Credit: Album Cover

Ab-Soul is your favourite rapper‘s favourite rapper. He might not have the mainstream hits, but he can rap rings around the most acclaimed MCs in the business. Not only is he a great lyricist, but he’s not afraid of getting deeply personal when it comes to his music.

A song that instantly comes to mind is ‘The Book of Soul’ from 2012’s Control System, in which he reflects on his battle with Steven-Johnson syndrome and the loss of his partner, Alori Joh, who committed suicide that year.

However, there’s a song from Ab-Soul’s most recent album, Soul Burger, that brings him to tears when he listens to it. The rapper from Carson, Los Angeles, released the project in November 2024 as a tribute to his friend, Armon ‘Doe Burger’ Stringer, who was killed in 2021 during a home invasion.

Soulo celebrates the life of Doe Burger throughout the project, but there’s a moment on ‘Peace’ that hits deeper than the rest. In one of his verses, Soul raps from the perspective of his late friend and uses AI to alter his voice to sound like him.

Rapping from the position of being in a grave, he raps, “Rollie on, fuck is you on?/ You done cried enough/ I know you tired of losin’, loosen your tie and tighten up/ How many times we been through this, bro? Count it up.”

During an interview with Rolling Stone, he admitted, “I cry every time I hear it.” The song is a collaboration with Lupe Fiasco and TDE president, Terrence ‘Punch’ Henderson, with both rappers spitting a verse on the track, produced by Python P, Amaire Johnson and Skhye Hutch.

He went on to explain that he opened himself up to being the spirit medium. “It was going to be my voice,” he recalled. “Me and Lupe are really close. He and Doe were actually close, and back in the day, he asked Doe for a verse. He kind of doesn’t know if he should rap. He’s like, ‘You’re really the guy, actually.’ You know what I mean? ‘I want a verse from you.’ That was a funny story.”

Soulo felt obliged to make it happen. “So he heard it, and he did his rap theory at [the Massachusetts Institute of Technology],” he explained. “His TA, I guess, was working on the AI modules at the time. And he gave me the idea and said, ‘We could put it together if you want.’ I was like, ‘Man, let’s try it.’ And that was created, and I thought it would be dope to merge the songs together so he could have his verse from both. So there you go.”

Ab-Soul has gone through some tragic losses over the years. Not only did he lose Alori Joh and Doe Burger, but he also had to deal with the death of Mac Miller. The pair were close friends, and Soulo has also referenced him in his music. He often uses songs to channel his emotions, and the result are some of the best music of his career.