After Ab-Soul’s “Christopher DRONEr” record was brought up during the TDE rapper’s recent interview with Home Grown Radio, the West Coast artist was later asked to share his thoughts on the death of Mike Brown and the resulting unrest in Ferguson, Missouri.
Soulo revealed that since he no longer watches the news he’s unfamiliar with Brown and what took place in Ferguson. He referred to the news as “cancerous” and said that he was only familiar with what happened to Christopher Dorner because of Facebook.
“Mike Brown? Who is he? I don’t watch the news no more, man,” Ab-Soul said. “That shit is cancerous, man…I stopped watching the news a long time ago. The Christopher Dorner thing I seen that online. You know what I’m saying? And that was like a big Facebook issue. My mom, everybody was really responding. I haven’t heard anything [about Mike Brown]. Fill me in.”
While speaking on racism, Soul expressed frustration with those who speak on issues rather than “going to the places taking action.”
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“Racism is a race,” he said. “That’s it. It’s just a race. You feel what I’m saying? Simple as that. I stopped racing, I don’t drive. Keep racing if you want to…It feels great to be an American. This is what happens here. And to be honest with you, it’s happening everywhere. More than these people should be talking about it and making news columns about it we should be acting. I don’t want to hear the rest of the Ferguson story. I know it’s racism. Let’s end it there…Everybody is sitting here casting an opinion on issues that we could be really going to the places taking action. Really going up to these police stations taking action. I mean, come on…I can sit here and talk about all of the janky things the police done done to people and my friends and family. Or I can learn my laws and rights. Or I can get me a passport and get the fuck outta here. Simple as that.”
The TDE wordsmith later recalled working with fellow artist Lupe Fiasco after meeting the rapper at a show in Chicago. Lupe appears alongside Ab-Soul on “World Runners,” a record featured on Soul’s These Days… album.
“Working with Lupe. Rapping with Lupe really in the same place…I met him in Chicago at a show,” the Carson, California rapper said. “And I had reached out to him in regards to advice on signing deals or whatnot and we kinda built from there. And he was a fan of mine, so we linked up.”
During an interview with XXL magazine earlier this year, Soul referred to Lupe as his “mentor” and called himself “an avid Lupe follower.”
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“[Lupe Fiasco] actually now a mentor of mine, now that I know him personally,” Ab-Soul said in June. “Of course, I am an avid Lupe follower. I hold it dear to the concepts that he presents and the ideas that he was into. It’s all to provoke thought. I like when people oppose. I like people to talk about it. I don’t want everybody to just say ‘Yes.’ If you don’t like this, if you don’t agree with this, say it. Speak on it. I think he tries to create that domain.”
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