The intro of the album, Gods Reign, talks about Ab-Soul’s misfortunes even with all the success he has achieved. He perfectly describes this with the line, “At 25 I spent a hunnid' of those and still ain't got nothing to show”. He also briefly talks about the passing of his girlfriend, which he goes more in depth later. The dark synths and SZA’s haunting hook really makes this song stand on its own.
Tree of Life is filled with “tree” wordplay, which Soulo relates to weed(what else) and money. Curtiss King cooks up an uptempo, tambourine laced beat while Soulo says to “breathe easy”. Near the end of the song, the beat changes up and DJ Dahi is manning the boards. The last verse has Soulo using the word “soul” in different ways, which is one of the dopest ideas on the LP. The next track, Hunnid Stax, is the banger of the album. Kenny Beats flips a Lana Del Rey sample and adds thumping 808s and hazy synths. Mac Miller provides one the trippiest hooks ever. Q does his thing on the last verse with very sporadic wordplay. Also the Diddy cosign at the end was dope!
Dub Sac is not just another song about weed. Soulo uses weed to show how he has progressed in life: “I had a dub sack in my bucket/Rolling around like ''fuck it'' Now I got a OZ in this Benz, still rolling around like ''fuck it''”. Punch, the CEO of TDE, contributes a rare verse near the end.
The next song was the highly anticipated collab with the God of conscious rap, Lupe Fiasco. Although, they did collaborate on Lupe’s Thorns and Horns, World Runners is their first official album collaboration. And damn this song is deep. They touch on the Illuminati and how society is “these days”. Tae Beast provides a futuristic type of beat, which relates to how Lupe, Soulo, and Nikki Jean are “world runners”.
Nevermind That, is the perfect track to describe how society is “these days”. Soulo has a banging beat and talks about real niggas and shooting people. It is almost like Ab-Soul is making a mockery of stereotypical hiphop by inviting Ricky Rozay to do a verse. Nevertheless, this song goes in, and Ross does work.
With this next record, Soulo takes a trip to the west coast for this turn up song. Twact means beyond faded according to the producer, Dnyc3. This is the type of music that would play in the club. Again this deals with how society is perceived today, which is the theme of the whole album. Major props for the Slick Rick lines.
Just Have Fun, is Ab-Soul’s version of YOLO. He says to have fun, and use drugs, but don’t let the drugs control you. The chill beat perfectly compliments Soulo’s flow. Just a feel good song. This song also sets up the transition into the song, “These Days…”.
Man, the producer Terrace Martin does work on this next song. I could listen to that saxophone all day. King Kendrick raps his heart out. An amazing interlude.
Coming off from that fast tempo interlude, Soulo puts the saddest song I have heard in a long time. The slow rolling beat has Ab-Soul struggling with the death of his girlfriend, Alori Joh. Up and coming songstress, Jhene Aiko, helps with the hook. Really touching.
Sapiosexual has Soulo proclaiming he wants to “fuck you mind”. Young Simba, J Cole is on the boards and does some ad-libbing. This is probably my favorite song on the album.
The next song, Stigmata, has many religious themes. Ab-Soul talks about carrying a cross, not literally, but metaphorically having this pressure put onto him by fans and the industry. Soulo, Action Bronson, and Asaad compare themselves to Jesus Christ throughout the song. The beat is vintage NY boom-bap. Feelin Us is the haters anthem. Ab-Soul and Jay Rock address the naysayers and telling them they gon “feel this”. The string is hypnotic.
Ride Slow is like a horror song. Larry Fisherman, one of Mac Miller’s many alias’s, provides an airy, percussion loop led beat. Danny Brown, who is one of my favorite rappers, provides a solid verse. Delusional Thomas, ANOTHER alias of Mac Miller, delivers a horror filled verse with his high pitched voice. The “Hail Mary” interpolation fits the song beautifully.
W.R.O.H, We Really Out Here, is the last song and also the longest. This song reminds me of Ye’s “Last Call” because Soulo just talks. Also you can hear a battle rap between Daylyt and Ab-Soul. It is kind of a weird ending, but the song part is solid.
So far, in my opinion, this is album of the year. Ab-Soul lyrically is amazing and the production is on point. (5 out of 5 stars)
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