Friday Afternoon Rap Roundup: Ab-Soul

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New Release Highlight of the Week:

Ab-Soul, Soul Burger (buy it / stream it)

While the best known Top Dawg Entertainment artists' releases tend to come via major label partnerships, Ab-Soul has always been pushed down the indie route. Album distribution for the Black Hippy member and label mainstay historically comes via smaller, albeit established entities like Distrokid and Tunecore, including for 2014's momentously guest-heavy These Days... and 2022's highly personal comeback Herbert. A minorrrrrrrrr detail, you might say, but the fact remains that this Carson denizen hasn't been crushed by an ignorant machine that didn't know what to make of his art. His continued association with TDE lends credibility to the organization, and vice-versa. After all, given how opinionated and principled his label heads present themselves publicly, what better way to put their Kendrick Lamar and SZA money where their mouths are than by patronizing the uncompromising creative vision of one of its least commercially-minded acts. This isn't to say Ab-Soul is some out-there avant-garde misfit whose catalog doesn't resonate with a large audience. But up until this past Spring's "Pi" with J. Cole, he'd never scored a Billboard Hot 100 single placement, and to-date he has yet to receive a RIAA gold certification plaque for any of his albums. That, I'd contend, is not a bad thing, because what makes him successful in his own lane and highly respected in rap has scarcely little to do with airplay or sales.

A recreation of Hype Williams' Belly opening scene, "9 Mile" coopts Soul II Soul and Mobb Deep too as Herbert Anthony Stevens IV reintroduces and begins to reposition himself on Soul Burger. Created at the behest of his now departed friend Doeburger, the album then takes a circuitous route through material intentionally more upbeat and vibey than the bulk of his catalog. "Paiday" springs into action with near falsetto yelps over a lush and buoyant trap beat, while "All That" with JasonMartin (fka Problem) holds fast to its California cool. Plenty of rappers purport to be in the fuck-the-industry camp, but when Ab-Soul spits it on "California Dream," it's clear he's actually done the fucking work. While capable of challenging and dismissing the whole apparatus, he's not altogether immune to the pressures, demonstrated on "I, Myself & Me." Still, his natural resistance remains strong, and his curated list of guest emcees like Lupe Fiasco and Vincent Staples reminds that he's in good company. Though his Ye collabs have been wildly uneven, Ty Dolla $ign comes through with quality on the atmospheric "Go Pro." Terrace Martin–who produced "Ab-Soul's Outro" off Lamar's Section.80 over a decade ago–helps bring it all home on "Righteous Man," a jazzy suite that revisits the urgent To Pimp A Butterfly aesthetic with a reminder that this rap game is more marathon than sprint.

Here are some other new albums, EPs, and mixtapes from independent hip-hop/rap artists and labels worth your time this weekend:

Nolan The Ninja, I'd Rather Not (buy it / stream it)

Shawny Binladen, WickNation (buy it / stream it)

El Cousteau, Merci, Non Merci (buy it / stream it)

Premo Rice & Harry Fraud, P Got Game (buy it / stream it)

Mother Nature, Caps 'N Stemz (buy it / stream it)

Lu, DOES IT FEEL REAL? (buy it / stream it)