These Days...

## **Singles from *These Days...***

1. "Dub Sac"
Released: October 25, 2013
2. "Tree of Life"
Released: April 18, 2014
3. "Stigmata"
Released: May 22, 2014
4. "Hunnid Stax"
Released: June 10, 2014

***These Days...*** is the third studio album by American rapper Ab-Soul. It was released on June 24, 2014, by Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE). It features guest appearances from artists such as SZA, Action Bronson, Asaad, Danny Brown, Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar, Lupe Fiasco, Rick Ross, and Schoolboy Q.

Regarding its title, he explained to *XXL*, "It's kind of like self-explanatory. I just wanted it to be a little time capsule of the last couple of years since my absence. The vibe of music and life right now like the last couple of years." He added to *HipHopDX*, "That album is what I feel like these days sound like, in my own right. Of course, it was no mockery, but it was. I used a lot of references of today, of present and past, because that's popular too." He named his favorite song from the project to be "Just Have Fun." Influences he's drawn from for the album include Drake, Jay-Z, Puff Daddy, Snoop Dogg, Lupe Fiasco, Rick Ross, Daylyt, Kendrick Lamar, and Migos.

## Synopsis

Ab-Soul is the Black Hippy collective's wild card, and *These Days* shows that he has no intention of circumscribing his style. The rough edges of his raps are left intact, which gives even hyper-focused songs like "Tree of Life" and "Hunnid Stax" the breathless, live-wire intensity of improvisation. Ab-Soul revels in self-contradiction. He's not afraid to juxtapose spiritual introspection with a filthy outburst, or place the suave "Feelin' Us" next to the desiccated thrusts of "Ride Slow." The self-portrait he offers on "Stigmata" is apt: "Real rare breed/Cut from the cloth like a phoenix feather when I write/Molotov, yikes!"

## Background

On May 1, 2014, Ab tweeted: "I'm this close to just leakin my shit like its a mixtape...." He explained to *Vibe*, "That tweet wasn't a shot at TDE, it was just a response to my audience—I don't like to say fans. If you looked at my comments at that time, I couldn't tweet anything. They'd be like. 'Shut the fuck up, Soul. Get back in the studio.' There wasn't an internal issue. I turned in two albums at the top of the year. The project didn't come together for whatever reason on the business end and we just felt like I could have done more with this one. So we took more time on it, expanded it and made it a masterpiece." He also conversed with *Microphone Check*, where he mentioned he had to "[turn] it in the beginning of the year," though was given extra time to "clean," "expound," and "elaborate."

In promotion, he embarked on a 40-city tour, the These Days Tour, that began in mid-September.

## Critical reception

*These Days...* received generally favorable reviews. Metacritic, which assigns a normalized score out of 100, gave a 70 based on 17 critic reviews. Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? holds the score of 6.7.

AllMusic praised, "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." Julian Benbow of *Boston Globe* noted, "He stays away from heavier themes," while *HipHopDX* opined, "the album is more of a ramble than a relay, it doesn't feel overly calculated or suffer from excessively punched in verses. Still, it's crowded and Soul isn't as isolated or solitary as a result." In comparison to *Control System*, *Consequence* described it as, "far less conspiratorial than its fantastically paranoia-charged predecessor." They felt his songwriting "suffered due to an inebriated lack of coherence." *Exclaim!* was mixed, though concluded, "[he] succeeds for the most part in moving out of his sonic comfort zone while toeing the lyrical line between enlightenment and ignorance."

*Paste* summarized, "These days, there is almost always as much reason to be thinking deeply as there is to escape. That Ab-Soul tries to do both makes for a pretty entertaining ride, even when he technically falters. Ambition changes the definition of success, making this Ab-Soul record a better experience that can be picked apart." *Pitchfork* stated, "He embraces his outsider status, filling his raps with struggling mid-level rapper details [...] Ab's on-record presence is primarily a playful one." *PopMatters* expressed their disappointment: "it's too long," "beats are often too cluttered," and "some of these features drag their songs down..." *RapReviews.com* remarked, "feels like a record crafted by a rapper who feels left out and is begging for acceptance." Similar to *PopMatters*, they believed the record would've been better if shortened and added, "feels like a very quickly thrown together product that lacks the depth and introspection of his previous projects." *Rolling Stone* wrote, "Ab-Soul works a warm underdog weirdness over heavy-lidded beats on his third album. He rarely strives for the depth of Lamar or the intensity of Q; there's plenty of clever imagery on *These Days* [...] but a fully realized dude never quite comes into focus."

*The A.V. Club* penned, "Considering his music is often best when it veers left, it's unsurprising that Ab-Soul's hooks have never been his strongest suit. The moments when the album seems as if it's even sniffing at radio play, instead of just letting Ab rap, are its most forgettable." While they gave acknowledgement to the rapper's "weird brilliance," overall they believed it to be "an oddly distant" record. *XXL* assessed, "Ab's creative leaps are sometimes jarring at the onset" and "somewhat dumbed down realm compared to what fans are accustomed to in Ab's material." *Complex* also showed ambivalence, saying, "Ultimately—and unfortunately—Soul's neo-theologian flow wins out. [...] Ab-Soul's wordplay is often lazy and inarticulate. And so the first half of *These Days* suffers a lack of clarity and a failure of imagination." They thought that the second half improved and became "cohesive and distinct," but overall the record was unmemorable.

