Ab-Soul says that his Herbert collaboration with DJ Premier, “Gotta Rap," is a “dream come true.” The TDE rapper detailed working with the legendary producer during a new sit-down with Vulture.
“I knew I needed him this time around. He definitely put me to work. I had to do it about five or six times until he found the right frequency,” Ab-Soul revealed.
As for why it took so many takes, Ab-Soul says it was difficult to match the "frequency" exactly.
“No, not rewriting," he explained. "He liked the verse, but I had to match the frequency of the record, because I guess that was one of his favorite beats. So he wanted to make sure I came correct. That was the first time anybody ever made me re-record. So that was humbling. But it’s Preemo.”
From there, he added: “Before I even had my official stage name, when I was just Snap G, I knew I always wanted a Preemo beat. Preemo keeps his ear to the streets. I can honestly say I do get the respect of being the last of the lyricists, that cloth. I’ve met him in passing before, but we connected when he did PRhyme."
Ab-Soul also recalled a time he interacted with Premier while working on a song at Mac Miller's house with Royce Da 5’9.
The interview with Vulture comes ahead of the release of Ab-Soul's next album, Herbert. In addition to working with Premier, he also connected with Sounwave, James Blake, Hit-Boy, Boi-1da, and DJ Dahi for the project. Ab-Soul says the album will be releasing on Friday, December 16th. It will be his first album in six years.
[Via]
