Streams Of Thought, Vol. 3: Cane And Abel

In the third installment of Black Thought's Streams of Thought series, the Roots' frontman links with producer Sean C for a fiery display of the sharp lyricism that consistently keeps the rapper in conversations about the greats. He's joined by a star-studded cast that includes Killer Mike and Pusha T (the charged “Good Morning”) and ScHoolboy Q (the sinister “Steak Um”) and pleasantly surprising cameos from indie rockers Portugal. The Man alongside Portland rapper and singer The Last Artful, Dodgr. Streams of Thought, Vol. 3 strikes a balance between disparate sounds and modes with ease—whether in political screeds or in personal confessions, soul, hip-hop, and tinges of rock congeal for a collection that feels at once immediate and requiring repeated listening. Black Thought takes aim at systems and institutions as well as mentalities that keep those who look like him in a perpetual state of war and survival, and true to the reputation he's earned, no one gets out unscathed.