Control System

Control System is the second album by rapper Ab-Soul. The album is full of guest appearances of other famous rappers (like Kendrick Lamar, Ashtrobot, Danny Brown and Jay Rock). This results in a solid hip hop album.

I might - and I stress that there is only a very slim chance of this - come back to this and give it another go. On the first listen, I found it unpleasant. So I'm going to be generous with the marking on the basis that it just might not have hit with me at the time I listened to it.

Still sounds like the future of hip-hop, even 14 years after it came out. Up there with RTJ, Kendrick and Childish Gambino in the modern rap pantheon. Bordering on concious at points, but still with many of the tropes and all the swagger of 90s gangster rap. Carries on the tradition of respectful nods to heroes being paired with warning them that you're coming for their throne. A work of genius, and yet another artist to fully explore after the (extra) list

3/5

I don't need any more of these I think

Like a Kanye west album without the fascism (good) Like a Kanye West album without the talent (bad) I’m always surprised when mediocre talents get so many collaborators on their albums. On the one hand I guess it makes the album better, but on the other it really drives home how bad you are. Like this guy on a track with fuckin Kendrick??! Get real

Juvenile rap. Terrible rhymes (many times "rhyming" the same word twice...like how hard is it to find a word that rhymes with 'did'....). Slang and slander thrown around like a middle school cafeteria full of kids trying to be tough... This just.... Isn't it..... Read a dictionary. Favourite songs: Illuminate, Double Standards, Soulo Ho3 Least favourite songs: Lust Demons, and most of the rest of this album... 1/5

Not for me. Unfortunately with all these new albums (3025/2026) I can’t help but question if they are AI.

Sparse and percussive beats, sounded pretty good

Some great rap! Didn't even mind the length.

Hip hop, jazz rap. Ni fu ni fa.

compete trash

Rating: 7/10 Best songs: Sopa, Illuminate, Black lip bastard

I was a fully grown adult in 2012, and to think that we were still making music with SO many slurs in 2012 is disappointing. I guess I'm still used to hearing the word bitch used negatively, but the f slur? In 2012? Outside of that, Control System was not good. The lyrics aren't clever or captivating. I don't know what kind of message Ab-Soul is trying to put out. The album redeemed itself just a little with the song "The Book of Soul" but that was short-lived when the album looped around again. Giving this a 2 would be generous.

Oof. Was 2012 a drought year for music? I find it surprising that this album was so highly regarded by critics at the time. As far as hip-hop albums go, this is just...not good. A lot of the rapping is mediocre and the production is often not much better. The MANY features and samples on this album weren't even enough to save it. I struggled to find even a single song that was enjoyable.

Pretty bad.

This is just some mediocre rap music to me

Shame that some decently interesting beats have to be clouded over by such awful bars. May be some of the worst rap on the project given how the flows feel stunted, amateurish, and immature all at once. Even some high-powered features can't save Ab-Soul from his own wordplay, would like to know how Danny Brown found himself involved in this mess.

Not my vibe

meh