Album: Control System
Artist: Ab-Soul
Released May 11, 2012
“There’s a war going on outside no man is safe from.” -Mobb Deep
Queensbridge’s most infamous burned that phrase into history with “Survival of the Fittest” back in 1995. Years later, that war still rages on. It’s bigger than the police in the streets and the military in the middle east. It’s more than a war on drugs, or a war on terrorism. It’s a struggle for freedom, not only in a physical sense, but also on a psychological and spiritual level. It’s the kind of struggle we experience all around us, every day.
This is the depths of the subject matter on Ab-Soul’s latest release. It spans from the dro, the druggies with hoes and the po’, to revolution, the loss of a loved one, death and the confines, restrictions and disappointments of the political system we live in. It’s heavy, but it’s never overbearing. It’s trill as fuck and always groovy. And it’s told through the truth in the poetry of one man’s soul.
The sound of the album is reminiscent of ATLiens, but modernized with a dash of technotronics, some west koast swag and the reverb of the digital age. Skyhe Hutch even flips the sample from the intro to Aquemini on a “beautiful death” for Ab-Soul to paint his lyrics on. Tae Beast of digi+phonics handles most of the production work, but Dave Free, Curtiss King, Willie B and several others all contribute heat rocks to the project.
Ab-Soul touches on the pressures both men and women go through in relationships today on “double standards.” Danny Brown drops a stand out verse on “terrorist threats.” Alori Joh is featured on the song “empathy”, and then grieved over in a very touching and personal way on “the book of soul.”
The entire record is dedicated to her memory.
Soulo and ScHoolboy Q get ignorant on “SOPA.” The beat could knock a little harder, but the black hippy remix of “black lip bastard” makes up for that. You can party to “Bohemian Grove” and “lust demons”, you can overdose to “pineal gland” but “ILLuminate” is the joint you’re going to bang your pistol to, and “a rebellion” will have you ready to point your chopper at a copper, even if you gotta stand all alone.
so: “motherfuck the government, motherfuck the system… motherfuck you, i’m just living how i’m living.”
From Del Amo to a stereo near you, this record will have you raising a fist up like a middle finger, ready to resist the methods of control which affect our lives. You might make love to this record, you might just smoke, drink, and fuck to it. One way or another, It will definitely leave an impression on you. This is the kind of alchemy that could capture lightning in a bottle. It will definitely be played and talked about for years to come. You can purchase copies of Control System here.
-you know ya man’s drop jewelz.
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