TDE rapper Ab-Soul offered praise to fellow lyricist Kendrick Lamar during a recent interview with Montreality when asked about K-Dot’s newest single, “i.”
While speaking on the record, Soul broke down the importance of the song’s lyrics. He explained that “i” is empowering because the song forces those who sing along to proclaim “I love myself.”
According to the Carson, California rapper, the song also sums up his last album, These Days…
“He summed up my whole album in that song, I think,” Ab-Soul said. “The whole These Days… project. I feel like he summed it up. He probably wasn’t even aware of it. So, that’s just confirmation that we’re all on the same page…Aside from that it’s probably like the most positive song that I’ve heard in a long time. Self-empowering. Cause you gotta think when you’re an artist and you’re performing and you’re saying these words. He’s saying ‘I love myself,’ right? So, if you know the words you’re gonna say ‘I love myself’ too. So, he’s like making you love yourself…That’s when you’re taking responsibility for what you’re saying. You got kids listening. It’s people that’s going through things that’s listening. You can use these words to lift ‘em up.”
Ab-Soul was later asked about the past battle between Jay Z and Nas. He says Jay Z won the battle between the two and even avoided being disrespectful when kicking off the battle.
“Jay Z, with full conviction,” he said. “I can quote you Nas’ responses too, word-for-word. But I just kinda feel like Jay owned that battle. He kicked it off…I feel like he didn’t even kick it off disrespectfully. He kinda kicked it off just in a sense of just kinda like taking that throne…Gotta tip my hat to him. He wanted to be the king of New York. Or king of rap or whatever. He had to take that leap.”
In addition to speaking on Jay Z, Nas, and Kendrick, Soulo also addressed Brooklyn, New York rapper Joey Bada$$. He recalled meeting Joey and his Pro Era crew while playing his album for Jonny Shipes. He explained that he didn’t realize the crew was a group of rappers upon first meeting them.
“I’m really tight with their management…I had met them very early,” Soul said. “And I was playing my album for Shipes. And they were in there on the floor and I’m thinking—This my first time seeing them and they didn’t say anything. They didn’t make any—They didn’t insinuate that they rapped at all…So, they’re in there listening to my new music or whatever. And then I come back around and these same kids are the Pro Era. You get what I’m saying? So, it’s like [a] real spiritual thing…We all are on that same wavelength. I feel like we’re all trying to push towards some sort of purpose. Something higher than where we come from.”
In regards to future projects from Ab-Soul, he says he’d like to release Longterm 3 as his first debut album.
“Longterm 3 has to be my first debut album in stores,” the rapper said. “That’s the thing about Longterm 3 as well. So, if I’m not—If we as a team don’t feel like I’m ready for that next then it’ll be something else. You feel what I’m saying? But Longterm 3 should be my first album in stores. My first debut album.”
RELATED: Ab-Soul Says He Quotes Jay Z Or Nas On Every Release
sorry bro. but there’s a reason the word Ether has taken on a whole new meaning in hip-hop…
” My first debut album.”
Damn he don’t even wanna claim that abortion called These Days.
I think These Days was just a digital album. And it wasn’t great but it really wasn’t that bad.. some dope tracks. Compared to the rest of the releases this year it is probably top 10
Nah he said that because These Days wasn’t a debut album. It wasn’t in stores or nothin. All of Soul’s projects have either been free mixtapes or indie digital downloads. He hasn’t had the major label debut release like K.Dot and Q yet.
^exactly. thats what i’ve seen saying. if it ain’t physical, it ain’t an official studio release.
yes it is though. it was record in a studio. its 2014 lots of shit doesnt get physical copies.
I wanted to tilt my hat to Nas, I even “claimed” myself that Nas won, but Jigga honestly owned that battle to me too bruh ham.
Stop with the revisionist history. “Ethered” is the universal term for murking someone in a battle, not “Takeovered”. Nas won the battle, if it makes Jay Stans feel better then keep telling yourself that Jay won the war because he’s more successful and has more money. None of this matters since both grown men have moved on and are friends now.
But you don’t get clicks or hits if you say the truth. It’s controversial to say dumbshit and people want that…. Does anyone want hear An Soul state the universal fact that Nash won or be contrarians and get AB Soul’s name out there for saying dumbshit.
Right, because you are a personal friend of Jay Z plus you’re a rational law abiding citizen and I should take your words very seriously.
takeover is better lyrically and has hard truths but ether is a all round better song and goes hard
nah…. I don’t agree. Nas killed everything with one song. It takes Jay-Z a few songs to just equal out to Nas’ “Ether” single.
But if it came to money and stamina in the game; then yea Jay got that.
So you’re sayin’ Nas won the battle, but Jay-Z won the war?!?!
