Ab-Soul Speaks On Joey Bada$$ And West Coast Rap Feud: 'It's A Sport'

Ab-Soul has something to say. After a Red Bull Spiral freestyle cypher, which also featured Big Sean, amped up the rap beef between Joey Bada$$ and seemingly the entire West Coast, the Soul Burger performer explained that he knew what to expect from the moment.
'At the end of the day, I was going to be super cool but f**k it, man. I choreographed the whole sh*t,' explained the 38-year-old to VIBE on Sunday (May 18) ahead of the Red Bull BC One Cypher breaking competition in Denver. 'Because of the whole thing with Joey and a couple of the homies. I knew he was going to have something to say about that.'
'Me and Joey are really close, obviously. And so, we had to let the world know that we are just keeping it on wax. Hip-Hop is competitive, it's a sport. It's real healthy, but it's not…it doesn't have to be disrespectful or dangerous or anything like that…We can get busy and still shake hands.'
He continued to explain, 'I also wanted to synchronize it to where if you listen, we're all kind of getting at each other. Everybody is competing against each other, but it's a sibling rivalry. It's a friendly competition… That's the point we were trying to make… And that's Hip-Hop, that's intelligent movement. It's competitive, it's a sport.'
Since speaking with Ab-Soul, Joey Bada$$ has traded bars with Daylyt, AZ Chike, and Ray Vaughn with some assistance from Loaded Lux. In full, Reason, Kai Ca$h, Really Jaewon, and CJ Fly have all stepped up to the mic.
'I think when it's really love, it's really like that. If it's not love, then it's not like that,' explained Ab-Soul, of maintaining brotherhood through the noise of the industry.
'I don't walk around trying to make friends. I don't walk around trying to find love. You know what I'm saying? That got to happen organically, and it's a privilege when it does. You've got to cherish it…I don't know if you got brothers or sisters. Like you done fought with your brothers or sisters too, right? But y'all still love each other too, right? I done fist fought with a lot of my best friends, and I will fight for all them too. It's that kind of thing.'
More from VIBE.com
Joey Bada$$, Serayah Announce They're Having A Baby Boy
Dee-1 Explains Dislike For Rap Battle Between Joey Bada$$, Ray Vaughn, And More
Joey Bada$$ Taps Loaded Lux For "My Town" Diss As Rap Spar Against The West Continues

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