views on celebrity, the streets and spirituality. And, of course, he invites a boat load of guests to take the ride with him. Read on for a track-by-track glance at Ab's return. (Photo: Top Dawg Entertainment)
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"God's Reign" Featuring SZA - Ab kicks off his third studio joint with this soul-stirring track laced with stark keyboard notes and rolling 808 rhythms. Amid the ominous melody, Ab does some soul searching while mired in the tribulations of life. "My girl died and I lost my mind," he raps. "Off everything except her-o-ine."(Photos from left: Bennett Raglin/BET/Getty Images for BET, Roger Kisby/Getty Images)
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"Tree of Life" - "I got most of you mothaf----s stumped," Ab boasts on "Tree of Life." "Rap like I go church with work in the trunk." Producers Curti$ King and DJ Dahi chop up Eric B. & Rakim's '87 classic "Paid in Full" to provide Ab a musicscape for his labyrinthine rhyme approach, always mining the inner workings of a street cat. (Photo: John Ricard / BET)
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"Hunnid Stax" Featuring ScHoolboy Q - ScHoolBoy Q joins Ab-Soul on this track, and both indulge in an exposé about the power of their dollars. "Who gettin' that dough," Ab asks. "Who gettin' that cake? Who gettin' that bread? Put a ticket on your head if you can't relate."(Photo: Roger Kisby/Getty Images)
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"Dub Sac" - Any narrative about the Cali life wouldn't be complete without acknowledging the home grown, Which is what Ab pays homage to on this cut about smoking on an o-z while riding around. (Photo: Splash News)
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"World Runners" Featuring Lupe Fiasco and Nikki Jean - Ab recruits Chi-town luminary Lupe Fiasco for this bromance cut which celebrates their power within hip hop. Over Tae Beast's 808 stutter-beat fest, the two, accompanied by singer Nikki Jean, go back and forth in a brag-fest. "When doves cry s--t gets serious," spits Lupe. "You feel like a prince in Pharoah's pyramid." (Photos from left: Maury Phillips/WireImage, Jason Merritt/Getty Images, Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
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"Nevermind That" Featuring Rick Ross - On this cut, Ab kicks the rhyme-style quotient up a notch, whipping a flurry of metaphors and graphic adjectives to discuss the surreal decadence of hip hop celebrity. To back up his material checklist, Ab adds Maybach Music Group honcho Rick Ross to the lineup. (Photos from left: John Ricard / BET, Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
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"TWACT" Featuring Jinx and Short Dawg - If you thought the celebration of that molly had slowed in hip hop, naaaaw ... as Ab, who's joined by Short Dawg, can attest on this track. Discussing the effects of the drug, the two give tales of being wasted on that sauce. (Photos from left: Ab-Soul via Instagram, Johnny Nunez/WireImage)
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"Just Have Fun" - Producers Like and Blended Babies add the LP's party element with coasting keyboard flourishes and stuttering 808s as Ab kicks a choppy, non-stop flow about handling your drug intake. "We used to dub cassettes," he explains. "But now we pop Percocets. I don't be in no pain. I just like how it feels." (Photo: James W. Lemke/Getty Images for BET)
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"Kendrick Lamar's Interlude" Featuring Kendrick Lamar - On this jazzy, etheral jam, Ab opens up the lane for partner K-Dot, who, instead of straight rhyming, offers up more of a hip hop sermon on the chaos of ghetto life. (Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Coachella)
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"Closure" - Call this the LP's equivalent of a hip hop ballad. Emotional synth rises and sonic bassy snares accentuate Ab-Soul's heartfelt message to a lost love. "I called you back. I'm glad you didn't answer, babe," he confesses. "'Cause everytime we talk, you know I feel the static, babe." (Photo: Ab-Soul via Instagram)
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"Sapiosexual" - J. Cole crafts the sexy, slinky, kinky sound of this track, with Ab discussing the wacky and hedonistic side of a celeb's crazy sex life. Purely XXX-rated. (Photo: Derek Reed / Picture Group)
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"Stigmata" Featuring Action Bronson and Asaad - Action Bronson and Asaad join the fray on this track of one upsmanship as the three delve into hazy and surreal boasts about their dopeness and their stardom. "My visionaries: shades in the night," brags Ab. "That's a scary sight. I'm never in the dark, though. My quad, they right in circle." (Photos from left: James W. Lemke/Getty Images for BET, Gary Miller/FilmMagic)
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"Feelin' Us" Featuring Jay Rock and RaVaughn - Another ode to the fame game, but this time it's with Jay Rock and RaVaughn. "I just know that I can be," kicks Ab. "...An example of what you can be." (Photos from left: Roger Kisby/Getty Images, Bennett Raglin/BET/Getty Images for BET, John Ricard / BET)
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"Ride Slow" Featuring Danny Brown and Delusional Thomas - Danny Brown and Delusional Thomas are an added bonus on this lyrical free-for-all as the three take turns firing multi-syllabic verbiage over a hypnotic track shaped by Larry Fisherman. (Photos from left: Derek Reed / Picture Group Promo, Bennett Raglin/BET/Getty Images)