Nas clearly won that battle because he went there he started to expose some flaws in jay street credit but with that said jay won the war when he signed nas to def jam under him that was jay shutting it down CEO style .real take over .what would you say if fifty would have signed ja or nNiki signed Kim
since ether jay has no street cred and just makes pop songs
Nobody cares about “street credit”, the battle was about who had the best diss songs with the best disses and best rhymes.
So what if JayZ signed Nas to Def Jam he was only there for a year before he moved on.
JayZ & Nas beefing with each other and then joining forces was a good thing for HipHop because it showed that friendly competition is a part of the culture but not something worth trying to ruin each others careers or kill each other.
STOP SMOKING DOPE AB SOUL IDK what kinda attenion you tryna get with that biased ass comment BUT IT HAS BEEN PROVEN YEAR AFTER YEAR THE NAS ONE STFU!!!(Juicy J voice)
won not one
Obviously. Hov is overall more successful and probably more talented, thats not for me to judge coz all I hear is stolen bars and he is a total sellout. Still he is more successful and I like takeover better.
Hov is more talented? LOL sure…. he been biting BIG’s rhymes for how many years now?
CO-SIGN 100%.
Very Impressed.
If Nas would have hooked up with Beyonce they would be in completely different positions right now.
Haha its true that Jay-Z is only relevant because of his wife and Blue Ivy.
Ab Soul lost his battle with TDE by rushing out that album.
damn, lose just a bit of respect for dude, lol cause nas won.
up to I looked at the check saying $4286 , I didn’t believe that my mom in-law realey receiving money parttime at their computer. . there friends cousin has done this for under twenty two months and resently cleared the dept on there condo and purchased Chevrolet . official website
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http://www.WorkTahi.Com
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This lame just lost a lot of REAL Hip Hop fans for sucking dick right now! smh!
nas won jays bank account doesn’t matter..
up to I looked at the check saying $4286 , I didn’t believe that my mom in-law realey receiving money parttime at their computer. . there friends cousin has done this for under twenty two months and resently cleared the dept on there condo and purchased Chevrolet . official website
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http://www.WorkTahi.Com
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STFU coward.that beef over 10yrs and dont noboday gives a 4uck about 2 old heads old beef. How nice was your last album and how much did your album sell?
Having more $ doesn’t ever mean you won a rap battle. It’s about BARS. Nas bodied Jay. Game eviscerated Curtis/G-Unit. Canibus barred out LL. Cube dismantled NWA.
Go ahead, talk about money or enterprises all you want, but lyrically, those cash kings took serious L’s.
Wannabe Eazy E looking ass
ab-soul is an idiot.
all the weed he smokes is preventing the synapses in his brain from connecting
F**k with your ab-soul like ether
from dead presidents,NY state of mind ,Jay z sampled that and Soul(carry the cross)them suckers sampled king Esco material,,a lot more
There’s a reason ‘ether’ is now a verb in the rap lexicon, and it wasn’t because the guy who dropped Ether lost… Ya, if you had to weigh who had the most successful career, the more longevity, the bigger influence culturally, JayZ is better than Nas, but as far as JayZ versus Nas in 2001 and the tracks that went back and forth, everyone knows Nas beat JayZ.
Ate him up, showed he was on a whole other level of mcing. I don’t know how much expertise you need to acknowledge this simple fact.
We need to ask Nas and jay who they think won the battle, i think jay should be able to admit as if it were any other competition that nas took that.
No he didn’t
And the whole Ether was made up, Takeover was fact is a myth. Truth and Fantasy in each is equal.
“One hot album every 10 year average.” I think history has shown It Was Written was a hot album.
“You and it a hot line, I made it a hot song” Both songs classic, but even Jay fans have to admit The World is Your is better than Dead Pres.
etc, etc….
Takeover and Super Ugly were both myths but Ether was facts. Jay-Z really has no moustache with whiskers like a rat. and compared to Beanie Sigel Jay-Z is wack…
Nas Won
Illmatic-5
It Was Written-4.5
I Am-4
Nastradamus-2.5
Stillmatic-4.5
Gods Son-4
Streets Deciple-3.5
Hip Hop Is Dead-4
Untitled-4
Distant Relative-3.5
Life Is Good-4.5
Avg 4 Mics
Reasonalbe Doubt-5
Vol 1-3.5
Vol 2-4 (hella filler but Jay stans swear it’s a classic)
Vol 3-3.5
Dynssty-3.5
Bluprint-5
BP2-2.5
Black Album-4.5
Kingdon Come-3
BP3-3.5
MCHG-4
Jay-Z- 3.8
kingdom come is a 1 mic album. that is album is 20x worst than nastradamus. shoot em up/classic, come get me, life we choose, family, last words, and project makes that album a 3.5 album! JAYZ HAS OVERATED ALBUMS!
let me also say this, jigga holds no weight today. at all. I’ve completely lost respect for what he’s doing now musically. But back then, he came with hotter lines, and even more lines, than nas. if you listen to every diss song, nas only brought out one. jigga had 4 or 5 and they all were coming hard at nas.
