Do What Thou Wilt. | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by Ab-Soul | ||||
Released | December 9, 2016 | |||
Recorded | 2015–16 | |||
Genre | Hip hop | |||
Length | 76:57 | |||
Label | Top Dawg | |||
Producer |
|
|||
Ab-Soul chronology | ||||
|
||||
Singles from Do What Thou Wilt. | ||||
|
Professional ratings | |
---|---|
Aggregate scores | |
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 64/100 |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Exclaim! | 6/10 |
HipHopDX | 4.2/5 |
PopMatters | 6/10 |
Pitchfork | 4.4/10 |
RapReviews.com | 6.5/10 |
Vice | A– |
XXL | 4/5 (XL) |
Do What Thou Wilt. is the fourth studio album by American rapper Ab-Soul. It was released on December 9, 2016, by Top Dawg Entertainment. The record serves as the follow-up to his previous studio effort, These Days... (2014). The album was supported by two singles: "Huey Knew" featuring Dash, and "Braille" featuring Bas.
In 2007, Ab-Soul signed a deal with Top Dawg Entertainment. In 2014, after the release of his third album, These Days... through the TDE label, Ab-Soul embarked on a national concert tour. Upon returning from the tour, Ab-Soul began recording new material as early as February 2015. On July 14, 2015, Ab-Soul give more updates on the album that day: "My album's almost done..." he wrote on Twitter, adding, "It's a love story". He completed the post with the hashtag "DWTW", presumably the acronym to his album title, to which he kept alluding. On June 8, 2016, Ab-Soul revealed that he had finished the new album and then turned it in for audio mixing.
In December 2016, in an interview with HotNewHipHop, Ab-Soul spoke on the album's cover artwork, revealing why he's not featured with his trademark sunglasses: "With the light sensitivity, I knew it would be difficult, but I was up to the challenge. I knew that it was something that the people wanted to see from me. I like to bare it all. I'm very honest. I think this album kinda called for that type of sincerity." He said the photographer wanted to "capture his angst" but "I'm a happy guy," he said, smiling. "But the tone of the album, you can get that from it. I think that that cover is a proper depiction of... the tone of the album. It's the grey area."