Ab-Soul pledges to "Do Better" on latest single

It’s been six years since Ab-Soul released his fourth studio LP Do What Thou Wilt., a 16-song body of work with additional features from Bas, Kokane, ScHoolboy Q, Teedra Moses, Rapsody, SZA, and more. Since then, the Top Dawg talent has remained largely off the radar, making the occasional appearance on notable cuts like REASON’s “Trapped In,” Jhené Aiko’s “One Way St.,” Russ’ “Who Wants What,” and the Black Panther: The Album standout “Bloody Waters” alongside Anderson .Paak and James Blake.

Back in April, Ab-Soul marked his official return with a new single titled “Hollandaise,” which was followed by the September drop “Moonshooter.” Today (Oct. 21), he adds to that with “Do Better,” a Zacari-backed offering that borrows from Nick Hakim’s “Green Twins.” The track sees the Carson emcee working to free himself from mental obstacles spawned from past pain and loss. At one point, he references Mac Miller and a line from one of the late rapper’s most notable projects:

“Mix the motions, prohibit my focus, this what you wanted, what’s wrong with you? You don’t make sense, feel like I can flip at any moment, Faces playin’ and it’s f**kin’ with me, ‘Doin’ drugs, was just a war with boredom, but it’s sure to get me’…”

Courtesy of Omar Jones comes a black-and-white visual for “Do Better” that matches the song’s powerful subject matter with shots of Ab-Soul praying in a church, sitting alone in a bathtub, and falling from the roof of a building before his support system lifts him back into the sky. At the end, he leaves a reflective message of triumph over grief:

“I’m just grateful that I’m here, man. I’m grateful that I’m alive to share my testimony. I want to make this clear, I’m laughing ’cause I’ve cried enough…so I’m choosing to laugh now…So, that’s how I’m choosing. I’m doing the work.”

Press play on “Do Better” below.