Ab-Soul has declared himself the B.O.A.T. – Best Of All Time – as he gears up to release his new album, Soul Burger.
In an interview with XXL published on Tuesday (October 29), Soulo explained why lyricism is so important in Hip Hop and why instead of the usual G.O.A.T. acronym, he’s choosing to be the B.O.A.T.
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“It’s a lot of G.O.A.Ts out here, but I’m the B.O.A.T,” he said. “I’m the best of all time. And so in that regard, I’m just the vessel. I’m just here. I just move with the spirit, man. I just follow the current. I don’t fight it. And I know I’m being clever right now, but I really mean it.”
He added: “Lyricism is important to me because hip-hop is literally intelligent movement. To be hip is to be intelligent. The hop is the movement. So, when we talk about lyricists, lyricism, it’s that each one, teach one, poetry in motion, utilizing the word to provoke thought, to get the synapses moving, you know what I’m saying?”
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Earlier this month, Ab-Soul chopped it up with DJ Hed and Gina Views for Sirius XM’s Effective Immediately, where he gave some insight into Soul Burger. The project is an homage to his best friend and TDE affiliate Doe Burger, who passed away in 2021.
“The idea came to fruition after [Doe Burger]’s transition and it’s just something that was very important for me to do ‘cause I don’t even know how I’m really still doing this without him,” Soul explained. “That’s how tight-knit we were. Just to make it clear that he wasn’t no hype man or hangaround, he was really my big homie. He was really the star of it. He put the glow on it. I just been tryna channel him. I got my hair braided — that was against my religion. I got jewelry on.
“I just been trying to channel him and my best way of doing that is through the music. And hence the title, it’s the fusion of me and him. We was literally Huey and Riley from The Boondocks. To where this album is not me – it’s Soul Burger. That’s not me. It’s like a new artist. It’s not a Ab-Soul project, it’s a Soul Burger project, so I recommend everybody listen to it in terms of that.”
He concluded: “This is my attempt at just really channeling him and making music that I feel like he would he would really like.”
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Soul Burger is due out on November 8.
