Like the rest of his crew, Black Hippy (Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock, and Schoolboy Q), Ab-Soul is skilled at balancing the mainstream and the underground along with the sublime and the ridiculous.
Spinning so many plates means his third album is a bit scattered and a tad overwhelming, but those who like their hip-hop to be a mix of machismo and maverick can easily ignore these small bumps in the road, because These Days..
offers a whirlwind of excellent hooks and exciting ideas.
Here, big hardcore ballers ("Hunnid Stax" with Schoolboy Q) sit next to ambitious cloud-rap explorations of self ("World Runners" with Lupe Fiasco and Nikki Jean) and sometimes, the two worlds meet, like when Miami Don Rick Ross gets covered in stuttering, indie-flavored syrup ("Nevermind That").
The three other members of Black Hippy appear, along with great choices like Action Bronson and Danny Brown, plus the 23-minute closer, "W.R.O.H.," is no ponderous epic, but some audio verite that's humorous, odd, and enlightening.
Artful and gangsta at the same time, These Days..
is a true stunner.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gods Reign | Ab-Soul | Play | 04:18 | 9 MB | 28 MB |
| 2 | Tree of Life | Ab-Soul | Play | 05:37 | 12 MB | 33 MB |
| 3 | Hunnid Stax | Ab-Soul | Play | 03:23 | 7 MB | 20 MB |
| 4 | Dub Sac | Ab-Soul | Play | 05:50 | 13 MB | 37 MB |
| 5 | World Runners | Ab-Soul | Play | 05:02 | 11 MB | 29 MB |
| 6 | Nevermind That | Ab-Soul | Play | 04:39 | 10 MB | 29 MB |
| 7 | Twact | Ab-Soul | Play | 03:48 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 8 | Just Have Fun | Ab-Soul | Play | 05:30 | 12 MB | 35 MB |
| 9 | Kendrick Lamar's Interlude | Ab-Soul | Play | 04:59 | 11 MB | 30 MB |
| 10 | Sapiosexual | Ab-Soul | Play | 03:36 | 8 MB | 22 MB |
| 11 | Stigmata | Ab-Soul | Play | 03:48 | 8 MB | 23 MB |
| 12 | Feelin Us | Ab-Soul | Play | 05:09 | 11 MB | 33 MB |
| 13 | Ride Slow | Ab-Soul | Play | 07:21 | 16 MB | 38 MB |
| 14 | W.R.O.H | Ab-Soul | Play | 12:47 | 29 MB | 79 MB |
| 15 | Closure | Ab-Soul | Play | 03:28 | 7 MB | 21 MB |
| 79 mins | 182 MB | |||||
| 79 mins | 489 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ab-Soul | Primary Artist |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |