XXL

Ab-Soul Gets Candid In New Interview

by

When it comes to hip-hop music from the 2010s, Ab-Soul is one of that era’s household names. His second studio album, 2012’s Control System, was one of the most popular projects that year, thanks to tracks like “Illuminate” and “Terrorist Threats.”

After years of absence, he returned late last year to drop his latest album, HERBERT. It serves as his first project in six years, since 2016’s Do What Thou Wilt.

Hip-hop artist Ab-Soul performs onstage during the Ice Cube, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, Jay Rock concert at Staples Center on June 27, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Earl Gibson/BET/Getty Images for BET)

On Tuesday (January 10), XXL published their new interview with the “DO BETTER” rapper. The 35-year-old talks about a range of topics including his new album and his struggles with mental health.

HERBERT is arguably the TDE rapper’s most intimate and expressive album of his career thus far. “The album Herbert is about getting back to self. I just kinda feel like I was becoming Ab-Soul more than Herbert. So, this album, to say the least, is dedicated to the people that refuse to call me Ab-Soul. That still call me Herbert or Herbie or Herb. It’s about getting back to the roots. Getting back to the foundation, to the source. Getting back to self,” says the L.A. native when asked about the meaning of the project’s title.

“This album, I really removed my ego and asked for help. Nobody’s bigger than the program. I asked for help. I didn’t just go pick beats or records,” he tells XXL. Elsewhere in the interview, he addresses substance abuse and mental health in society.

Ab-Soul is evidently not holding back when it comes to the rollout of his fifth studio album. In a prior recent interview with Charlamagne Tha God, the L.A. native even opens up about a suicide attempt.

“My jaw is f*cked up. I got a lotta work to do still. I’m about 85% on my foot. My foot is completely reconstructed, all the way to my pelvis, my femur, everything, was affected except my knee. If my knee would’ve been affected, I might not be walking,” he shares to Charlamagne.

Furthermore, on December 30, he took to his Twitter account to proudly declare HERBERT as a top-five album of 2022. “ALSO. My album IS top 5 of da year. F*cc all dat humble sh*t. Dead homies,” writes the 35-year-old in his tweet.

Regardless, it’s certainly great to see and hear Soulo opening up so candidly.

What are your thoughts on HERBERT and Ab-Soul’s new interview? Comment down below. Finally, make sure to stay tuned to HNHH for all of the latest updates and releases.

[via]

Eminem’s New ‘XXL’ Interview Explains How His Drug Addiction Hurt The Trajectory Of His ‘Encore’ Album

by
Eminem VMAs 2022
Getty Image

Eminem is decades into his historic rap career and showing no signs of slowing down. With such a storied and prominent career, many details still remain unknown to most. The Detroit rapper, in celebration of XXL‘s 25th anniversary, penned a personal story recounting all he has been through and how drug addiction spanning over multiple years affected his 2004 album Encore.

“My drug usage started at the beginning of that first album,” Eminem said, in reference to 1999’s The Slim Shady LP. “I didn’t take anything hard until I got famous. I was experimenting. I hadn’t found a drug of choice. Back then you went on tour and people were just giving you free drugs. I managed it for a little while. And then, it just became, I like this shit too much and I don’t know how to stop.”

He continued: “Encore took a whole f*ckin’ different trajectory because Encore was during my addiction. I was realizing I’m getting addicted to these f*ckin’ pills. I was just coming off The Eminem Show and the 8 Mile soundtrack and I started recording and had about seven or eight songs that were very much in the vein of what I do. But we ended up putting them out as a f*ckin’ bonus disc because the songs leaked. If those hadn’t leaked, Encore would’ve been a much different album.”

The rapper explained how “We As Americans,” “Love You More,” “Bully,” and “Evil Deeds” all leaked, with “We As Americans” originally intended to be the album’s opening song. “If that would’ve been on Encore and the other couple songs that leaked,” he wrote, “to me it would’ve been right there with The Eminem Show as far as its caliber.”

In having to start the recording process all over again, Eminem’s addiction grew and he was soon in a “goofy mood.” Said mood caused a change in the music he was making. “So now, I go make ‘Ass Like That,’ ‘Big Weenie,’ ‘Rain Man,’ all those silly songs, which I’m writing in f*ckin’ seconds at that point in time,” he wrote. “I was just writing high and feeling good about what I’m doing because I got f*ckin’ 20 Vicodin in me and this is fun to do, and I’m having fun, so f*ck it.”

Eminem had a hard time coming to grips with the fact he didn’t do his best after the album was released. Worst of all, for him, was the critical reception. “I released what I had at that point in time, and I feel that put a kind of a mark on my catalog,” he said. “Encore did some decent numbers, but I was never that concerned with numbers. I was more so worried about what people think about the album. Critics and fans were important to me, and they were always at me about that project.”

Check out Eminem’s full story on XXL here.

42 Dugg, Flo Milli, Pooh Shiesty, And Rubi Rose Take Over The 2021 ‘XXL’ Freshman Cypher

by

The next installment of the 2021 XXL Freshman Cypher is here. For this round, viral favorites 42 Dugg, Flo Milli, Pooh Shiesty, and Rubi Rose take on another hypnotic Nick Mira production to display their varying takes of the annual tradition.

Rubi Rose sets things off with a fittingly raunchy verse in her signature husky verse, followed by a braggadocious, bouncy approach from Pooh Shiesty. Flo Milli drops in and steals the show, turning up the energy with both her bright looks and quirky punchlines, leaving 42 Dugg to bring the baton home with a laid-back verse.

