Ab-Soul, the most philosophical member of the by now vaunted Top Dawg Entertainment, met Microphone Check hosts Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Frannie Kelley in Los Angeles two weeks before the release of his latest album, called These Days … After only one listen to the album, the three of them had a conversation about Ab’s high expectations of his audience and what he’s trying to make for them.

“I’ve learned the bulk of what I know from hip-hop music. You understand what I’m saying? Like I learned — from listening to hip-hop music, I learned about things that I would soon learn about as an adult, from listening to it as a child,” he says. “That’s what I got from hip-hop, and so I just want to give that right back.”