Ab-Soul
is an American hip hop recording artist from Carson, California.
He was part West Coast hip hop group Black Hippy,
alongside his label-mates and fellow California-based rappers
Jay Rock,
Kendrick Lamar and
Schoolboy Q.
-Wikipedia
Birth Name: Herbert Anthony Stevens IV
Born: February 23, 1987 (age 37)
From: Carson, California, United States
Genre(s):
Hip hop
Occupation(s):
Rapper
Active From: 2003-present
Associated Acts:
Jay Rock
Jhene Aiko
Kendrick Lamar
Mac Miller
Schoolboy Q
Quotes:
"At ten years old, I got very sick. It was a pretty vivid day. I caught a rare virus called Steven-Johnson Syndrome.
And it was very, very life-changing for me. It hindered my vision and my skin configuration. It definitely put
a huge dent in my hoop dreams. I even kept trying to play. I tried to keep playing with my shades on, it was
real funny when I think about it now. A lot of my friends were real cool about it. They wouldn't make me feel
different or anything like that, but I just kind of figuredÂ… I won't have the sharp vision for that."
"When I had got sick when I was younger of course it affected my lip skin, so coming up in school I had very
dark lips and my eyes were low. I had to wear shades and shit. So I was quite peculiar. People teased me
about my lips, and say I look high. I didn't even start smoking weed until after I graduated from high school."
"I was on BlackPlanet freestyle chat, rapping my ass off. Text battle. It is a very interesting world. I think that it still exists online, where you freestyle but you type it. They call it keystyle. I think that is where I developed my rhyming skills. I had been rapping a little earlier, maybe around 12 [years old], but when I hopped online and into that culture, that textcee culture. It really got
me going as far as being a rapper."
"I was like, I can do this; I'll try it out. And I wrote it out. That's a day I remember vividly.
From that moment I've had a very keen interest in the whole craft. Being a big fan of words and
making the real connection with them. Saying things that can make your eyes open up. I can say
something and I can turn heads"
"I just wanted to be tight with [my raps] but I was growing a passion for it. Wasn't until after
I graduated from high school and checked into the community college that I realized I wanted to be a
rapper full time. I probably did the equivalent of a half a semester total, in my attendance.
I tried one semester and dropped out and then I tried another semester and dropped out. So it just didn't work out."
"Twista, Canibus, Eminem, Nas, Lupe Fiasco, and Jay-Z. There are
many others, but those are the ones that come to mind at this time. Those artists are basically the template
to my format as an MC. They all capture me with their music, whether it be the vibe, delivery,
cadence, story, or just the lyrics in general."