Ab-Soul has had a fraught relationship with death, but music has remained his outlet for making sense of it. His gut-wrenching 2012 song “The Book of Soul” detailed his difficulty processing the suicide of former partner and collaborator Alori Joh; his close friend Mac Miller died in 2018, and in 2021, his long-time friend Armon “DoeBurger” Stringer was killed during a home invasion. But this time, instead of mourning or stewing in survivor’s guilt, he chooses to celebrate his homie’s life by merging their spirits through music. “Now we just a fusion like Trunks and Gohan/Huey and Riley combined, knowledge and 9's,” he raps, citing beloved animated duos. Clips of Stringer’s voice are played in between songs on Soul Burger, essentially making him a narrator of the album. A posthumous DoeBurger shows his approval of songs he likes, shares brief stories and even roasts Soul’s deteriorating vision at some point. His presence on Soul Burger is proof that their friendship extends across planes. While his 2022 album Herbert was steeped in reflection and pensiveness, Soul Burger finds him deliberately seeking joy—a decision inspired by Stringer, who often encouraged him to make more upbeat music. Heeding his advice makes for arguably his most lively album to date. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the production is bright and triumphant; the atmospheric tone of Top Dawg Entertainment (Soul’s long-time label home) is still in play. But Soul is boastful and confident: He uses “B.U.C.K.O. Jr” to lob a set of braggadocious verses, gets into lothario mode with Ty Dolla $ign on “Go Pro” and goes bar for bar with J.I.D over West African drums and a warped synth on “Crazier”. But perhaps the strongest message of Soul Burger is about music’s power to heal. Ab-Soul uses several songs to pay homage to some of his hip-hop favourites: “9 Mile” finds Soul rapping over a sample of Mobb Deep’s “Shook Ones” while emulating Eminem’s iconic cinematic battle, “Squeeze 1st 2” borrows from a deep cut from JAY-Z’s catalogue, “The Sky Is Limitless” borrows from Notorious B.I.G.’s triumphant Life After Death single, and album closer “Righteous Man” finds Python P and Terrace Martin reworking the stirring horns from long-time homie Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly bookend “Mortal Man”. On “Peace”, Ab-Soul and Lupe Fiasco rap two powerful verses as themselves, and then a verse is delivered by Soul, apparently rapping as DoeBurger from the grave. The verse is equally heartbreaking and inspiring: He expresses gratitude that Soul’s suicide attempt was unsuccessful, admits to showing off his belongings too much before the home invasion and encourages Soul to make the most of his life instead of mourning his fallen friend. “I know you sad and all that, trust me, I get it/But stand tall, you can’t fall ’cause they caught me slipping.” Soul hears his message loud and clear.