i see a lot of "Ab Soul is the best lyricist on TDE" but i kinda disagree. mainly because Kendrick is more consistent throughout all of his albums. Ab Soul freely mixes intelligent and ignorantly bars. Kendrick might occasionally match Ab Soul's high points but also rarely reaches Ab Soul's "lows" too. so on a general lyrical scale, Kendrick most likely takes the edge for his talent and consistency. that said; what Soul lacks in consistency he makes up for in introspection and charisma.
I'd personally compare the two like this...
Kendrick is like two teachers using two ways of teaching the same subject. he'll either use book smarts to teach the subject or street smarts. but either way, it never comprises his teaching style (lyrical consistency).
Ab Soul is more like a pastor/humorist. his pastor pocket allows him to rap on more spiritual material while his humorist pocket allows him to rap more humorous material. both pockets are lyrically witty but can't be considered consistent.
so basically. I'd recommend Kendrick to someone that wants consistent high teir lyrical ability and I'd recommend Ab Soul to someone that wants a mix of both profound and profane material. but that's my take. feel free to disagree with me though.
Longterm Mentality is the debut studio album by American hip hop recording artist Ab-Soul. It was released on April 5, 2011, by Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), exclusively to digital retailers, serving as Ab-Soul's debut retail release. The album features guest appearances from Jhené Aiko, Schoolboy Q, Kendrick Lamar, Punch, Alori Joh, JaVonté, MURS, BJ the Chicago Kid and Pat Brown, with the production from American hip hop record producers such as Tae Beast, Ayiro, Sounwave, AAyhasis, Context, Alexis Carrington and Tommy Black. Upon its release, the album received was highly acclaimed by music critics.
#Background
Preceded by the mixtapes such as Longterm: The Mixtape (2009) and Longterm 2: Lifestyles of the Broke and Almost Famous (2010), Ab-Soul stated Longterm Mentality is not the third installment in his Longterm series. In July 2010, in an interview with Complex, Stevens claimed the series would have four installments, "When I did the first Longterm I knew that there would be four of them. When I did the first one. So there will be four of them: Longterm 1, 2, 3, and 4. So right now we're at two. You'll have to wait for the next one. That's for the next Ab-Soul interview." In August 2011, in an interview with BlowHipHopTV, Ab-Soul explained in spite of the fact that Longterm Mentality is not a part of the series, all three projects paint a picture of his personal life and growth. While speaking with BlowHipHopTV, the Black Hippy member said that the project is intended to introduce listeners to the man behind the mic:
>I wanted to do something to where all of my supporters and people that’s following me could actually witness the entire growth of the whole situation. So Longterm was just an introduction. Longterm 2 was more personal about where I was at with it in my life at that particular time. Longterm Mentality is pretty much an overview of the whole idea. I’m trying to capture my life and the essence of what I aspire to do in this business.
>Ab-Soul doesn't have the best flow and doesn't have the ability to amaze with a technically proficient lyrical showcasing, but he has an honest vision and knows how to deliver his message. It's refreshing to hear a rapper that isn't interested in the bullshit of the flashy rapper lifestyle while also being miles away from being boring or political. Longterm Mentality is a good album to put on if you wa
... keep reading on reddit ➡**UPDATE: Here is a link to the downloadable file AND his vocal tracks only. Would love to see someone come up with a nice remix: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/96rj1ljhwgfid50/AACL2tiooyl47XKzraLe7aPJa?dl=0
Original Post
Check out this unreleased track I recorded with Ab-Soul back in high school. https://soundcloud.com/user-638652074/ab-soul-unreleased
Also, here's 28 tracks that he recorded in high school, not sure if people know about this:
https://www.soundclick.com/artist/default.cfm?bandID=198215&content=songs
Mac has adlib lines in the chorus but he should have laid AT LEAST a verse on this hot beat
Even Top Dawg confirmed that Control System is the extension of Section 80 and that they're meant to be listened together.
If Section. 80 is one of if not your favourite Kendrick album, definitely listen to Control System. Most of the lyrical motifs appear on that album and Ab-Soul does an amazing way of executing everything. The ending almost makes me cry everytime, and the first time I heard it, I definitely dropped a few tears. Please do yourselves a favour and listen to Control System and tell me what you think.
For any Top Dawg fans out there I have been listening to the “this is important” podcast by the members of the workaholics. I’m a fan of those guys and I realized the symmetry between the workaholics dudes and black hippy
Adam — Kendrick— the most talented one, short
Anders— Jay rock — oldest and physically strongest one, more mature than the other guys, less likely to get weird
Blake—ab-soul — the hair is a spittin image and they both give a hippy vibe
Kyle/Carl—schoolboy q — grungy funny dude who used to sell drugs but has recently really cleaned up.
Curious if you guys that happen to be the fans of both see this connection. I could picture an amazing music video for the black hippy album where the guys play these roles in a workaholics type parody.
does anyone have that video of earl ab soul and the alchemist i think working in the studio
Remember when Soul was on twitter complaining about ready-to-drop music that made Top respond on twitter and sooner or later his album drop but he did it twice and it work. SZA let it be on twitter she was frustrated and it was a trending topic on Twitter FreeSZA, then two weeks later "Hit Different" record came out. I'm just saying.
Which is better? My personal choice is Ab-Souls Outro but Terrences solo in Kendricks Interlude makes it a hard choice, especially when Kendrick says "I TOLD YOU NOT TO. MOTHER. FUCKING. MOVE. DIFFERENT TOILET SAME SHIT."
i see a lot of "Ab Soul is the best lyricist on TDE" but i kinda disagree. mainly because Kendrick is more consistent throughout all of his albums. Ab Soul freely mixes intelligent and ignorantly bars. Kendrick might occasionally match Ab Soul's high points but also rarely reaches Ab Soul's "lows" too. so on a general lyrical scale, Kendrick most likely takes the edge for his talent and consistency. that said; what Soul lacks in consistency he makes up for in introspection and charisma.
I'd personally compare the two like this...
Kendrick is like two teachers using two ways of teaching the same subject. he'll either use book smarts to teach the subject or street smarts. but either way, it never comprises his teaching style (lyrical consistency).
Ab Soul is more like a pastor/humorist. his pastor pocket allows him to rap on more spiritual material while his humorist pocket allows him to rap more humorous material. both pockets are lyrically witty but can't be considered consistent.
so basically. I'd recommend Kendrick to someone that wants consistent high teir lyrical ability and I'd recommend Ab Soul to someone that wants a mix of both profound and profane material. but that's my take. feel free to disagree with me though.
