He borrowed Drake’s “ 6 Man” flow on “ RAW (backwoods)“ and the “ Beat the Case“ hook is repetition of an overused cadence in 2016 Hip-Hop. Despite his gift of pen and spiritual knowledge, Soul tends to jack typical rapper flows. He’s one of few rappers who can go bar for bar with Kendrick Lamar for an entire song (see the unreleased TDE song “ Rapper Shit” featuring Kendrick and Ab-Soul). DWTW’s actual outro “ YMF“ belongs in the thick of the album, perhaps near the more upbeat songs “ Womanogamy“ and “ WiFey vs WiFi / / / P.M.S (feat BR3)“.Īb-Soul’s lyrical content and rhyme scheme are next level. Punch) / / / The Law (Prelude) (feat.SZA)“ would serve as an amazing album outro. So – on a preliminary level – there seemed to have been some extended thought into the sequence and structure of Do What Thou Wilt., but if I were in Ab-Soul’s team I would have went further by cutting tracks that skirt momentum and rearranging songs in favor of intrigue and playability. And producer Bentley Haze had a hand in two beats on DWTW, and like producers Skhye Hutch and FrancisGotHeat who also produced two beats, Haze’s songs play back to back on DWTW as tracks #15 and #16. FrancisGotHeat produced two songs which are sequenced as track #12 “ D.R.U.G.S“ and track #13 “ Evil Genius“. PakkMusicGroup produced three songs on DWTW and 2 of his 3 tracks play consecutively as track #9 “ Portishead in the Morning” / / / “HER World“ and track #10 “ God’s a Girl?“. For example, Skhye Hutch produced two songs on DWTW: “ WiFey vs WiFi / / / P.M.S (feat BR3)“ and “ Beat The Case (feat ScHoolboy Q) /// Straight Crooked“, both of which play consecutively as tracks #7 and #8. The album appears to be organized and sequenced according to producer and sound.įor example, Ab used the same producers for more than one beat on this album and he sequenced his album in a way where their contributions play in back to back sequence on the album. But Ab-Soul and his team seem to have paid particular attention to track sequencing on Do What Thou Wilt. “ Huey Knew THEN“ can work within the context of the album, but towards the middle, or even as track #2 on a DWTW with a “ Threatening Nature“ opener.ĭetailed and picky, I know. I would prefer the album to begin with “ Threatening Nature“ or with “ RAW (backwoods)“ followed by “ Threatening Nature“. The features clog the album early and it’s not until Ab takes complete control on track #4 “ Threatening Nature“ that the album begins to assert to direction. starts to feel more like a mixtape and less like a TDE studio album. By the time listeners get to Da$h’s verse on track #3 “ Huey Knew THEN“, Do What Thou Wilt. Despite Ab and Bas’s chemistry, “ Braille” feels anti-climactic because it doesn’t fit snugly next to the album’s grand “ RAW (backwoods)“ intro opener. It has grand production and chords and leads into track #2, “ Braille (feat Bas)“. On shuffle, the track isn’t nearly as intriguing as when you listen to it in sequence with the entire album. This is just shallow waters in the pool of lyrical depth Ab-Soul packs into Do What Thou Wilt.Ĭriticisms – Album structure/sequencing needs workĭWTW suffers from some structural issues – the intro featuring uber-talented musician Zacari seems to serve as an interlude to the album but doesn’t feel to have much purpose. The album starts with a double entendre “ raw backwoods on all you rappers” as Ab-Soul proclaims that he’ll “smoke” any competition. (DWTW) is a lyrical menagerie of alchemy, wit, and wordplay by Ab-Soul of the TDE camp.
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