These Days...
by Ab-Soul
  • Record Label: Top Dawg
  • Release Date: Jun 24, 2014
Metascore
70

Generally favorable reviews - based on 17 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 17
  3. Negative: 0 out of 17
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  1. CMJ
    Jul 25, 2014
    60
    Ab-Soul puts out a solid release here, helped along by some big name features and big performances from his TDE labelmates, but at times These Days feels too generic or just flat out stale, ultimately failing to carry the Black Hippy torch in the ways that good kid m.A.A.d city and Oxymoron did for the crew.
  2. Rolling Stone
    Jul 25, 2014
    60
    He rarely strives for the depth of Lamar or the intensity of Q; there's plenty of clever imagery on These Days . . . ("Residue on my debit card/Don't tell my moms," he rhymes on "Ride Slow"), but a fully realized dude never quite comes into focus.
  3. Tiny Mix Tapes
    Jul 25, 2014
    60
    These Days is full of potentially enlightening ideas, and its beats and hooks are often mesmerizing, yet Ab-Soul spreads himself too thin here, his abstraction resulting from a kind of undertaken emaciation, a renunciation of tangible substance in favor of nebulous spiritual impressionism rather than from a perspective-driven distortion of this album’s strong central themes.
  5. RapReviews.com
    Jul 25, 2014
    55
    We got what feels like a very quickly thrown together product that lacks the depth and introspection of his previous projects.
  6. PopMatters
    Jul 25, 2014
    50
    Because Ab-Soul has pulled in every connection he has to feature on These Days (many of whom, including Jadakiss, Isaiah Rashad, BJ the Chicago Kid and Earl Sweatshirt, aren’t even credited because they’re doing background stuff), coupled with the fact that the beats are often too cluttered, feels like he’s 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.

Awards & Rankings

66
#66 Most Shared Album of 2014

User Reviews

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User Score
7.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 58 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 42 out of 58
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 58
  3. Negative: 3 out of 58
  1. NazAw
    Jul 27, 2014
    8
    Ab-Soul with "These Days..." with a sting of the pop-music's taste, these days.

    A fun and more than ever ratchet driven project from TDE's    Ab-Soul with "These Days..." with a sting of the pop-music's taste, these days.

    A fun and more than ever ratchet driven project from TDE's most lyrical and drugged-out socially aware hippy, Ab-Soul. As the title pretty much sums up a feeling of "These Days...", it is more straightforward, it is more explicit and it is more accessible to the ears of an average-listener. Though, beneath the surface it is a thoughtful piece of work and having it's moments of darker under-tones!

    In the light of Ab-Soul's previous releases, "Control System" with it's many subjects, was a mixed bag, as varied as for the many Michael Jackson fans out there (R.I.P. on that 5-year anniversary, time flies).

    But now, on the follow-up [album], folks thoughts and reviews around this release, which resolute it feeling impersonal, messy, commercial and a bit strange so to say. Considering that Soul with his previous efforts made ​​himself well-known as the brain and the most independent in TDE. But the farther one penetrates into this delusional albums core, it turns out that "These Days ..." clearly is in fact more of a photograph and a parody of the society, these days (pun) and contemporary hip hop, as he says, capturing the last two or three years of it, a time capsule.
    Tracks like the over-saturated, R&B warm of a cut "Nevermind That" and the DJ Mustard-influenced (Bay Area, really, but these days.. concept, so) "Twact" is very reminiscent of songs that rotate in power these days (pun intended), but with a distinct Soulo-twist.

    It is an album, that will diverse the audience, in my opinion though, Ab-Soul comes out with a handful of interesting and catchy tunes. At times, (as the cover art for this project) biblical on the fantastic and stand-out cut "Stigmata" feauturing Action Bronson and Asaad. Having a genuine and fresh interpolation of Nas‘ song, The Cross on the chorus to bring the concept all together all more vivid.

