After a six year hiatus, Top Dawg Entertainment recording artist Ab-Soul recently delivered his fifth studio album, Herbert.
The 35-year-old Carson, California-native has been quite vocal about his absence from the scene, connecting with Rolling Stone earlier this month for his first proper interview since releasing the Do What Thou Wilt. album in Dec. 2016. During the sit-down with Rolling Stone’s Paul Thompson, Soul opened up about the hiatus and his depression, and suicide. Soul’s long-term girlfriend Alori Joh committed suicide back in 2012, and in the interview, Thompson addressed the suicide attempt by Soul which was implied in his video for “Do Better.”
“Herbert was interrupted by something far graver than lukewarm feedback to some skeletons,” Thompson wrote in his piece.
“While he is understandably reticent to talk about it in detail, Soul confirms what is implied by the video for ‘Do Better’ — that he attempted suicide. He does not say explicitly when this attempt occurred but nods when I cite a lyric about 2021 being the worst year of his life. ‘Most of what you’ve heard, I wrote before … it,’ he says, his voice trailing off after he settles on that last word. And so, the limp. ‘I just wanna make it clear: You see me smiling, but it’s not funny. I think that’s just my way of healing from it.”
The full exchange is really worth checking out, as is his recent interview with The Ringer:
“I won’t say I lost the joy, but in this six-year period from my last album, I didn’t record for a year and a half,” Soul explained to The Ringer’s Lex Pryor.
“And I didn’t do it because I was uninspired. I did that as a means to try to reset. I had been rapping every day relentlessly since I was a kid, and it was a process, getting back into the rhythm.”
Interviews and Genius Verified break downs aside, the best way to get Soul’s perspective on things is to take in all 18-tracks of Herbert without interruption. The project features an incredible lineup of producers including two Canadians we’ve covered extensively over the years, Boi-1da and Crooklin. The rest of the production credits include, alphabetically, Amaire Johnson, Andrew Boyd, Axl Folie, Ayoo Meco, Beach Noise, Devin Malik, DJ Dahi, DJ Premier, Dylan Graham, Eddie Priest, Hit-Boy, Jacob Rochester, Jahaan Sweet, Jamal Smith, James Blake, Juju The Fool, Kal Banx, Kurtis McKenzie, Luca Starz, Nick Hakim, No_L, OJ Finessey, Pilgrim, poptart, Python P, Rascal, Rory Behr, Russ, SMPLGTWY, Sounwave, Super Miles, and TaeBeast.
Guest appearances include Fre$h, SiR, Jhené Aiko, Big Sean, Russ, Joey Bada$$, Lance Skiiiwalker, Punch, Zacari, Alemeda, and Ambré.
Building up to the album’s release, AB dropped a bag of big singles throughout 2022 including “Hollandaise,” the Joey Bada$$-assisted “Moonshooter,” the aforementioned “Do Better,” which features Zacari, and more recently, the Fre$h-assisted “Gang’Nem” – a homage to his Carson, CA roots.
Herbert reflects an intimate portrait of Ab-Soul going back to his foundation, while creatively expressing himself through a series of tribulations that inspired the album’s development.
“I wanted to challenge myself to just craft freely — I didn’t want to go in with a theme or a concept. It was difficult… Me sharing my testimony — if it doesn’t help, it might let you know you’re not the only one going through it. That’s what ultimately gives me the courage to put it out there.” Soul revealed to Rolling Stone.
Preceding the album’s release, Soul also delivered two decimating freestyles over 2Pac’s “Hit ‘Em Up” and Biggie’s “Who Shot Ya” in his highly popular L.A. Leakers Freestyle debut. Some lyrical gems from his six-minute freestyle include:
“I’m the sickest, get infected
We the better Deathrow, Snoop said it, lethal injection (Ooh)
Y’all might got more money than me, but I’m indebted
So y’all can keep sleepin’ on me, I’m embedded.”
Herbert, which is also Soul’s birth name, is available now on various digital streaming platforms including Apple Music and Spotify via Top Dawg Entertainment.
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