These Days... (album)

On May 5, 2014, after clearing up these rumors that his new album was initially titled Black Lip Pastor, Ab-Soul later revealed that the true title for his new album will be called These Days….[2] In May 2014, in an interview with Jay Z's Life+Times, Ab-Soul spoke on several topics such as his song, called "Stigmata", while not having a super conceptual title for the album and began recording for the majority of it at the Mac Miller's house.[3] When asked about what should listeners take away from These Days…, Ab-Soul answered: "Balance. Variation. A spice of life. I want to try and touch as many bases as possible. I want something on there for everybody. There will be a lot of references to the vibe of today, the sound of today and the subject matter of today."[3]

When asked about what had been his favorite part of creating These Days…, Ab-Soul answered: "It would probably be this part – being able to present it and talk about it. This is what I’ve really been waiting on. The recording process was very fun, of course. I recorded the majority of it at Mac Miller's house, so you know that was just crazy. It was great recording, but I just couldn't wait for this part."[3]

When speaking on the album's title with HipHopDX, Ab-Soul stated: "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."[4]

On June 1, 2014, Ab-Soul described the album would be a "Top Dawg party" and will feature the production from Sounwave, Tae Beast, Skyhe Hutch and Tommy Black, among others.[4] He called the recording process for These Days… "fun" and says he recorded most of the album at fellow American rapper Mac Miller's Los Angeles home: "We had a lot of fun in that red room," Ab-Soul says. "Very psychedelic, you could lose track of time. Just open the door and it's daylight. People like recording there 'cause of the vibe."[4]

On August 6, 2013, Ab-Soul announced that he was working on a new project.[5] The following day he would speak to XXL, to confirm that JMSN and Jhené Aiko will be appearing on the upcoming project.[6] On October 17, 2013, Ab-Soul stated that he was close to finalizing it.[7] On October 25, Ab-Soul released a track, titled "Dub Sac".[8] Later that week, he confirmed that his new album has been turned in for mixing and cleared up these rumors that it was initially titled Black Lip Pastor.[9][10]

On January 6, 2014, in an interview with Bootleg Kev, when speaking on the album, Ab-Soul stated: "Ali is mixing it right now," and that they were waiting on the perfect way to present the project, as a result of creative releases such as Nipsey Hussle's Crenshaw.[11] He also revealed that the album is about progression and confirmed there would be appearances from his TDE label-mates, as well as the production from a hip hop producer Statik Selektah.[11] On April 18, 2014, Ab-Soul premiered a song, titled "Tree of Life", to promote the album.[12] On May 5, 2014, Ab-Soul took to Twitter, announcing that his third solo effort would be titled These Days….[2] On May 22, Ab-Soul released a song, titled "Stigmata", via TDE's SoundCloud page. The song was produced by Rahki. The song was inspired by Nas' "The Cross", and features guest verses from Action Bronson and Philadelphia-based rapper Asaad.[13] On May 30, its music video, which was directed by Dave Free and APLUSFILMZ, was released.[14] The video clocks in a minute and a half, because of the removal of the two guest rappers' verses, finds a blood-soaked Ab-Soul, re-imagined as Jesus Christ, trekking alone through a desert environment with a wooden cross on his back and a crown of thorns on his head. The clip ends with the album's cover art and release date.[15][16] Top Dawg management took it to Twitter to confirm that These Days… is scheduled for a June 24, release date.[14][17][18] On June 1, 2014, Ab-Soul appeared on Hot 97's Real Late with Rosenberg, to discuss and promote the album.[4] On June 10, he premiered the audio for a song off the album, titled "Hunnid Stax", featuring his Black Hippy cohort ScHoolboy Q.[19] Ab-Soul performed "Stigmata" sans Action Bronson and Asaad on Revolt Live on June 19.[20] On June 20, TDE released a music video for a song from the album, titled "Closure".[21][22] On July 15, 2014, Top Dawg Ent. released the music video for "Hunnid Stax".[23][24]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	70/100[25]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[26]
The A.V. Club	B-[27]
AllHipHop	7.5/10[28]
Exclaim!	7/10[29]
HipHopDX	[30]
Paste	7.7/10[31]
Pitchfork Media	7.7/10[32]
PopMatters	5/10[33]
Rolling Stone	[34]
XXL	4/5[35]

These Days... received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 70 based on 17 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[25] Jabbari Weaks of Exclaim! wrote "the self-proclaimed 'Genius, idiot' succeeds for the most part in moving out of his sonic comfort zone while toeing the lyrical line between enlightenment and ignorance."[36] G. Avant of AllHipHop wrote "These Days was just one step further in solidifying the position of Ab-Soul and TDE as a collective for long term success."[37] Eric Thurm of The A.V. Club noted "for someone so comfortable wearing his poetic heart on his sleeve, the black-lipped pastor has made an oddly distant album."[27] Kellan Miller of XXL wrote "if he continues to release profound, well-rounded material, his name will no doubt be included in Top Five Lists across the board."[35] Philip Cosores of Paste wrote "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."[31] In a positive review, AllMusic's David Jeffries wrote "his third album 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."[26] In a more critical review, Marshall Gu of PopMatters wrote that the album is "too long" and that it felt like Ab-Soul was "just trying to throw everything at the wall in the hopes that something will stick so that Interscope will take notice and finally sign him." [33] Jon Rolan of Rolling Stone wrote "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."[34]

The album debuted at number 11 on the Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 21,812 copies in the United States.[38]

Notes[39]

• "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.