    The Hip Hop references do not stop there, the highlights coming across is a hilarious Chief Keef "Love Sosa" moment on the back hand of the Black Hippy member - Jay Rock feautured "Feeling Us", and singing along with last years Drake phrase **** talk more, than **** these days.." on the fan favorite "Just Have Fun". An up-tempo track that that later on transfers the party to the second part of the track, a downfall on drugs and alcohol. The self titled part (These Days), includes more references to the mainstream scene, one to YG's "My **** on the laugh-cracking skit that interfered in-between, and on the verses where Ab-Soul is seen borrowing a Migos flow and making it finally more than a flow that is enjoyable on the ears but on paper too. The track concludes with some beautiful production, guitars and a cathcy hook by the O'My's.

    The opener, "God's Reign" is one of the albums deeper cuts, feauturing more of the clever bars as we have come to know Ab for, with SZA singing the hook and Corin Roddick from the duo Purity Ring providing an excellent production for Soul to rap over, as moody, dreamy and odd as Soul himself.
    The LP is not without it's flaws though, when tracks like "Twact" swerves around I can not help to think of why Ab-Soul didn't instead stack in songs like the fantastic "Christoper DRONEr", (one that could easily slip in to his top ten) to really package this project together, with talks that is relatable and issued, these days (pun once again), as he tackled the Jesus image such as.
    The album finishes of with, what on paper seems to be the long awaited collaborative EP with singer/producer JMSN. While we did only get one song, the big surprise is a raw audio clip of a rap battle between, the rapper Ab-Soul and the battle-rapper Daylyt.

    The album, as a whole brings, at-least, veriaty, with stunning lyrical spins as on the third verse on the dusty, boom-bap- Longterm influenced "Tree of Life", the emotionally shattered, but catchy "Closure", Q smash on "Hunnid Stax", the reprise of "Section.80s" "Ab-Soul's Outro" but now being the very own, comrade Kendrick's time to spit it, and to note, the many pop-ups on the original tracks, that includes new cuts, balancing out the mediocrity from guest features as Rick Ross, Jinx and Short Dawg.

    Ab-Soul is confusing, to some confused with this one, not sure if I even understand the album at the moment, which kind of makes me love it, or how it will impact me on the long-run.
    Is it perfect? Brilliantly, no, not really, though is it a stretch much to say that this is more enjoyable than "Control System"? No, not really.
    But what I know is, that I'm going to try decipher this puzzle, "These Days ..." as I have been a week since the release of it.
    Even if you dis-like or love Ab-Soul's new release, this might be the most interesting Hip Hop album to dig deeply into this year.
    "These Days..." is un-expected, a satire of todays mainstream scene in Hip Hop we can discuss about.

    *edited, in less 5000 characters*    … Full Review »
  2. Macrofficial
    May 10, 2020
    10
    I am very happy with this album! 'Gods Reign' is a song that would probably sound sick in the car. 'Tree Of Life' might be my least favouriteI am very happy with this album! 'Gods Reign' is a song that would probably sound sick in the car. 'Tree Of Life' might be my least favourite song on the album, it isn't bad, but it's the only song on the album that didn't really interest me. 'Hunnid Stax' has great bars and a good beat, both peoples verses were good but I personally prefer Ab-Soul's. 'Dub Sac' sounded great. 'World Runners' was nice, but I didn't really care for the Lupe Fiasco feature. 'Nevermind That' has one of my favourite bars one the whole album: "no cat in this, I volunteered for these hunger games". especially because i read that book series quite recently. 'Twact' is a BOP. 'Just Have Fun' is great. 'Kendrick Lamar's Interlude' is great, Kendrick carries the track with probably my favourite verse on the album. 'Closure' is more of a personal song from Ab-Soul, it's a very good song. 'Sapiosexual' … Full Review »
  3. Connorcox1997
    Mar 19, 2019
    8
    These Days... by Ab-Soul is a great album, although I must admit it's not as good as his last project Control System. There are songs that IThese Days... by Ab-Soul is a great album, although I must admit it's not as good as his last project Control System. There are songs that I like on this album, like "God's Reign ft SZA" which was a promoting start to the album and the last track of the album "W.R.O.H" ft JMSN" closes strong on the album. The production was dope on the album, and ab-soul continues to improve his flow and his bars. Even though These Days... by Ab-Soul may not be my favorite Top Dawg Entertainment project, it's still a great album though. 8/10… Full Review »
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