Ab-Soul Gets Candid In New Interview

When it comes to hip-hop music from the 2010s, Ab-Soul is one of that era’s household names. His second studio album, 2012’s Control System, was one of the most popular projects that year, thanks to tracks like “Illuminate” and “Terrorist Threats.”

After years of absence, he returned late last year to drop his latest album, HERBERT. It serves as his first project in six years, since 2016’s Do What Thou Wilt.

On Tuesday (January 10), XXL published their new interview with the “DO BETTER” rapper. The 35-year-old talks about a range of topics including his new album and his struggles with mental health.

HERBERT is arguably the TDE rapper’s most intimate and expressive album of his career thus far. “The album Herbert is about getting back to self. I just kinda feel like I was becoming Ab-Soul more than Herbert. So, this album, to say the least, is dedicated to the people that refuse to call me Ab-Soul. That still call me Herbert or Herbie or Herb. It’s about getting back to the roots. Getting back to the foundation, to the source. Getting back to self,” says the L.A. native when asked about the meaning of the project’s title.

“This album, I really removed my ego and asked for help. Nobody’s bigger than the program. I asked for help. I didn’t just go pick beats or records,” he tells XXL. Elsewhere in the interview, he addresses substance abuse and mental health in society.

Ab-Soul is evidently not holding back when it comes to the rollout of his fifth studio album. In a prior recent interview with Charlamagne Tha God, the L.A. native even opens up about a suicide attempt.

“My jaw is f*cked up. I got a lotta work to do still. I’m about 85% on my foot. My foot is completely reconstructed, all the way to my pelvis, my femur, everything, was affected except my knee. If my knee would’ve been affected, I might not be walking,” he shares to Charlamagne.