"Stigmata" ft. Action Bronson & Asaad- Ab-Soul

Black Hippy Crew's chronic over thinker Ab-Soul hasn't exactly been shy about voicing his displeasure over the lack of a release date for his third LP These Days... And given the strength of past tracks "Dub-Sac" and "Tree of Life" that dissatisfaction is entirely deserved. But things have been rapidly changing in the last week or so with TDE CEO Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith letting fans pick the record release date and Soul's issuing of the warped "Stigmata" late yesterday. 

"Shadowy" was the word I used to describe the beat for "Tree of Life", but it seems more appropriate for "Stigmata". Rahki's production is so lurching and ashen that the only way you'd even notice it is from the half-burned weed flecks and stammering drum strikes piled on top. Truth be told, it'd be near impossible to notice any beat once Ab-Soul and guests Action Bronson and Asaad are clear for take-off. At one point in his opener, Solo combines iTunes with astigmatism and cracks a stone with his bare hands. "Watch with the Internet alone I enlighten the whole globe," goes one particularly religious-minded line. It's the closest the song gets to corner proselytizing, as the insatiable Bronson is content to go fine-dining and "shredding up the sand dunes." And while Soul and Bronsolino are out in the world, relatively unknown Philly rapper Asaad is cooped up in his house rewriting bars. Considering how high above his weight-class he's punching, the confession is likely true. "A blessing in disguise, nobody knew it was there," is how he paints the picture of himself on a burbling canvas. Work like this is the reason no one in this trio will be unknown.




"Stigmata" may or may not be appearing on These Days... which is slated for a June release.

"Tree of Life"- Ab-Soul

"Breathe easy," Black Hippy member Ab-Soul stutters over the whooshing airplane intro of his latest release "Tree of Life". As a musical commandment, it's nearly impossible to keep. Even more than fellow Hippies Kendrick Lamar and Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul is absolutely suffocating. By the time the assonance-heavy "It's my turn, Mr. LongTerm of turmoil
I'm holdin' up the terminal takin' flicks," fully uncoils you're left breathless on the floor clawing skyward for any sort of relief. Similar to efforts from the Wu's headiest member GZA, an Ab-Soul track is a subtle barrage. The jibing "I got most of you mothaf****s stumped, rap like I go to church with work in the trunk," feels like a wild flail until later in the day when you spot a redwood-sized welt on your chest.

In truth, much of the foliage-centered "Tree of Life" has a writhing-quality to it. Frequent collaborator Curtiss King's hollowed out boom-bap provides Soul with ample room to flex and he explores every corner of the shadowy production. He shuffles from the Travelodge to the W "just to shower," a terrific humblebrag elucidating the long distance he's traveled in a short amount of time and what the trip now affords him. Venturing down another one of Soul's backroads, we see him mixing enough lean to "give Sprite's stock a boost." And in that subdued state, Ab-Soul's caught thumbing through "Benjamins" while pondering "photosynthesis." He's so hyper-focused that Joey Bada$$'s "world domination" interlude drifts by as a relative afterthought. "I hope you get the analogy," Ab-Soul wishes near the end. If anyone does, it won't be easy.





"Tree of Life" may appear on Ab-Soul's upcoming Longterm 3 mixtape.

"Dub Sac"- Ab-Soul

Between Kendrick Lamar's ascendant verse on "Control" and the Black Hippy crew's verbal onslaught at the BET Cypher, there hasn't been a better time to be in TDE than now. Ab-Soul's unannounced track "Dub Sac" seems self-possessed with that knowledge, and the chronic overthinker is allowed time to put his feet up. Here there's no concern for the next target or take-down, the mantra shifts to the simple "f*** it". Soul's logging hours as Marshall Law from Tekken (I'd hoped he was a Kuma guy) and blowing digits, ambling through a vaporous beat provided by Tae Beast and Dave Free. The underlying drum hits and bass knocks keep him from kicking back completely; delivering a few diffuse shots "you still weak, you last weak" and reminding everyone through a gigantic grin "we gave y'all plenty of time to dig our stuff." In the midst of the murky chorus, the Black Hippy member jabs "n***** will never take it where I took it, I ain't even take it there yet". The whole crew continues to climb, and they haven't seen the summit.

According to TDE president Terrence "Punch" Henderson Schoolboy Q's Oxymoron is the next offering to drop (there's still no official date), and we may see a new release from Ab-Soul before the year is out.

"Heart, Pt. 3" ft. Ab-Soul & Jay-Rock

"Truthfully I just started rappin' to get away," Compton MC Kendrick Lamar tellingly raps midway through his first verse on the muted-soul of "Heart Pt. 3." It's a stark moment of honesty from a rapper well known for autobiographical insight. But to borrow a De La Soul track, the "stakes is high," now. Between a BET Award for "Lyricist of the Year," a feature as a XXL 2011 Freshman, and a bevy of rave reviews for his Section. 80 LP Lamar has the weight of West-Coast hip-hop on his shoulders. Tomorrow his good kid, m.A.A.d. will drop in stores, and his entire crew is betting the house on its success. 

The pressure is palpable in his rhymes, as he name-checks West-Coast legends: 2Pac, Snoop Dogg, & Dr. Dre. and admits his, "biggest fear is not feeling accomplished." At times his voice approaches a rasp, as he struggles to let every last gasp of his hip-hop soul out. This all or nothing desperation is buoyed by the Black Hippy Crew, with major-label outcast Jay Rock recounting his struggles and "secret weapon" Ab-Soul acknowledging "we never asked for no hand out." Near the track's end, Kendrick confesses "I put my whole life in these 12 songs, my fight in these twelve songs." It's a fight only Kendrick can win, and come Oct. 23 we'll see the results.

"Heart, Pt. 3" ft. Ab-Soul & Jay-Rock