Image
Image Credit
Gilbert Flores / Contributor via Getty Images, JC Olivera / Stringer via Getty Images and Noam Galai / Contributor via Getty Images
Image Alt
Ab-Soul, Joey Badass and Ray Vaughn
Image Size
landscape-medium
Ab-Soul is stepping back in the ring. On Tuesday (May 27), the HERBERT rapper shared a freestyle responding to Joey Badass’ ongoing feud — for the second time, technically — involving Ray Vaughn, Daylyt and more West Coast artists.
On the Low the Great-produced cut, Soulo fired off warning shots and, surprisingly, critiqued some of Vaughn’s earlier bars. “Catch you a friendly fade, then keep it that way / TDEast was a motherf**kin’ stretch, real s**t,” he rapped in reference to Joey’s claim on “THE FINALS” about creating an East Coast equivalent to Top Dawg Entertainment.
Elsewhere, the Carson native poked fun at the sheer number of Diddy-related bars in Vaughn’s response track, “Golden Eye.” Ab-Soul dished out, “And Vaughn Wick might’ve referenced Puff a lil’ too much / But cuh wanted all the motherf**kin’ smoke, hence why he was so blunt.”
Much like the TDE lyricist’s “Red Bull Spiral Freestyle” with Big Sean and his “lil’ homie” Joey, Ab-Soul tried to keep things friendly, at least to a degree, while telling everyone else to back off. A few bars later, he rapped, “I don’t know you other n**gas, I ain’t ever knockin’ no hustle / I’m just sayin’, you might want to tap in before you end up in some trouble, huh.”
Then came perhaps the most exciting part of the freestyle: Soulo addressing Lamar’s silence amid Joey and other East Coast rappers’ jabs at the GNX rapper. “N**gas call theyself tryna beefin’ Dot? Hehe, haha / When gang knows this straight, dancing around stadiums sold out / It’s best y’all back up, ‘cause quite frankly, if he actually needed back up / Y’all know he’d just bring Soul out,” he unloaded.
DJ Akademiks Responds To Ab-Soul’s Diss
Toward the very end of the freestyle, Ab-Soul also threw a jab at DJ Akademiks, who, unsurprisingly, didn’t appreciate the mention. “I’ma slap Akademiks when I see him,” the “Norbit” rapper said. Subsequently, the internet commentator tweeted, “Sounds amazing. Just remind that n**ga they won’t throw a funeral for him like Nipsey [Hussle]. Keep rapping, lil’ n**ga. We ain’t see [you] slap nothing yet.”
