The crowd rumbled with anticipation as fans packed into the Bronze Peacock room of the House of Blues. The noise came to a halt as a voice rang out through the darkness.
“Hey Herb, it’s grandma. I found a scripture and I thought about you.”
The words, taken from a voicemail of Herbert Anthony Stevens IV, are the first thing heard on his latest album. As the voice drifted into the darkness, Herbert, better known as Ab-Soul emerged on the stage bathed in purple light for the opening number of his Intelligent Movement Tour. Dressed simply in a black hoodie and black pants with black locs, the MC was met by a rush of cheers and applause. Ab-Soul was back in Houston.
The Intelligent Movement Tour hit Houston Friday night, the twelfth stop of Ab-Soul’s 17-city summer showcase. The West Coast rapper whose skills have been lauded by everyone from Jay-Z to Lebron James to Danny Brown finally returned to the stage since his YMF Tour with Little Simz back in 2017. That tour was in support of Ab-Soul’s fourth studio album Do What Thou Wilt, a lyrically dense album which peaked at No.9 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop albums charts on the strength of singles like “Huey Knew,” “Braille” and “D.R.U.G.S.”
In 2022 Soul returned with a new album, HERBRET and an album rollout which included a series of interviews explaining his absence from the music scene. The 18-track release included “Do Better” a single and video which alluded to the rapper’s suicide attempt. Ab-Soul began doing a series of interviews revealing more about the attempt, letting the world know it was drugs that fueled the moment, speaking about his problems with nicotine vaping, his battles with anxiety and depression, and helping to bring more awareness to suicide prevention. The single “Do Better” with the chorus “Life is as long as it short” is the epitome of Ab-Soul’s style, mixing deep lyrics over hard hitting beats. The Intelligent Movement Tour encompasses that style with the Carson, California rapper running through his catalog like a professor in front of his class.
The Intelligent Movement Tour is a collection of songs from AB-Soul’s five album discography with strong focus on HERBRET but there are still throwbacks to classic tracks for longtime fans. Tracks like “Pineal Gland” and “Terrorist Threats” fit in well alongside “Message in a Bottle” and “Hollandaise.” The sold-out crowd rapped alongside the MC, word-for-word, for almost the entire show. Ab-Soul’s connection with the audience showed his true skill as a performer and gave fans a very intimate showcase of his catalog.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2023.
