Day 20

Do Better by Ab-Soul

One of my favorite parts of music is the fact that you can follow an artist’s discography and see exactly where they’re at in life. Each album serves as a blueprint for their current state. If you put enough of them together, you can notice a few common themes between the bunch.

Take Tyler the Creator, Schoolboy Q, Mac Miller, and Ab-Soul for example. If you look at their work in chronological order, they all follow the same common themes: start out as chaotic (in Tyler’s case shock culture. Dude was rappin about some wild shit),rapping about the lavish lifestyle that comes with fame at a young age. Drugs, sex, you name it. But as time goes by, you notice they all gradually start to move to music on reflection/peace. Their voices, sounds, lyrics, themes all change. Some even start to sing. They grow out of their old shells and move to their wiser, older selves.

It’s fascinating to see the yin and yang of music and how it coincides with the way of life. Those who want chaos eventually want peace.

I’m happy to see that Ab-Soul is now thankfully in a peaceful state. For a long time, it certainly wasn’t that way.

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One of my best friends is getting married in a few weeks. He got a place back up in the burbs so I decided to go visit him. We watched a severance for 6 hours straight… one of my favorite nights I’ve had in a long time. I headed up around 1am.

I had this song on repeat the whole way home.

I’m not perfect by any means. The repetitive nature of the chorus does a great job of reminding me that. It’s something I say to myself often.

We all have our flaws, vices, habits. Some easier to share than others.

Right now I’m great – I’m “back” if you will, in this very moment. But these last few months, year, even years in a lot of ways, have been very hard.

I haven’t dealt with those hardships in the greatest of ways. I’ve let a few things linger. I’ve realized some of the greatest qualities about me sometimes bring out my worst habits. I’ve let my bad habits write checks that I’ve had to cash out on my behalf way too many times.

But, like all things, life goes on, and this too shall pass.

At this point in my life I feel the connection between the albums mentioned above. I’m fortunate enough to say I’m at a point where I can put the chaos aside and seek peace. I think the more battle scars I wear the more clear the picture becomes. It’s all about just putting thought into action.

Anyways, it’s comforting to know even my most streamed artists have their battles. Mr. Soul is one of the best to do it when it comes to wordplay.

Just another reminder that we’re never alone. You’re never alone.