Ab-Soul’s new album, Herbert, is now available. The album, six years in the making, brings in a stacked list of features in Joey Badass, Big Sean, Jhené Aiko, Russ, Fresh, Ambré, ALEMEDA, and TDE’s SiR, Punch, Zacari, and Lance Skiiiwalker. DJ Premier, Sounwave, James Blake, Hit-Boy, Boi-1da, and more contributed to the production.
In a new conversation with Charlamagne Tha God, Soulo opened up about a suicide attempt in which he would have jumped off a freeway overpass.
“I pretty much finished the album before I did what I did,” he said. “How I’m choosing to take it is — and I’m not giving it credit — but it brought me down to a place where I needed to be as vulnerable as possible, and as soon as I said everything I needed to say, I jumped.”
Soul revealed the incident caused him to lose his teeth and he is awaiting implants. He also stated his jaw is damaged and his foot is completely reconstructed.
Ab-Soul appeared on the Rap Radar Podcast to clear the air about a suspected diss he made towards Kid Cudi. Ahead of the release of his first album in six years, Herbert, dropping tomorrow, Ab-Soul denied that he did — instead claiming the “cudi” word usage was a street term.
“It seems like you still have the competitive spirit on there like you’re firing some shots off in the verse,” Brian “B.Dot” Miller, one of the show’s hosts, commented about a line in Ab-Soul’s song, “Church On The Move.”
“Which shots? What do you mean?” Ab-Soul asked.
“It sounded like you were talking to a specific rapper,” Miller added. “It sounded like you were talking about Kid Cudi. You mentioned a name, and you said a lot of things in there.”
“You think I would diss Kid Cudi? The great Kid Cudi? On a song called ‘Church On The Move’?” Ab-Soul replied. “Peace be unto you. Come on, B.Dot. And y’all trust this guy with the lists?”
“There goes my credibility,” Miller joked back.
“No, look. Listen. ‘Cudi’ is a term that we use. It’s kinda on some Cr*p sh*t, you know what I’m saying?” Ab continued.
Watch the full moment of Ab-Soul replying to the supposed “Church On The Move” Kid Cudi diss above.
Ab-Soul says that his Herbert collaboration with DJ Premier, “Gotta Rap,” is a “dream come true.” The TDE rapper detailed working with the legendary producer during a new sit-down with Vulture.
“I knew I needed him this time around. He definitely put me to work. I had to do it about five or six times until he found the right frequency,” Ab-Soul revealed.
NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 06: (L-R) Elliott Wilson and Ab-Soul attend backstage at Irving Plaza on October 6, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage)
As for why it took so many takes, Ab-Soul says it was difficult to match the “frequency” exactly.
“No, not rewriting,” he explained. “He liked the verse, but I had to match the frequency of the record, because I guess that was one of his favorite beats. So he wanted to make sure I came correct. That was the first time anybody ever made me re-record. So that was humbling. But it’s Preemo.”
From there, he added: “Before I even had my official stage name, when I was just Snap G, I knew I always wanted a Preemo beat. Preemo keeps his ear to the streets. I can honestly say I do get the respect of being the last of the lyricists, that cloth. I’ve met him in passing before, but we connected when he did PRhyme.”
Ab-Soul also recalled a time he interacted with Premier while working on a song at Mac Miller’s house with Royce Da 5’9.
The interview with Vulture comes ahead of the release of Ab-Soul’s next album, Herbert. In addition to working with Premier, he also connected with Sounwave, James Blake, Hit-Boy, Boi-1da, and DJ Dahi for the project. Ab-Soul says the album will be releasing on Friday, December 16th. It will be his first album in six years.
Six years is a long time for fans to wait for a new album, but Ab-Soul delivers when the timing is right. The Top Dawg Entertainment icon is one of the most respected emcees in this generation of Hip Hop, and with each new release emerges witty rhymes that captivate listeners. Unlike his peers, Ab is a more reclusive figure in Hip Hop, often choosing to live a life of privacy than display details on social media. His fans connect with him through his art, and Herbert is a long-awaited project that once again sets the Los Angeles rapper apart from the rest.
In anticipation of Herbert‘s Friday (December 16) release, Ab-Soul visited the L.A. Leakers at Power 106 for his first-ever appearance on the freestyle series. He lit fire to two classic productions: Tupac Shakur’s “Hit Em Up” and Biggie’s “Who Shot Ya.”
Additionally, Ab-Soul expounded on his creative process in a recent interview with Vulture. The outlet mentioned “Gotta Rap,” his collaboration with DJ Premier, citing that it felt “purposeful.”
