Montreality Interview 2013 - Ab-Soul

[Intro]
Yo, yo, it's Ab-Soul the Black Lip Pastor, TDE, HiiiPower. Shout out to Montreality, man, and that's what you watching right now, man. Stay focused

Montreality: What type of student were you?
Ab-Soul: Uhm, I was the one asleep. I was in great classes though like AP honors classes. I got tested like early in elementary like for like gifted classes and shit like that,.I don't know how, I don't know the logistics and shit, my mom did all that cool shit, but I was always in like cool very classes and I was always actually real good with all of my teachers. I'm still good with like my high school teacher, I've been back to my school Carson High a few times to you know take pictures with the kids and shit, you know. But yeah I was the AP's honors class student sleep in the back. That was me

Montreality: Jobs as a teenager?
Ab-Soul: I worked out the rec.. I have a family owned record shop that my grandfather owned. My mom and my grandma ran it in Carson California. It was called Magic Disc Music. And I had a crate on there so I was there up until, I was working there up until April of 2011 when I went on the Paid Dues tour and they closed indefinitely. So that's where I was at. I had a couple jobs, like I worked at like Target and like I sold like cellphones in the mall like in the kiosk and shit. You know what I mean?

Montreality: Your 1st big paycheck?
Ab-Soul: I gave it to my moms for sure. Gave it straight to moms like what we gon' do with it? [Laughs]

Montreality: Do you enjoy reading books?
Ab-Soul: Uh, well, I actually do, but I can't see that well so I kinda like the audio books now. You know what I mean, audio books are real cool and shit. Yeah, I kinda like to listen more than read. You know what I'm saying?

Montreality: What would you call your book?
Ab-Soul: Slipping Through The Crack. Right, don't steal my idea, man, don't steal my idea. I got that from my grandpa

Montreality: What ere you in your past life?
Ab-Soul: Uhm, quite a lot of lifetimes. I mean like that's what I'm saying, it's quite a lot, I think I've, I might've done it all. To be honest with you. I kinda feel like I've done it all. I think this might, I think I might, I might not come back after this one, you feel what I'm saying? I might not come back here after this one, you feel what I'm saying? I might go somewhere else

Montreality: Favorite cartoon character?
Ab-Soul: Mighty Mouse. That guy was hard. And I was like, used to draw and shit when I could see good and I liked to draw cause Mighy Mouse was the illest cartoon character ever

Montreality: Favorite videogame?
Ab-Soul: Like, you know, this was back when I could like see, you know what I mean? I kinda lost my vision at like 10, but I used to like like NBA Live and like Tekken and like uh, you know I played Grand Theft Auto, Grand Theft Auto was very tight

Montreality: Realest shit you ever wrote?
Ab-Soul: I couldn't tell you how the world function. But I'm headed to the function. This shit ain't about nothing. No, this shit ain't about nothing. But it's gotta be something. They say I'm so selfish. I ain't think about nothing. Unless it's making me something. Matter fact fuck that. I ain't worried about nothing. No, I ain't worried about nothing. It's always something

Montreality: Your upcoming project?
Ab-Soul: Uhm, you know I took my time with it, that's what I can tell you about it. Uhm, I think it's well, you know, I think it's a very diverse piece of work, you know what I mean? But uh, you know I wish I could share more juicy details with you, you know what I mean? Soon, man, sooner than you thin, you know what I mean? I'm working out the logistics right now, you feel me? So no, very, very soon

Montreality: Black Hippy album?
Ab-Soul: I think, I think it'll happen, you know what I'm saying? When the time is right, you know when the, when that check is right

Ab-Soul: I mean like, I don't want like people to think like Kendrick is like like Lil Wayne or like 50 Cent, you know what I'm saying? Like this is not G-Unit, you know what I mean? Like my boss is not like like Kendrick, Kendrick didn't sign me, Kendrick didn't add me to his group, you understand what I'm saying? This was a collective long before it was Black Hippy. We were all together so I just, I just wanted that to be known, you know, to the world. You know what I mean, don't get the wrong idea like you know, feel me? This is, I'm not like, we are not like band members or something like that, you feel what I'm saying? We don't just like stand in the background and like dance while Kendrick raps. Yeah, like, you know

