Ab-Soul believes that Drake can make a resounding comeback from his defeat by Kendrick Lamar, but only under one condition.
On Tuesday morning (July 9), Ab-Soul became the latest Hip-Hop artist to weigh in on the aftermath of Drake and Lamar’s heated battle, as the Top Dawg Entertainment rapper took to social media to share his thoughts. According to the Cali native, if Drake taps into his full potential as an emcee and lyricist, he has a great chance of redeeming himself in the eyes of music fans.
“If Drake is the MC I imagine he can be. Redemption is not off the table,” Ab-Soul wrote in an X post, seemingly refering to the OVO leader’s fall from grace.
While the Longterm Mentality creator expressed his belief in Drake’s ability, in a subsequent post, he made it clear that the Canadian’s ability to measure up to Lamar or any of his Black Hippy groupmates is virtually nonexistent. “But b4 my rant gets out of context. He could never Fucc wit da Gang’Nem on sum rap shyt. That was Never a question.”
Ab-Soul’s assessment of Drake’s current position and his potential to escape it is one that’s been echoed by a number of artists over the years, as they feel he’s relied more on his hit-making ability than his raw skills as an emcee. This critique was given to his latest studio album, For All the Dogs, which was widely panned as one of his more underwhelming works to date.
In 2023, Joe Budden and Drake became embroiled in a heated back-and-forth following Budden’s appraisal of the album on an episode of his Joe Budden Podcast. “[Drake’s] rapping for the children! I had to look up how old this ni**a was when I finished listening to the album,” he expressed. “I want to hear adult Drake rapping for adult people. That’s my issue with him today,” Budden added.
However, on the contrary, some fans are quite pleased with Drake’s artistry as presented. One Drake supporter even dug up old posts of Ab-Soul gushing over Drake’s talent that date back over a decade. In one post from August 2011, Ab-Soul declared that Drake was possibly his favorite rapper at that moment in time.
See Ab-Soul’s X posts below.
If Drake is the MC I imagine he can be. Redemption is not off the table.
— Ab-Soul (@abdashsoul) July 9, 2024But b4 my rant gets out of context. He could never Fucc wit da Gang’Nem on sum rap shyt. That was Never a question.
— Ab-Soul (@abdashsoul) July 9, 2024ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7t7XBnmWcp51ku6bD0micp6yVp8Gitc2mnKesX5avbr%2FOrqNmnKKWuKZ50Z6bnp2dYrmwv9Jmop6mlKe2pLeMpZimmaJifnN%2Fk3Fwa2xka3w%3D