SOHH Squad
New York rapper Talib Kweli may help contribute to Ab-Soul's new These Days... album enjoying a strong first week on store shelves after publicly praising the studio release. #AbSoulutely
Kweli recently penned an open review of the West Coast rapper’s new LP and boasted about Soul’s talent.
“As much as Ab-Soul refers to things like pineal glands and third eyes, he also refers to drug use. His music accurately reflects a generation that grew up doing heavier drugs than my generation did, a generation that realizes things absolutely need to change but may be popping too many pills to actually do something about it. The conflict in Soulo’s lyrics is the constant wish to change the world and check out of it at the same time. This is not a personal criticism; the best art does a great job of exploring our inner demons and contradictions, and this is what makes Ab-Soul a compelling MC.” (The Talk House)
Along with giving his take on each track, Kweli predicted Soul’s run in the game would be a significant one.
“I wrote this not as a reviewer, but as a fan of Ab-Soul. As a musician, I feel I have the most right to critique other people’s music, but the least incentive to. I am interested in expression, not analytics. However, I hope my two cents will encourage you to give this album a chance if you were on the fence about it. Ab-Soul is just getting started, and when it’s all said and done he will be one of our powerful voices. Get on board now.” (The Talk House)
The latest projections have the album selling at least 19,000 copies in week one.
YOUR TOP 15: Ed Sheeran will get his first #1 album next week–and score the fourth-biggest debut of 2014. Here’s how it looks headed into the weekend. *Ed Sheeran (Atlantic) 190-210k Sam Smith (Capitol) 67-72k *G-Eazy (G-Eazy/Blueprint/RCA) 43-48k Lana Del Rey (Interscope) 40-45k Frozen (Walt Disney) 35-40k Miranda Lambert (RCA Nashville) 28-31k Linkin Park (Warner Bros.) 27-30k *Mastodon (Warner Bros.) 25-28k *Phish (ATO) 25-28k Now 50 (NOW) 21-24k Jack White (Third Man/Columbia) 21-24k Brantley Gilbert (Valory) 20-22k *Ab Soul (TDE) 19-21k (HITS Rumor Mill)
Ab recently detailed how much thought went into the album title.
“Originally, I didn’t want a super conceptual title. I didn’t want to freak anybody out. A lot of people do like that concept-driven perspective and that’s cool, but I just wanted to loosen up a bit. I wanted to make the overall concept broader. I wanted it to be like a time capsule to represent where I’ve been between my last project and this one.” (Life + Times)
