Ab Soul
In October 2012, American singer-songwriter and record producer JMSN, who previously produced "Nibiru" for Stevens earlier in August, for what his label called "TDE Fan Appreciation Week", announced he and Stevens would be releasing a collaborative project together. The lead single for their collaborative album, which was set to be titled Unit 6, was officially released via iTunes on January 22, 2013. The single, titled "You're Gone", features vocals from both artists, as well as production from JMSN. On March 26, 2013, it was announced that Ab-Soul would be featured on XXL's 2013 Freshman Class issue, alongside Schoolboy Q and other up-and-coming rappers.
On August 6, 2013, after a near four-month hiatus, Stevens released a new song produced by Willie B, titled "Christopher DRONEr", alluding to former LAPD police officer Christopher Dorner. Along with the song, he announced he was working on a new solo project. The following day he would speak to XXL and say that he and JMSN had finished the Unit 6 album, however their management could not "see eye to eye", so the project was ultimately shelved for a possible later release, with Stevens saying: "As of right now it's sounding like prequel to my album." He went on to confirm that JMSN and Jhene Aiko, will appear on the upcoming solo project. On October 17, 2013, Stevens stated that he was close to finalizing the project. Then later that week, he confirmed that the project had been turned in for mixing and cleared up rumors that it was titled Black Lip Pastor. With the release of the 56th Annual Grammy Awards nominations, it was revealed Stevens was nominated for Album of the Year for his participation on Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' debut album, The Heist.
On January 2, 2014, Stevens revealed he had turned in two projects to his label Top Dawg, before the year 2013, was over: "I turned in 2 projects last year, yea I know what your thinking, let's see where this year takes me..." he tweeted. On January 6, 2014, in an interview with Bootleg Kev, when speaking on the album Stevens stated: "Ali is mixing it right now," and that they were waiting on the perfect way to present the project, as a result of creative releases such as Nipsey Hussle's Crenshaw. He also revealed the album is about progression and confirmed there would be appearances from his TDE label-mates, as well as production from hip hop producer Statik Selektah. On April 11, 2014, Stevens announced he was also working on the third installment in the Longterm series.
On May 5, 2014, Stevens took to Twitter to announce his third album would be titled These Days…. On May 30, 2014, Top Dawg management took to Twitter to reveal These Days..., is scheduled for a June 24 release date. That same day, TDE management also unveiled the cover art for the album and released a snippet of a music video for Stevens' song "Stigmata". On June 21, 2014, Stevens released a music video for a song titled "Closure", taken from These Days.... The album debuted at number 11 on the US Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 21,812 copies in the United States and has received generally positive reviews from music critics.
In October 2014, in an interview with Montreality, Stevens revealed the title for his first in-store retail project would be Longterm 3. In February 2015, Ab-Soul premiered the song "47 Bars" online, produced by The Alchemist. In July 2015, Stevens tweeted that his next album was "almost done."In July 2015, Stevens gave an update on the album: "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 album title acronym to which he kept alluding.
On June 8, 2016, via Twitter, Stevens revealed he had completed his upcoming album and turned it in for mixing. The album, titled Do What Thou Wilt., was released December 9, 2016.
In October 2012, American singer-songwriter and record producer JMSN, who previously produced "Nibiru" for Stevens earlier in August, for what his label called "TDE Fan Appreciation Week", announced he and Stevens would be releasing a collaborative project together. The lead single for their collaborative album, which was set to be titled Unit 6, was officially released via iTunes on January 22, 2013. The single, titled "You're Gone", features vocals from both artists, as well as production from JMSN. On March 26, 2013, it was announced that Ab-Soul would be featured on XXL's 2013 Freshman Class issue, alongside Schoolboy Q and other up-and-coming rappers.
On August 6, 2013, after a near four-month hiatus, Stevens released a new song produced by Willie B, titled "Christopher DRONEr", alluding to former LAPD police officer Christopher Dorner. Along with the song, he announced he was working on a new solo project. The following day he would speak to XXL and say that he and JMSN had finished the Unit 6 album, however their management could not "see eye to eye", so the project was ultimately shelved for a possible later release, with Stevens saying: "As of right now it's sounding like prequel to my album." He went on to confirm that JMSN and Jhene Aiko, will appear on the upcoming solo project. On October 17, 2013, Stevens stated that he was close to finalizing the project. Then later that week, he confirmed that the project had been turned in for mixing and cleared up rumors that it was titled Black Lip Pastor. With the release of the 56th Annual Grammy Awards nominations, it was revealed Stevens was nominated for Album of the Year for his participation on Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' debut album, The Heist.
On January 2, 2014, Stevens revealed he had turned in two projects to his label Top Dawg, before the year 2013, was over: "I turned in 2 projects last year, yea I know what your thinking, let's see where this year takes me..." he tweeted. On January 6, 2014, in an interview with Bootleg Kev, when speaking on the album Stevens stated: "Ali is mixing it right now," and that they were waiting on the perfect way to present the project, as a result of creative releases such as Nipsey Hussle's Crenshaw. He also revealed the album is about progression and confirmed there would be appearances from his TDE label-mates, as well as production from hip hop producer Statik Selektah. On April 11, 2014, Stevens announced he was also working on the third installment in the Longterm series.
On May 5, 2014, Stevens took to Twitter to announce his third album would be titled These Days…. On May 30, 2014, Top Dawg management took to Twitter to reveal These Days..., is scheduled for a June 24 release date. That same day, TDE management also unveiled the cover art for the album and released a snippet of a music video for Stevens' song "Stigmata". On June 21, 2014, Stevens released a music video for a song titled "Closure", taken from These Days.... The album debuted at number 11 on the US Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 21,812 copies in the United States and has received generally positive reviews from music critics.
In October 2014, in an interview with Montreality, Stevens revealed the title for his first in-store retail project would be Longterm 3. In February 2015, Ab-Soul premiered the song "47 Bars" online, produced by The Alchemist. In July 2015, Stevens tweeted that his next album was "almost done."In July 2015, Stevens gave an update on the album: "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 album title acronym to which he kept alluding.
On June 8, 2016, via Twitter, Stevens revealed he had completed his upcoming album and turned it in for mixing. The album, titled Do What Thou Wilt., was released December 9, 2016.