## Track listing

**Notes**

* "God's Reign" features additional vocals by Isaiah Rashad.
* "Tree of Life" features additional vocals by Audra the Rapper and Joey Badass.
* "Hunnid Stax" features additional vocals by Mac Miller and Puff Daddy.
* "Dub Sac" features additional vocals by A-Mack and Punch.
* "World Runners" features additional vocals by Jade Honesty.
* "Nevermind That" features additional vocals by BJ the Chicago Kid.
* "Twact" features additional vocals by Doeburger.
* "Just Have Fun" features additional vocals by Dash, Mac Miller and F.O.A.R.
* "Just Have Fun" contains the hidden track "These Days..." featuring The O'My's.
* "Kendrick Lamar's Interlude" features additional vocals by JaVonté.
* "Closure" features additional vocals by Jhené Aiko.
* "Sapiosexual" features additional vocals by Bilal Chaudhry (B-Diddy), Jae Crizz, SZA and Isaiah Rashad.
* "Ride Slow" features additional vocals by Earl Sweatshirt and Doeburger.
* "W.R.O.H" features additional vocals by Daylyt.

**Sample credits**

* "Hunnid Stax" contains a sample of "National Anthem" performed by Lana Del Rey.
* "Just Have Fun" contains an interpolation of "Own It," written by Aubrey Graham, Anthony Palman, Noah Shebib, Noel Fisher and Andre Proctor.
* "Closure" contains a sample of "Get Out," composed by Shlohmo.
* "Feelin' Us" contains an interpolation of "Love Sosa," written by Keith Cozart and Tyree Pittman.
* "W.R.O.H" contains a sample of "Air for Life," composed by Above & Beyond and Andy Moor.

## References

1. ↑ Diep, Eric (June 11, 2014). "Ab-Soul Insists 'These Days...' Is Coming Out in June". *XXL*.
2. ↑ Moca, Janicella (August 11, 2014). "Ab-Soul Addresses "These Days..." Critics; Says Mac Miller Made "Ride Slow" in 10 Minutes". *HipHopDX*.
3. ↑ Diep, Eric (June 25, 2014). "Ab-Soul's 9 Biggest Musical Infuences on 'These Days...'". ;'XXL*.*
4. ↑ "Ab-Soul (@abdashsoul)". *Twitter*. May 1, 2014.
5. ↑ Fresh, Mikey (July 16, 2014). "Interview: Where Is Ab-Soul These Days…?". *Vibe*.
6. ↑ Muhammad, Ali and Kelley, Frannie (June 20, 2014). "Ab-Soul: 'It's a Lot'". *NPR*.
7. ↑ Frydenlund, Zach (August 20, 2014). "Ab-Soul Announces "These Days" Tour". *Complex*.
8. ↑ "Ab-Soul *These Days...*". *AnyDecentMusic?*
9. ↑ "*These Days...* Review by David Jeffries". *AllMusic*. June 24, 2014.
10. ↑ Benbow, Julian (July 1, 2014). "Ab-Soul, 'These Days...'". *Boston Globe*.
11. ↑ Balfour, Jay (June 28, 2014). "Ab-Soul - These Days". *HipHopDX*.
12. ↑ Pearce, Sheldon (July 2, 2014). "Reviews Album Reviews Album Review: Ab-Soul – These Days…". *Consequence*.
13. ↑ Weekes, Jabbari (June 23, 2014). "Ab-Soul *These Days*". *Exclaim!*. Archived from the original on June 25, 2014.
14. ↑ Cosores, Philip (June 24, 2014). "Ab-Soul: *These Days...*". *Paste*.
15. ↑ Greene, Jayson (June 26, 2014). "*These Days...* Ab-Soul". *Pitchfork*.
16. ↑ Gu, Marshall (July 16, 2014). "Ab-Soul: These Days...". *PopMatters*.
17. ↑ Gase, Zach (July 15, 2014). "Ab-Soul :: These Days... : Top Dawg Entertainment". *RapReviews.com*.
18. ↑ Dolan, Jon (July 25, 2014). "*These Days...*". *Rolling Stone*.
19. ↑ Thurm, Eric (June 24, 2014). "Ab-Soul Loses Control on *These Days...*". *The A.V. Club*.
20. ↑ Miller, Kellan (June 24, 2014). "Ab-Soul Crafts a Lyrical Masterpiece on 'These Days...'". *XXL*.
21. ↑ Charity, Justin (June 25, 2014). "Ab-Soul Kinda Blows TDE's High with "These Days..."". *Complex*.

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