@kennyken you are wrong about that. Around that battle time each of them had a few songs where they were throwing jabs. But see this is my thing. Nas had ONE song with haymaker lines!! All you need is ONE song! Jay-Z’s superugly was desperation and below the belt. Jay-Z secretly admits that Nas got him! You can’t get mad! Jay is the most successful artist financially but that’s it. Stop trying to put Jay were he isn’t. He doesn’t have that same gift! Jay-Z is the best rapper and the best hustler but that’s it. Nas is the MC the Best hip hop artist!
yeah nas is real cool telling another man he has dick sucking lips real haymaker right there lmao ya clowns undercover fags at that
ab soul always been on jay z’z dick
HE HOPING TO GET A JAY-Z FEATURE BUT EVEN IF HE DOES TDE WON’T RELEASE HIM FROM CONTRACT OR LET HIM DROP ALBUM…I HOPE HE READING THIS SO HE CAN GO AND TRY PCP
joey badass going to blow
and put these guys on the back burner
YOU FAIL AB.
YOU FAIL REAL HARD.
ETHER IS A VERB.
“Ether is a verb” Lmaooooo real shit tho!
Lyrically, Nas will always be better than Jay. Battle or no battle. He is an MC, Jay-Z is a rapper.
Truth! Thank you so much for this! Not people want to say this! Like I give Jay all the props in the world. Make your money and do all you need to do. But you aren’t the best MC!!! Nas is the best MC!! Jay make that money and be the richest rapper but Jay-Z isn’t the best MC. I give that Jay-Z is the best rapper but Rapping only gets you so far…
just shut up and have fun paying 18 years of child suport to lloyd banks old hoe
You guys get all butt hurt if someone say that jay z won. And have a million excuses why jay is more successful. Deep down you want to have jay the loser because he keeps winning and it eats you up inside. When nas first came out he was the chosen one, then biggie came out. After big died nas was suppose to take it, jay came and blew up, but in a lot of nas fans eyes that was supposed to be nas. I love nas and jay, I support both there music but when are you so called nas fans going to stop crying and support the man and buy his albums. Die hard nas fans wish ether would make jay go away but he ate it and got stronger. Jays popularity has reached new heights after that battle so it did the opposite.
Nas stans are in full battle mode over this, lmfaooooo
Gay-Z fans are in full battle mode over this, Lmfaooooo
Divide and Conquer in full effect. The “fan” who can’t see the greatness of both Nas and Jay without taking sides are the ones who “lost”. We’re 10+ years after the fact, and after rapper after rapper after rapper have come and gone but these cats are still going strong. I know Ab was asked the question but it goes to show how bad rap journalism is when this kinda shit keeps coming up.
think they are both great artists but nas has that much more music that stands the test of time while jay while not one of my fav rappers after 06 has made moves outside of hip hop and coquered mainstream culture, people admire individual success but i alway root for the more spiritual and down to earth.
Absolutely. I’m a huge fan of both emcees, for different reasons. Even before the beef. It’s just interesting how journalism tries to make separate lanes for fans of Nas and of Jay. That’s a tactic, not coincidence.
1000% cosign this conversation
These rappers nowadays rap about the same shit. When will they take a stand for something that actually matters instead of being narcissistic
PEOPLE KEEP DEBATING THIS BEEF TOPIC AND ITS REALLY WACK NOW. BIG SEAN IS THE GREATEST MC TO EVER TOUCH THE MIC. JA RULE IS NUMBER 2. NOW THATS FACTS
This little Nukka is licking jay’s nuts! Everyone know Nas won that battle easily! His shit is places on the mantel forever…Ether is that shit, for real! Shit was just too intelligent for Jay’s takeover! Young Nukka’s this very day are still saying they ether someone one a rhyme! Real talk!!! Nas the greatest to touch that Mic!!
HOW MUCH ALBUMS HAS THIS UGLY FCUK SOLD AGAIN?
Why is it cool now for these new rappers to declare Jay-Z won?
Buncha funcking Williamsburg contrarians hipster bullshit.
Anyone, that lived through that era in NYC knows that after Ether dropped it was TKO. Now all these no name emcees looking to get cred by trying to be controversial and saying nonsensical bullshit.
Saying Jay-Z won that battle pretty much proves you have no place in the MC game.
Why to Ether Nas Ab Soul!!!
