On the third installment of The Process with Peter Rosenberg, Ab-Soul explains how he got into rapping, learning song structures from Kendrick Lamar, his writing technique, the untimely passing of Alori Joh (which Ab referenced on “The Book of Soul”) and more.
Born and bred in Carson, California, the TDE MC’s interest in music spurred from his parents day job. “I grew up in a record shop,” says Ab. “So for a long time, music was just what my family sold to make money.” Ab-Soul cites Twista’s 1997 record “Emotions” as the first record he wrote to. “I still can’t do what Twista does, but that was definitely my foundation of rhyming.”
Ab gives some insight to his writing technique, which doesn’t include a pen and pad. “I don’t actually write on paper, so I just take my time and memorize it.” However, he clarifies this unique process shouldn’t be glorified. “That’s still writing. [Jay-Z] fucked that up,” claims Ab. “If you’re writing on paper, and then you see a guy in the corner, it just looks like he’s a mastermind.”
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