“Ah, yeah, but to be more precise, I was just trying to restore the feeling of Hip Hop in this climate,” the rapper replied. “I intentionally tried not to listen to much music during this process so I didn’t have too much external influence. I wanted it to sound like me, and what I wanted it to sound like; you could easily just get influenced by what you’re hearing, cadences and flows.”
He added: “I just wanted it to all come from me as naturally as possible. I’m glad you put it that way, but I never stopped loving rap.”
Herbert also hosts looks from SiR, Big Sean, Jhené Aiko, Ambré, Zacari, Punch, Joey Bada$$, and more. Stay tuned in with HNHH to hear Herbert as soon as it drops on December 16.
Quotable Lyrics
First off, love yo b*tch and the clique you claim Top Dawg, we the squad runnin’ every-thang They will never understand what we did for this sh*t The real lyricists that unified the Bloods and the Crips
Ab-Soul has unveiled the tracklist for his upcoming album, Herbert, which will be his first new record drop in six years. And it doesn’t disappoint. With 18 tracks in total, Ab-Soul’s album boasts collaborations with Big Sean and Russ (“Go Off”), Joey Badass (“Moonshooter”), Jhené Aiko (“The Wild Side”), and many more noteworthy performers.
Producers on next week’s Herbert include Sounwave, DJ Premier, James Blake, Hit-Boy, Boi-1da, and DJ Dahi, according to The Fader.
In addition to the announcement, Ab-Soul shared a new trailer for Herbert, directed by Omar Jones. The trippy visuals highlight religious themes, from a plane flying over a church to Ab-Soul showing prayer hands. There’s also a voiceover. “I watched his vision improve,” the woman mentions in the video. “He said she the heart, but he’s so kinetically connected, he’s invisible glue.”
Watch the Herbert trailer above. Below, find the album art and tracklist.
Dann Gilbuena
1. “Message In A Bottle” Feat. Lance SkiiiWalker
2. “No Report Card”
3. “Hollandaise”
4. “Moonshooter” Feat. Joey Badass
5. “FOMF”
6. “Goodman” Feat. Punch
7. “Do Better” Feat. Zacari
8. “Gang’Nem” Feat. Fresh
9. “The Wild Side” Feat. Jhené Aiko
10. “Art Of Seduction” Feat. Ambré
11. “Bucket”
12. “Go Off” Feat. Russ and Big Sean
13. “Fallacy” Feat. Alemeda
14. “Herbert”
15. “Church On The Move”
16. “It Be Like That” Feat. SiR
17. “Positive Vibes Only”
18. “Gotta Rap”
Even though we’re about to 2023, the anticipation is high for Ab-Soul’s new album, Herbert. Since the beginning of the year, he’s unloaded a few singles as fans gear up for his follow-up to 2016’s Do What Thou Wilt.
NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 16: Rapper Ab-Soul (R) attends Elliott Wilson hosts CRWN with Ab-Soul for WatchLOUD.com, presented by vitaminwater at the SVA Theater on September 16, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Ben Gabbe/Getty Images for Electus Digital)
Finally, the rapper shared the official cover art and tracklist for his upcoming effort. Following significant hype, Ab-Soul revealed Herbert will boast 18 songs in total with a slew of features. While no Black Hippy member appears on the project, there is a strong TDE presence with Zacari, Lance Skiiiwalker, SiR, and Punch appearing on the tracklist. In addition, Joey Bada$$ delivers a verse for the album version of “Moonshooter.” Jhené Aiko, Ambré, Big Sean, Russ, and ALEMEDA also join Soul on his new effort.
Cover by Dann Gilbuena for Ab-Soul via TDE.
In addition to the features, Ab-Soul links up with a strong roster of producers, such as Sounwave, DJ Premier, James Blake, Hit-Boy, Boi 1da, DJ Dahi, and more. Additionally, James Blake’s signature ominous sound seems to grace the official trailer for Herbert.
The forthcoming release from Ab-Soul was led by a string of singles throughout the year including “Do Better,” “Hollandaise,” “Moonshooter” (sans Joey Bada$$), as well as the Fre$h-assisted, “Gang’Nem.” Hopefully, we get another single from Soul before the album drops in its entirety next week.
Last week, there was speculation that Jay-Z might have a feature on Soul’s new album. The TDE rapper linked up with the legendary mogul at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn during the Nets Game where they took a picture. However, it was Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith that hinted that they may have locked in a song together.
The tracklist doesn’t indicate that Jay-Z is on the album but perhaps, it’s a secret feature that we’ll only hear next week.
While we wait for Herbert, check out the full tracklist below. Herbert drops on December 16th.
