These Days... is the third studio album by American rapper Ab-Soul. It was released on June 24, 2014, by Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE). The record serves as the follow-up to his critically acclaimed Control System (2012). The album features guest appearances from Black Hippy affiliates Kendrick Lamar, ScHoolboy Q and Jay Rock; as well as Rick Ross, Lupe Fiasco, Action Bronson and Mac Miller (as Delusional Thomas), whose in-house studio is where Ab-Soul recorded the majority of the record, among others. The album's production was handled by Digi+Phonics' Dave Free, Sounwave and Tae Beast, among others such as Rahki, Curtiss King, DJ Dahi, Like of Pac Div, Terrace Martin, Corin Roddick, Mac Miller as Larry Fisherman and J. Cole. Background On May 5, 2014, after clearing up these rumors that his new album was initially titled Black Lip Pastor, Ab-Soul later revealed that the true title for his new album will be called These Days…. In May 2014, in an interview with Jay Z's Life+Times, Ab-Soul spoke on several topics. When asked about what should listeners take away from These Days…, Ab-Soul answered: "Balance. Variation. A spice of life. I want to try and touch as many bases as possible. I want something on there for everybody. There will be a lot of references to the vibe of today, the sound of today and the subject matter of today." When asked about what had been his favorite part of creating These Days…, Ab-Soul answered: "It would probably be this part – being able to present it and talk about it. This is what I’ve really been waiting on. The recording process was very fun, of course. I recorded the majority of it at Mac Miller's house, so you know that was just crazy. It was great recording, but I just couldn't wait for this part." When speaking on the album's title with HipHopDX, Ab-Soul stated: "It's kind of like self-explanatory. I just wanted it to be a little time capsule of the last couple of years since my absence. The vibe of music and life right now like the last couple of years." Recording and production On June 1, 2014, Ab-Soul described the album would be a "Top Dawg party" and will feature the production from Sounwave, Tae Beast, Skyhe Hutch and Tommy Black, among others. He called the recording process for These Days… "fun" and says he recorded most