Ab-Soul has likened himself to one of Hip Hop’s greatest MCs while freestyling over a beat from another all-time great.
Ahead of the release of his new album Soul Burger (out November 8), the TDE rapper stepped into the booth for his first appearance on On the Radar Radio‘s popular freestyle series.
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Spitting slick bars over JAY-Z‘s bouncy “Squeeze 1st” instrumental, Soulo boldly compared himself to Eminem, rapping: “Get ready for the coup de grâce, who am I? / Marshall Mathers with melanin / Kept it G even when I’m embellishing.”
The Black Lip Pastor also made references to J. Cole, Kirk Franklin, Banksy and TDE labelmate Doechii before putting his spin on a few bars from the original Hov track: “Thou shalt not fuck with raw me / Or he face a thousand deaths / From Mr. Herbert Anthony / Stevens, IV full of potent dope / Not a Cuban cigar maker but I need all of the smoke.”
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“Squeeze 1st” was a fitting beat choice from Ab-Soul given Soul Burger features a song called “Squeeze 1st 2,” which nods to the Dynasty: Roc La Familia cut but has a very different beat.
Watch the freestyle below.
Ab-Soul has been open about his love of JAY-Z in the past, recently calling the Roc Nation boss his favorite rapper in an interview with Home Grown Radio.
“JAY-Z is my favorite, hands down,” he said. “He was able to do everything that these guys [like Canibus and Ras Kass] do but get all of the stuff. He can out-rap everybody. He can cut the beat off and out-rap you, too. But he can also make a record for radio.”
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This freestyle looks like it will cause less of a stir than the one Ab-Soul delivered on Funkmaster Flex’s Hot 97 radio show last month.
“Actions speak loud but so does moments of silence,” he spit, seemingly responding to a recent comment from Drake‘s close friend OVO Chubbs who said on Instagram: “Actions Speak Louder Than Words. Y’all Boys Talk To [sic] Much.”
Soulo previously weighed in on his close collaborator Kendrick Lamar‘s feud with Drizzy, writing on X (formerly Twitter): “This was not a rap battle. It was scripture.”
He then backed Drake to bounce back from the defeat, saying: “If Drake is the MC I imagine he can be. Redemption is not off the table. Key word ‘MC.’”
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However, the Black Hippy later clarified whose side he’s on: “But b4 my rant gets out of context. He could never Fucc wit da Gang’Nem on sum rap shyt. That was Never a question. We could still ‘potentially’ match ‘artistry’. (Removing my obvious personal/educated bias).”
