Do What Thou Wilt.

## **Singles from *Do What Thou Wilt.***

1. "Huey Knew Then"
Released: September 30, 2016
2. "Braille"
Released: October 28, 2016

***Do What Thou Wilt.*** (abbreviated as ***DWTW***) is the fourth studio album by Ab-Soul. It was released on December 9, 2016, by Top Dawg Entertainment, preceded by the singles "Huey Knew Then" and "Braille". The concept record is based on Aleister Crowley's *The Book of the Law*, which the title derives from. The album took around a year and a half to complete, where he referenced Crowley's text throughout.

## Synopsis

Firecracker verses, spare samples, and raw boom bap from the L.A. MC.

## Themes

Ab added to *Billboard*, "Another quote from the book that caught my interest was, 'The righteous will remain righteous and the filthy will remain filthy.' With him obviously pushing the envelope to be the wickedest, most evil, most filthy, why not try to be the most righteous? With that comes so many themes. This album is also a love story and it's also a woman-appreciation album as well."

Regarding the theme of women empowerment, he said, "I really just want the women to hear me out this time and I want to do it in a way that is not necessarily serenading. I just want the women to know that there are men having conversations like this, too. I have conversations with my homies about these things, and they bother me too. Double standards and whatnot. If I could just bring a few more of the women into my rap world, just to know that there are men having these conversations."

Such themes are almost seen as a contradiction to Crowley (1875-1947), who was an English occultist and philosopher, often described as misogynistic and racist. Ab-Soul elaborated to *HotNewHipHop*, "I'm all about getting to the root of things, and Mr. Crowley has been instrumental throughout music since before I was born. [...] So me understanding that and digging into his story and understanding why he's been so relevant and influential in music culture, I think it was important for me to reinstill that if you missed that part of the culture of music in general. This is beyond hip hop. At first sight, he's the wickedest man alive. But if you dig into the poetry, and you read between the lines... a lot of things will make more sense to you."

## Title

The full quotation is "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law." Ab-Soul explained to *Hypebeast* of his interpretation of the title, "To me, it translates to free will. Not necessarily 'do what you wanna do'—'cause that's kinda chaotic—but do what you will to do. Will being stronger than a want. Something that's supported by love and passion. That's what that quote means to me, and you know I'm a man of quotes. That's just one of those that resonated with me the most." To *The Fader*, he said, "Will is not a want, you don't wanna confuse a will with a want. A will is stronger than a want or a desire. It's got to be backed by like love and passion, so free will, do what you will to do out of love. That's the concept and the message to the listeners. Love is the law, the only law. Love under will. The law is for all."

## Track listing

**Notes**

* "Womanogamy" features additional vocals from Schoolboy Q
* "Threatening Nature" features additional vocals from Dash
* "D.R.U.G.S." features additional vocals from Mac Miller
* "Lonely Soul" / / / "The Law (Prelude)" features additional bass by Thundercat
* "Portishead in the Morning" / / / "HER World" features additional ad-libbing from Isaiah Rashad

**Sample credits**

* "Evil Genius" contains a sample of Alori Joh's "Let You Shine"

## References

Template:Ab-Soul

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Roazen, Ben (December 9, 2016). "Ain't Nothing Wrong With a Righteous Man: An Interview With Ab-Soul". *Hypebeast*.
2. ↑ Tardio, Andres (December 9, 2016). "Ab-Soul Breaks Down the Inspirations & Revelations Behind 'Do What Thou Wilt'". *Billboard*.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Starling, Lakin (December 9, 2016). "Ab-Soul: “Love Is The Law, The Only Law”". *The Fader*.
4. ↑ "Who Is Aleister Crowley? Ab-Soul Explains". *YouTube*. December 15, 2016.