Oh wait why do all the real cats in the game say “Ether” instead of we Super ugly ’em or Take overed them?
Get that fuck outta hear
Who cares what he thinks. Anyone from the East will tell you Nas won.
im from the bronx and i aint w any nigga tellin another man he has dick sucking lips you a homo if u cool w that….
thot dude was dope ,clown he even sample Nas joint in his album,,follow schoolboy q im giving away the idiots’s cd to the boys at the car wash to flash them,,,,all these cats kisssn Jay s ass and he never mentions them or recognize their shit…Soul u made a mistake we taking out the hood in Africa ,,i hate ass kissin shit,King Esco
jay kicked it off to get attention from his idol. jay lost.
Why people get so mad when others say Nas lost? You UNDERGROUND 4 LYFE FVCK MAINSTREAM kids are so corny fuck yo white asses
Says the white suburbanite kid.
pls nas lost dat battle…see where jay at… where he at ???
under beyonce’s skirt?
what you got outside the ring don’t hold weight inside the ropes pussy
nas got money jay z got money they both doing preety good
drake would end both these scrubs carreers if he wanted too. We all know drake fucked beyonce.
Drake can’t end anyone’s career and he never fucked Beyonce.
someone tell these broke materialistic savages that siding with someone else’s success because they got money don’t make YOU successful
even the whiteman has come to terms that “keeping up with the Joneses” has gotten them nothing but debt
Jay Z LOST a RAP BATTLE you confused bitches
NaS Lost is the Nas book only Byron Crawford could write, and not just due to literacy issues in the hip-hop community. Billed as a tribute to the little homey, it is in fact a tribute, but not in the way that an article in XXL magazine is a tribute to a rapper. NaS Lost considers the artist’s career in its totality, from its amazing highs to its crushing lows — and some of everything in between.
Discussed in NaS Lost:
The 2001 beef with Jay-Z. What really led to this dispute?
Nas and Jay-Z as Eskimo brothers. How the two of them became related in a sense.
Nas’ albums. Is it true what Jay-Z said, that Nas has a one hot album every 10 year average?
Illmatic’s five mic review in The Source. Was it really the best album of its era?
The dreaded n-word. If KKKramer can say it, why can’t Nas?
Ghostwriting allegations. Can anything dream hampton says on Twitter be believed?
The Virginia Tech controversy. What is the real cause of most school shootings?
The hostage situation in Africa. Who was to blame there, Nas, the promoters, or the continent of Africa?
Nas’ marriage to Kelis. Bad idea, or worst idea of all time?
Nas as a parent. Why is his teenage daughter posting her birth control on Instagram?
Cultural tourism. Why is it that SPIN magazine likes a Chief Keef album more than Life Is Good?
GET YOUR COPIES ON AMAZON TODAY!
bullshit..
The following people also believe Jay Z won:
Mario Lopez
Trick Daddy
Madonna
A-Rod
Lord Jamar
Shia Lebouf
Michelle Obama
Nas ether! The greatest rap song ever!
Yall niggas deal with emotions like bitches, whats sad is I luv you my brother you traded your soul for riches. My child I watch you grow up to be famous, and now I smile like a proud dad watching his only son that made it.
The battle was over after that. Nas didn’t have to finish his third verse after those haymakers.
Young dudes does not no shit about Nas and Ether! That shit locked the rap game down. New York stopped! Ether grilled Jay ass so bad his CEO was shooked! Young dudes no shit but to go with a flow. They don’t even know the history of this shit because they never lived the shit!!! Jay and Nas came from the gutter and ran those streets. Those dudes seen shit, but Nas put that shit together like no other! Ether that shit that burn slow! How can f with that shit?
I hate when young dudes try to rewrite history and speak shit topics didn’t experience first hand. It is like saying Kenny G is better than Miles Davis. Nas destroyed a lot of careers. The only reason Jay Z survived is because Nas didn’t finish him off with a final response to Jay Z s weak response to either. Jay Z sold 5 million prior to the battle. After that he has been a platinum album seller. Nas stunted Jay Z growth. Beside Nas second album which was a commercial success first new york double platnum album, Nas sells dwindled to gold. Stillmatic solidified Nas sales and Nas remains Fan base is solid because he has a small budget, no top singles, no major awards and still is relevant averages gold albums as he always has over the past decade. Jay Z is a billion dollar empire and needs a huge muscle, producers and partners to sustain just a platinum status. Eminem budget and machine is way smaller than Jay Z, but Ems sales are amazing..
Nas came at Jay Z with middle school insults. Jay came with personal shit. Stop with the “young kid this” or “Old guy that.”
Half of Takeover was braggdacious, Ether went straight at him. Super Ugly was a weak attempt to get personal.