“Gimmie My Props!,” Ab-Soul shouted into the mic repeatedly throughout his intimate sold-out DC show at Union Stage recently. The Underground Emperor has been on a tear the last few years and half jokingly stating that he’s trying to be a “real rapper” and he wants to go mainstream, with “Gimmie My Props!” as his call to action. The World Famous Soul Burger Tour, or “The Soul Burger Experience” as he and his DJ Python P called it while on stage, is in support of his album Soul Burger that dropped last November. The album is a tribute to his late best friend Doe Burger, who was tragically murdered in a December 2021 home invasion.
Soul, who is known for his complex rhymes full of entendres, similes, and metaphors, challenged himself this go round, setting out to make more upbeat, less complex music for the first time in his career in a celebration of his friend’s life and a merger of their energies. The album has several voice note interludes from Burger as if he’s listening to the album in real time.
After a short set from Kembe X on July 11, Soulo, who is known to have infamously bad eyesight since suffering from Stevens-Johnson Syndrome as child, was lead out on stage by someone on his team as he rapped the albums intro “9 Mile.” He flowed through the songs a cappella first verse flawlessly as he slowly approached the front of the stage. The beat kicked in and the crowd all began to bob their heads in unison. The songs third verse is completely dedicated to Doe Burger with bars like “ Shit ain’t been the same since without Armon (Doe’s birth name), shit that we was on you’d a thought we was out our mind” and “Cuh ain’t never really left my side, now we just a fusion like Trunks and Gohan…Huey and Riley combined, knowledge and 9’s.” He welcomed us all to the Soul Burger Experience before getting into the albums next track “Paiday.”
Listen to Ab-Soul’s latest project, Soul Burger, on Spotify:
The Black Lipped Pastor lost his shirt as he took things back to what is probably his most popular project, 2012’s Control System performing “Bohemian Grove,” “Track Two,” “Illuminate,” and the first song I’d ever heard from him “Terrorist Threats” as the whole crowd rapped each song right back to him. Ab jumped right back to Soul Burger, performing a large chunk of the album with records like “All That,” “DND,” “California Dream” all coming back to back. He joked with the crowd for someone to get him a double shot as he got into “Don Julio 70” and by the time he’d finished the next song, it was being passed on stage. He thanked the couple who had bought him the drink and talked to the crowd a little while he sipped the cup and RIP’s to Doe Burger and Mac Miller went around the room.
Check out the official music video for “California Dream” by Ab-Soul ft. Vince Staples & Kamm Carson on YouTube:
Soulo continued the show with songs like “Hollandaise,” “Go Off,” and “Goodman” from his 2023 album “Herbert.” “FOMF” got the too-cool rap crowd bouncing and moving just before things began to wind down. He performed “The Sky is Limitless,” Soul’s twist on the Notorious BIG’s motivational classic, which brought him to tears as he sat down on the stage. The song ends with a voicemail from Doe Burger to Ab just before one of his birthdays, where Doe quotes the Bible to him, “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.” Ab-Soul finished the show off with “Peace” and “Righteous Man” before thanking DC and heading off stage. DJ Python P had everyone hold up their phone lights and led the crowd in chanting “Soulo! Soulo!,” for a few minutes before Ab returned to put an exclamation point on the night with “Gotta Rap.”
There are only two more dates on the World Famous Soul Burger tour, both of which are next week in Texas.
Be sure to grab your tickets while you can.
Below are some more photos from Ab-Soul’s intimate performance at Union Stage on July 11, 2025. All photos copyright and courtesy of AJ Waugh (wauffleznotwaffles.com).
