1/27/2024 0 Comments Ab soul latest album![]() ![]() It absolutely could have been a better album. “ FOMF” and “ Go Off” both had something preventing them from really clicking for me (such as Russ’s terrible verse on “Go Off”). A couple of the intended high-energy hits also fell a bit flat for me. ![]() No other songs were this awful, but another handful like “ The Wild Side,” “ Art of Seduction,” “ Fallacy” and “ It Be Like That” became boring after a couple of listens. I have no idea what he was thinking on this one or why it made the album. It’s just terrible, from the abysmal vocal editing to the production that sounds like it wouldn’t make the cut for a low-budget 2004 Nintendo game. “ Positive Vibes Only” might be the worst song I have ever heard from Ab-Soul. However, the album jumps around at times in quality - a few tracks range from mediocre to downright awful. The experimental “ Bucket” is captivating in its sharp writing, minimalistic production and laid-back smoothness. These tracks have an overall feel-good energy while still maintaining the strong lyricism. “ Hollandaise” and “ Church On The Move” provide lighthearted fun, with high energy over entertaining production. “ Gang’nem” and “ Moonshooter” bring an eerie atmosphere and choppy experimental flows with a methodical delivery. “ Goodman” might be the album’s best song, with an intensely impassioned delivery and punchline-heavy bars over a fantastic soul sample, complemented with a great closing feature from TDE executive Punch. The deeply sentimental mood of the track makes it one of the album’s highlights. The aforementioned “ Do Better” is a great song and one of the key foundational storytelling pieces of the album, with sharp bars over a beautiful sample. Musically, the album really has some great moments. A wide variety of issues and feelings are addressed throughout the album, and they are done with a lyrical precision that few rappers can provide. The music video for “ Do Better”, a profoundly moving song, narrates what he has been going through and his will to do better in life. ![]() He has been dealing with trials and tribulations of personal tragedies and mental healthissues that even led him to an attempted suicide. The album comes following a massive hiatus of almost exactly six years after the release of “ Do What Thou Wilt.” Judging from the content and specific references within “HERBERT,” the last six years have clearly been a lot for Ab-Soul. ![]() It’s truly a very thoughtful album, as all of his work tends to be. No matter what the topic of an Ab-Soul album, you can tell that a significant effort went into it. “HERBERT” sees more of Ab-Soul’s energy being focused on himself instead of the crazy and broken world around him. Typically, Ab-Soul reflects deeply on the outside world, finding some of the most idiosyncratic aspects of society to judge and analyze. Ever since his first mixtapes dropped over a decade ago, Ab-Soul has been grappling with random conspiracy theories, conceptual wordplay and the ills of society. Ab-Soul marches to the beat of his own drum and has provided hip-hop with lots of great music and innovation.Īs Top Dawg Entertainment’s abstract and oftentimes over-the-head lyricist, the Carson, California native has never really been one for following what’s orthodox. Soul has always played a very particular role as an abstract, misunderstood lyricist, and unfortunately, that’s a role that hardly leads to widespread acclaim and appreciation. Key figures in the genre understand his greatness - and he certainly understands it himself - but the mainstream audiences have never really given him the credit he deserves. Herbert Anthony Stevens IV, better known as Ab-Soul, has gone practically his entire career being overlooked. Join me in exploring the ever-shifting landscape of the streaming era. Welcome to “New Music with Nick.” In this column, I will be reviewing some of the most notable new album releases across various genres, focusing on hip-hop, R&B and pop music. ![]()
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