Ab-Soul Freestyles Over "Die Hard," Calls Kendrick Lamar's TDE Departure An "Evolution"

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2015 Sasquatch! Music Festival - George, WA
GEORGE, WA - MAY 25: Ab-Soul performs at the Sasquatch Music Festival at The Gorge on May 25, 2015 in George, Washington. (Photo by Suzi Pratt/WireImage)
Ab-Soul drops bars over Kendrick Lamar's "Die Hard."

Ab-Soul is on pace to drop his forthcoming album, Herbert in a little over a week. In recent times, he's made more media appearances than he has in the past. He showed face on the Joe Budden Podcast earlier this week where he previewed new music, and now, he's made his way to Sway In The Morning.

As you'd expect, Soulo came through with some bars for Sway. This time, he takes on Kendrick Lamar's "Die Hard" and adds his own spin to the record. He also makes reference to Kanye West's infamous visit to Sway's studios in 2013.

hardLOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 27: Hip-hop artist Ab-Soul performs onstage during the Ice Cube, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, Jay Rock concert at Staples Center on June 27, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Earl Gibson/BET/Getty Images for BET)

"Yeah, I’m a Pisces but can’t screw the fish, that’s food that’s cool to fish," he raps. "Class is in session, Sway had the answers all along, that was never a question."

Ab-Soul's verse comes a few months after Ye admitted that Sway was actually in the right.

"Shout out to the homie Mr. Morale, that was an honor,” he said. “I don’t think I ever rapped over another one of the homie’s beats before. I was kinda nervous, I ain’t gonna lie. That was like another feeling. I see you, brother.”

Elsewhere, Soul addressed Kendrick's departure from TDE to establish pgLang.

"I think that’s evolution, man,” he said. “That’s still my brother. I don’t feel a difference. I don’t know how to [explain]. We haven’t spoke on why it happened or why he did it, but I think it’s love, I think it’s growth on his behalf. That’s what he felt like he had to do on his path, on his journey. So I’ma always support him and what he do, you know what I’m saying? But you know who the gang is."

He reiterated that Kendrick will always be family, regardless what he's doing musically.

"I don’t care what company he’s with or where they go, if I speak to ’em, it’ll never change," Soulo continued. "That’s the foundation. I think if you remember that, if you hold onto that, no matter how far you go, I think that’s the practice, to keep that balance. Everything is as it should be. Nothing is out of alignment, at all.”

Check the full freestyle and interview below.

About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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