![]() ![]() It has the power to literally not only move you physically, but even on a spiritual level. What about music is magical to you specifically? You’ve also used parallels between music and magic. It gives me the courage to share my testimony so that it might help someone else going through those things. I’ve been blessed to have a great fan base, if you will. How are you able to reinterpret some of your real-life events in your music? The energy that I give off to people, I feel like I’m conscious of it and I’m in control ultimately. But I feel like I’m in control of my vibe. ![]() I think when we speak of these things, I think it’s more so a state of mind. In these days and times, how do you maintain your mental health? People just want to heal and so I’m hopeful. I’m hearing the term mental health more from us.Įxactly. It’s always gonna be tests for all of us. I’m hopeful for change for the better, but you know, it’s always gon’ be challenges for everyone. You know, I like to, when I say our community, you know what I’m saying? Urban, you feel me? Especially in our community where it’s needed. I’m happy we’re having more conversations about therapy and mental health and self-care and I’m hearing it more. ![]() I think it’s always been there in the music industry. How do you feel about substance abuse impacting the hip-hop industry at large? I think that’s the best way I can put it. And I think his presence is still felt and respected in that regard. I just wanna make sure that I keep his legacy going. Taught me a lot and I hope I taught him a lot as well. One of the most creative artists that I’ve had the pleasure of working with. He’s really family, you know? A genius, to say the least. How do you feel your friendship with Mac has affected your growth as an artist and personally? On your song “Do Better,” you reference the late Mac Miller. Maybe stepping back sometimes and reflecting, and giving yourself some time to breathe and think about, how can I do something different? How can I present something different? So, in that regard, it worked out great for me. I think it was important to step back for a second and stop being so… “I gotta write, I gotta record, I gotta keep going.” I probably wrote a verse a day, give or take, since I was 12 years old. In all honesty, I personally feel like this is some of my best work. How beneficial do you feel taking that break was for yourself and for the end result of the actual project? Getting back to the foundation, to the source. That still call me Herbert or Herbie or Herb. So, this album, to say the least, is dedicated to the people that refuse to call me Ab-Soul. I just kinda feel like I was becoming Ab-Soul more than Herbert. XXL: Talk a little bit about the album and why you chose to name it after yourself?Īb-Soul: The album Herbert is about getting back to self. He attributes this newfound energy to therapy, which is also what making this project was like for him.Įmbracing his return, the 35-year-old MC takes time to speak with XXL about his growth as a man and artist, friendship with the late Mac Miller, women in rap and his former labelmate Kendrick Lamar leaving TDE. These are practices that require diligence and pure intentions, but are also vastly different from the darker subject matter he once showcased on past albums. The artist, born Herbert Anthony Stevens IV, has accomplished that by alignment and controlling his frequency. It’s evident Ab-Soul, dressed in a black hoodie, grey cargo pants, white Air Jordan 4 sneakers and his staple black sunglasses, is basking in his own much-deserved luminosity as he kicks off the new year with a meaningful album.Īb’s developed a glass half-full perspective over time. ![]() For Ab, there’s light emitting from the dark though.Īs the Top Dawg Entertainment rapper sits in a lounge on the second floor of New York City’s Sixty LES hotel on a December afternoon, the sun gleams through the floor-length windows. Topics such as West Coast roots, tragedies like the loss of his father in 2011, and close friend Doeburger last year, plus depression and addiction are shared on the recordings. Organic themes like loyalty, healing and mental health are covered with his new work. While Ab deems this two-year delay a gift and a curse, he intentionally chose to deviate from his typical “science”-like approach to creating and fully emote. native’s album has been held up due to the coronavirus pandemic. Initially slated for a 2020 arrival, the Carson, Calif. ![]()
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