After releasing his critically-panned 2016 album Do What Thou Wilt - titled after a foundational text from occultist Aleister Crowley’s The Book of Law - Ab-Soul became distant from his friends and family, falling down his own self-admitted “rabbit hole” of disinformation. He detailed his struggle to cope with the death of his partner and former collaborator Alori Joh by suicide (“Book of Soul”), rapped about seeing an image of Hitler in a photo of the Twin Towers collapsing on 9/11 (“Terrorist Threats”), and boasted that he could outrap Jay-Z (“Illuminate”).īut things soon began to spiral out of control. On his solo work, like 2012’s Control System, Ab often trafficked in bravado and pain - and the occasional conspiracy theory. The Carson, California, native signed with TDE in 2007, becoming a standout in Black Hippy (the four-man tandem of Soul, Q, Kendrick, and Jay Rock) and later dropping a stunning guest verse on “Ab-Soul’s Outro,” the penultimate track off Kendrick’s 2011 album Section.80. Then there was Ab-Soul, an esoteric, cerebral lyricist who strived to find deeper meaning. Each member had their own specialty: Kendrick Lamar as the conscious, forward-thinking leader Jay Rock as the straightforward street spitter SZA as the then-chillwave R&B songstress ScHoolboy Q as the druggy, charismatic Crip and Isaiah Rashad as the anxious, emotive Southerner. In 2016, Top Dawg Entertainment was enjoying its ascendance as the premier crew in rap through an exquisite balance of major-label polish and independent organicism.
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