Soul Burger

About

Ab-Soul has had a fraught relationship with death, but music has remained his outlet for making sense of it. His gut-wrenching 2012 song “The Book of Soul” detailed his difficulty processing the suicide of former partner and collaborator Alori Joh; his close friend Mac Miller died in 2018, and in 2021, his longtime friend Armon “DoeBurger” Stringer was killed during a home invasion. But this time, instead of mourning or stewing in survivor’s guilt, he chooses to celebrate his homie’s life by merging their spirits through music. “Now we just a fusion like Trunks and Gohan/Huey and Riley combined, knowledge and 9',” he rap, citing beloved animated duo. Clips of Stringer’s voice are played in between songs on <i>Soul Burger</i>, essentially making him a narrator of the album. A posthumous DoeBurger shows his approval of songs he like, shares brief storie, and even roasts Soul’s deteriorating vision at some point. His presence on <i>Soul Burger</i> is proof that their friendship extends across plane. While his 2022 album <i>Herbert</i> was steeped in reflection and pensivene, <i>Soul Burger</i> finds him deliberately seeking joy—a decision inspired by Stringer, who often encouraged him to make more upbeat music. Heeding his advice makes for arguably his most lively album to date. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the production is bright and triumphant; the atmospheric tone of Top Dawg Entertainment (Soul’s longtime label home) is still in play. But Soul is boastful and confident: He uses “B.U.C.K.O. Jr” to lob a set of braggadocious verse, gets into lothario mode with Ty Dolla $ign on “Go Pro,” and goes bar for bar with J.I.D over West African drums and a warped synth on “Crazier.” But perhaps the strongest message of <i>Soul Burger</i> is about music’s power to heal. Ab-Soul uses several songs to pay homage to some of his hip-hop favorites: “9 Mile” finds Soul rapping over a sample of Mobb Deep’s “Shook Ones” while emulating Eminem’s iconic cinematic battle, “Squeeze 1st 2” borrows from a deep cut from JAŸ-Z’s catalog, “The Sky Is Limitless” borrows from Notorious B.I.G.’s triumphant <i>Life After Death</i> single, and album closer “Righteous Man” finds Python P and Terrace Martin reworking the stirring horns from longtime homie Kendrick Lamar’s <i>To Pimp a Butterfly</i> bookend “Mortal Man.” .

via Apple Music

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