Montreality: The media always asking you about Kendrick Lamar?
Ab-Soul: Bro, you know I've been saying that like that's not messed up. Me and Kendrick aren't coworkers. That's my brother, that's my family. And he deserves anything that's happening to him and I will answer every question about him. I'm not bothered by that at all. Kendrick's success, it's a, it assists my success, you know what I'm saying? He's gonna be on a platform to present me to his audience one day and if I I'm ready maybe they'll accept me too. So you know I, just for the record, Kendrick is my, we, TDE, we are family. We are not coworkers. Those are my brothers, I'll take a bullet for him. You understand what I'm saying? Like just understand that, this is not, this is not, you feel what I'm saying? This is not like work, we not like, sure, we're competitive, we all wanan be number one. Of course, but I wanna see him, I wanna see all of them be number one. If it's not me, it's gotta be one of them. You feel me? So that's just for the record, you know what I mean? I'm not bothered by the Kendrick Lamar questions. Ask them all, I'll answer them all

Montreality: An artist you want to work with?
Ab-Soul: Jay Z. Hands down. Jay Z, if I could get a record with Jay before he, before he checks out, mission complete. If I could bring out the Reasonable Doubt Jay I think I'd be pretty fucking epic. You know what I'm saying? But I mean, you know, Jay is Jay. You know, I can't really box him into a certain sound, he kinda really transcends every time. You know what I mean? It kinda awes to thread it together, you know what I mean? Still, he still got the, that same, he still got, he still give the same feeling from back then. You know, now

Montreality: The biggest lie ever told?
Ab-Soul: Wanna know the truth? You really wanna know the truth? In God we trust. For sure

Montreality: Your third eye..
Ab-Soul: I think mine is closed, bro. I've kinda been thinking my whole life, you know what I'm saying, to be honest with you. But I mean, you know, I think my third eye is closed. I think yours is too, you know what I mean? I think, you know, a lot of the, I won't get to deep into it, but you know just a lot of the workings of the world have kind of worked against those types ideas if you can feel what I'm saying so. You know, I just kinda, when I heard about the concept, you know what I mean, it was just a cool concept. But I think more so to me cause of my lack of vision anyway. I think that's what the third eye kinda all-seeing eye kinda resonates with me cause I can't see all that great anyway, feel what I'm saying? So that idea it make it like, you know, it'll make things like limitless for you, you know what I'm saying? We could be, we could be wrong, you know what I'm saying? We could have 4 of them motherfuckers

Montreality: Drugs and enlightenment..
Ab-Soul: Help, help I don't know, you know what I'm saying? You know, experience, experimentation is, I think, lead the world, you know, i think that's what has to be done for evolution. For progress. People have to take risks and you know try new things, if you, you know, if you will. And you know I don't wanna say that like drugs help the process. But I wanna say, you know, that different chemicals do different things, you know. And you know, we, you know, everybody goes to the doctor and gets drugs, you know what I mean? Medicines that help for certain reasons, you feel what I'm saying? So it's like that with everything, you feel what I'm saying? I feel this, I won't say, I think that we all, I think we're all born with everything that we need already if, you know, if you will. I think we're born with that already. You don't need any additional assistance

Montreality: 2Pac conspiracy theories?
Ab-Soul: I mean, it's all possible, you know, I'm open-minded to a lot about that, ending was kinda, it was kinda an open ending, you understand what I'm saying? It was very wide ending, but you know he pioneered the whole, you know, he's one of the pioneers of the game. I feel like he kinda showed us any example of how far this could go. You know what I'm saying? You could do this shit to death if you want to, you feel what I'm saying? If that's how you feel, you know what I mean? You could do this shit to the death. I think that's what, I think that's what Pac represented

Montreality: Your message to the youth?
Ab-Soul: Just keep trying, man. Don't quit, just keep trying. That's the best thing I could say to you. Keep trying, I don't care how old you get, how broke you get. You gonna, I feel, you know, if you guys are gonna come film me and ask me these cool questions like I have a responsibility to give bck to you too, you know what I'm saying? I think, just keep trying, as long as you keep, as long as you breathe, you know what I'm saying, you got it. You got time. As long as you breathe you got time. For sure