Stream Bas’ – Too High To Riot

Rapper Bas releases his second studio album — Too High to Riot — via Dreamville / Interscope Records.

Recorded in London, Los Angeles, and New York, Too High To Riot features guests J. Cole, Cozz and The Hics and production by Ron Gilmore, Cedric Brown, Ogee Handz + DikC, Soundwavve, Cam O’bi, Subdaio, and The Hics. First single “Housewives” and “Night Job” (featuring J. Cole) also appear on Dreamville’s compilation album, Revenge of the Dreamers 2, released in December 2015. Both tracks have each racked up over four million Spotify plays.

Too High to Riot finds Bas sharing personal stories from his life on tracks like “Live For” (about losing an aunt to cancer) and “Methylone.” “The purpose of this album was for me to try to peel back layers and be more honest in my songwriting, and be more confident about the things that are in my head, and express those to people who felt that same way and can relate,“ he told VIBE at a listening session for the album in February.

VIBE said of the album: “Bas’ music has always been a mix of fire-bars, ’80s baby jewels, and just a touch of that ignorant shit. Despite Bas’ rugged dress code, he doesn’t come off as thugged-out as a Chief Keef or Migos — or a squeaky clean college boy either. Nevertheless, you get the feeling that Bas has definitely seen his fair share of the trife life. On Too High To Riot, he aims to bare himself and share some of the knowledge that he’s gained since Dreamville Records made it to the big leagues.”

The son of Sudanese parents, Bas (born Abbas Hamad) was raised in Paris until the age of eight, when his family moved to Jamaica, Queens. He began rapping on a lark in 2010 and eventually linked up with J. Cole, who served as a mentor and brought him out on tour. Bas raised his profile with the mixtapes Quarter Water Raised Me and Quarter Water Raised Me II and eventually signed to Cole’s Interscope imprint Dreamville. In 2014, Bas released his debut album Last Winter, which featured appearances from Cole, Mack Wilds, and K-Quick. The album also showed Bas’ versatility as a storyteller over the course of such tracks as “My Nigga Just Made Bail,” “New World Order (N.W.O.),” and the comedic “Mook in New Mexico.”

Don’t miss Bas performing at the Mass Appeal showcase at this year’s SXSW on March 17th.

The track-listing for Too High to Riot is as follows:

Too High to Riot
Methylone
Dopamine (feat. Cozz)
Housewives
Miles and Miles
Live For
Clouds Never Get Old
Matches (feat. The Hics)
Night Job (feat. J. Cole)
Ricochet (feat. The Hics)
Penthouse
Black Owned Business