While Blxst and Toosii’s Cypher was competent and the first group of MCs was uneven but attention-grabbing, this year’s batch of Freshmen has certainly added to growing sense that hip-hop’s women are doing more to stand out than the men. So far, the consensus MVP of this year’s Freshmen has been Lakeyah, who’s sharp wit and precise flow impressed fans, while Flo Milli brought something a little different with her perky output. Even Coi Leray, maligned as her performance has been, brought something different to the table and looked like she was having fun instead of just trying to look cool.
Watch XXL’s Freshman Cypher with 42 Dugg, Flo Milli, Pooh Shiesty, and Rubi Rose above.

Pooh Shiesty is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Blxst And Toosii Keep The 2021 ‘XXL’ Freshman Cypher Rolling

by

After yesterday’s leadoff, West Coaster rap-crooner Blxst and North Carolina’s Toosii accept the baton for the next leg of the 2021 XXL Freshman Cypher. Once again, their bumping backdrop is provided by Internet Money’s Nick Mira, giving the two rappers an exotic-sounding beat to flex over. Blxst’s verse is a boastful affair in which he offers “two places I won’t go back, of course, / That’s ‘broke’ and that’s ‘forth,’” while Toosii offers an extended verse from his previously teased “Ms. Parker” snippet.

All in all, their part of the Cypher is calm, straightforward, and surprisingly short, with Blxst obviously bringing a bit more effort than Toosii. It marks an intriguing departure from the proceedings yesterday, where Coi Leray’s antics captured the attention of fans on Twitter — and not in a good way. While her cohorts DDG, Lakeyah, and Morray acquitted themselves well — Lakeyah especially impressed a number of fans with her technical proficiency and witty wordplay — Coi Leray delivered an odd, unserious verse/hook/ad-lib combo, giving up after only a handful of bars to twerk instead. Responses weren’t kind, as many questioned her inclusion in this year’s Freshman class, as well as her rap skills in general.

Watch the latest installment of the 2021 XXL Freshman Cypher above.

Coi Leray’s Baffling ‘XXL’ Freshman Cypher Verse Draws Fire From Fans After She Gives Up And Twerks

by
Getty Image

Each year since its inception, the XXL Freshman Cypher has offered the members of each Freshman class an opportunity to justify their inclusion — or totally embarrass themselves. For this year’s first round of Cypher verses, including Coi Leray, DDG, Lakeyah, and Morray, it appears controversial pick Coi has opted for the latter, delivering an utterly baffling verse reminiscent of Playboi Carti’s squelched ad-lib-spitting style before giving up on rapping and reverting to her trademark twerking (perhaps to distract viewers from the laziness of her verse). You could say that Coi, who’s got a better pen than she lets on, half-assed the assignment.

In fact, plenty of fans have taken their thoughts to Twitter to say that and more. While Coi has received a truly bewildering amount of hate online for everything from her body to her fashion sense to her biggest hit yet (only on Twitter is success a bad thing), she’s always had a fair amount of defenders willing to go to bat against the body shamers and rap chauvinists who impugned her hit’s unconventional style — which is also a departure from her usually polished rhymes on tracks like “Huddy” and “Slide” with Gunna. Those defenders are hard-pressed to stand up to the trolls this time, though, as she blew her chance to take control of the narrative with an impressive verse — or at least a finished one.

For what it’s worth, the Cypher isn’t always an indication of future success and there’s nothing stopping Coi from returning her focus to witty wordplay. Her move makes a certain kind of sense, as she catered to the fans who most appreciated her most successful single yet, “No More Parties,” who might not have been tuning in for anything more than vibes. But for her part, Coi seems to be taking the criticism in stride. Unfortunately, this was also a rare chance at a second first impression in the minds of many fans, who she’ll have to work that much harder to impress in the future. For proof, just check out the responses below.

Coi Leray, DDG, Lakeyah, And Morray Kick Off The 2021 ‘XXL’ Freshman Cypher

by

Coi Leray, DDG, Lakeyah, and Morray kick off the 2021 XXL Freshman Cyphers for this year’s class, each bringing their own unique style to a beat produced by algorithm master Nick Mira. DDG opens proceedings with a typical West Coast/Michigan swing flow, then cedes the floor to Lakeyah, who undoubtedly delivers the best straight-up rap verse, hunting for the sort of credit that only comes from being an expert technician. Morray splits the balance between his signature crooning and some off-the-dome rhymes bigging up his cohorts.

That leaves Coi Leray, who is quite possibly the most controversial addition to this year’s list. Despite having three years of tried-and-true material including a handful of viral hits to her name, it was her song “No More Parties” that first exposed her to the wider mainstream audience, drawing comparisons to both Dej Loaf and Playboi Carti in the process. It’s also, oddly enough, the song least like the bulk of her output, so it seemed going in that the Cypher would be her chance to lay skeptics’ doubts to rest.

She absolutely does not do that, instead opting for a choppy, Carti-esque delivery on a relatively short verse that does little to allay the concerns about her placement before giving up and resorting to her trademark twerking. It’s an unusual choice for a rapper who is under fire and facing a make-or-break moment with all eyes on her. While it’s pioneering, to be sure (Megan Thee Stallion once pointed out that a female rapper would face a ton of criticism for rapping like Playboi Carti, and for all intents, it appears she was correct), and a boundary has been broken to allow women to branch out more stylistically, I can see Coi taking a lot more fire now — with this verse undermining much of the evidence that supporters could use to defend her.

It’ll be interesting to see how this Cypher will be received on social media as well as how it affects future installments and the ongoing debate about whether the Freshman Class even needs a Cypher anymore.

Watch the 2021 XXL Freshman Cypher above.