Faithful With Your Level

“For every human being… God has already assigned them a certain level of cognitive ability, a certain level of acumen, a certain level of work ethic. Then He will give them resources and assignments according to their ability. This is the love of God because He’s not going to give you something you can’t handle.”

– Phillip Mitchell

But that doesn’t mean we won’t choose something we can’t handle. I was blessed at an early age to be placed in positions where I was humbled by The Most High God when I felt I should’ve been further in my career than I was. It wasn’t that I didn’t have the work ethic. It wasn’t that I wasn’t studying music, film, performances, and entertainment. It wasn’t that I wasn’t leading rehearsals with my band and creating different shows… so that if you came to see “Ab and The Souljourners” perform, you weren’t seeing the same show you saw before. It was simply that God’s plan for me at that time wasn’t my plan for me. And even though it wasn’t my plan, God was still working His. With time, He showed me that I wasn’t as far along as I thought as a frontman and entertainer, but I was ahead in what He was fashioning me to be beyond my own belief.

I’ll never forget when I was hired as the music director for Slum Village. I was hired in early March by one of their founding members who goes by the name “T3,” and he informed me that we had a European tour coming up in July for the duration of five weeks. My first thought was, We have ample time to prepare. I had no clue I wouldn’t see T3 again until Slum Village came to perform in Washington, D.C., in late May.

I remember that performance like it was yesterday. It would be my first time performing with them, but T3 told me I would just be singing the main vocal parts for their two hit records. I remember their manager telling me they had an hour set and that I’d be going on stage toward the end to join them, but to stay to the side of the stage the whole show.

When the show began and I saw T3 hit the stage… and how from his first words he commanded the crowd and transformed into something completely different from the laid-back jokester… I felt like God was showing me, You’re not on this level yet, my son. This frontman had honed his skill to an infectious level that I had yet to attain. I was simultaneously humbled and blown away.

Fast forward to day one of the Euro tour… and we hadn’t had one rehearsal! I flew to Europe solo and was told to be in the lobby at 5 p.m. for soundcheck. I got to soundcheck at London Jazz Cafe, where I saw T3 and the crew for the first time since the D.C. performance in May. My keyboard was on stage, my mic was ready, and T3 said, “Ab, I need you to get with DJ Dez, who’s also the drummer, and create what we’re going to do live tonight.” We had about 45 minutes to get it right.

This is where God showed me that all those rehearsals, changing sets, and leading my band had been His will for me. It came with such ease in the moment, and I wasn’t nervous. Then T3 said he needed me to sing a cover of a dope soul record so I could highlight myself in the show. I was blown away by how God hadn’t forgotten about me and my frontman aspirations, blessing me through the same frontman who had once humbled me. The tour was incredible! It led to years of trust, to the point where T3 eventually allowed me to bring my own band to back Slum Village at big festivals.

Bigger than that, God moved me into being the music director for another major artist named “Black Milk,” who helped me spread my wings even further as a frontman. I spent over a decade traveling the world with my band, performing, and eventually became an opening act for him… gaining years of experience to hone my own skill.

Then… in God’s perfect timing, I branched out into my own solo career, and my first album under my name received a Pitchfork review and won Album of the Year in Japan. All of this took place without a record deal (when all the labels denied me and said I wasn’t good enough) because God was the label. I learned a valuable lesson in being faithful with what I was given. Because when you’re faithful with what you’re given, God will elevate you to where you need to be at the perfect time.

We’ll discuss more about elevated timing tomorrow.