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Ab-Soul
Herbert Anthony Stevens IV (born February 23, 1987), better known by his stage name Ab-Soul, is an American rapper. Raised in Carson, California, he signed to indie record label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) in 2007, where he eventually formed the hip-hop group Black Hippy with Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar and Schoolboy Q. He is perhaps most known for his introspective lyrics and his six independent albums under TDE, Longterm Mentality, Control System, These Days..., Do What Thou Wilt., Herbert, and Soul Burger, which were all released to positive reviews and commercial success.
Herbert Anthony Stevens IV was born on February 23, 1987, in Los Angeles. He spent the first four years of his life in Korea while his father was in the military, until his mother moved back to his grandmother's house in Carson. He once recalled being five years old: "I was serious into video games and basketball, at five. But video games for sure. Five... What was that, Nintendo? Sega. Sonic the Hedgehog. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on TV. But I know early on, I really, really liked Michael Jackson, like we all did. Newborn babies loved Michael Jackson." At the age of 10, Stevens contracted Stevens–Johnson syndrome, which caused him to be hospitalized and is the origin of his dark lips and light-sensitive eyes. In his adolescent years, Stevens was severely teased about his condition.
Stevens encountered music at a very young age, due to his family owning a record store. Stevens also began crafting his rapping skills at an early age: "I was on BlackPlanet freestyle chat, rapping my ass off. Text battle. It is a very interesting world. I think that it still exists online, where you freestyle but you type it. They call it keystyle. I think that is where I developed my rhyming skills. I had been rapping a little earlier, maybe around 12 [years old], but when I hopped online and into that culture, that textcee culture. It really got me going as far as being a rapper."
Stevens claims to have written his first verse when he was 12 years old, to the beat of Twista's "Emotions". Rapping continued on as a hobby for Stevens, whose parents "saw a bright, college-type future" for him and enrolled him in advanced classes. It was not until Stevens graduated from high school that he began to take a career in music seriously.
In 2002, Stevens recorded his first song. In 2005, he signed a recording contract with StreetBeat Entertainment, but just a year later, in 2006, he met Punch, President and Chairman of Carson-based indie record label, Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), who as Stevens says, "saw more in his music than metaphors and punchlines". Before signing to TDE, Stevens was a part of a rap group called Area 51, alongside Brooklyn-native and fellow American rapper Snake Hollywood.
In 2007, Stevens officially became part of the TDE roster. In 2008, Stevens made a brief cameo appearance in the music video for his TDE-mate Jay Rock's commercial debut single, "All My Life (In the Ghetto)". Also in 2008, he began recording music for his debut mixtape, at the TDE Recording Studio: House of Pain. In December 2008, Stevens released his first music video, for a song from the mixtape, titled "A Day in the Life", through YouTube. The mixtape, entitled Longterm, was released in January 2009. It was the first in a series, that Stevens claimed would have four installments: "When I did the first Longterm I knew that there would be four of them. When I did the first one. So there will be four of them: Longterm 1, 2, 3, and 4. So right now we're at two. You'll have to wait for the next one. That's for the next Ab-Soul interview.".
In 2009, he formed supergroup Black Hippy, with his frequent collaborators and TDE label-mates Schoolboy Q, Jay Rock and K-Dot. Stevens released his second mixtape, and the sequel to his first, on June 28, 2010. The tape, titled Longterm 2: Lifestyles of the Broke and Almost Famous was highly acclaimed and featured Stevens singing on several songs.
In February 2011, Ab-Soul revealed he was working on an album titled Longterm Mentality, and subsequently released "Hell Yeah", a track featuring Schoolboy Q. On February 22, 2011, Stevens released another promotional recording taken from the album, "Moscato", a collaboration with another fellow Black Hippy, Kendrick Lamar. In February 2011, Stevens also embarked on the "Road to Paid Dues" concert tour, after being enlisted by fellow American rapper Murs.
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Ab-Soul
Herbert Anthony Stevens IV (born February 23, 1987), better known by his stage name Ab-Soul, is an American rapper. Raised in Carson, California, he signed to indie record label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) in 2007, where he eventually formed the hip-hop group Black Hippy with Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar and Schoolboy Q. He is perhaps most known for his introspective lyrics and his six independent albums under TDE, Longterm Mentality, Control System, These Days..., Do What Thou Wilt., Herbert, and Soul Burger, which were all released to positive reviews and commercial success.
Herbert Anthony Stevens IV was born on February 23, 1987, in Los Angeles. He spent the first four years of his life in Korea while his father was in the military, until his mother moved back to his grandmother's house in Carson. He once recalled being five years old: "I was serious into video games and basketball, at five. But video games for sure. Five... What was that, Nintendo? Sega. Sonic the Hedgehog. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on TV. But I know early on, I really, really liked Michael Jackson, like we all did. Newborn babies loved Michael Jackson." At the age of 10, Stevens contracted Stevens–Johnson syndrome, which caused him to be hospitalized and is the origin of his dark lips and light-sensitive eyes. In his adolescent years, Stevens was severely teased about his condition.
Stevens encountered music at a very young age, due to his family owning a record store. Stevens also began crafting his rapping skills at an early age: "I was on BlackPlanet freestyle chat, rapping my ass off. Text battle. It is a very interesting world. I think that it still exists online, where you freestyle but you type it. They call it keystyle. I think that is where I developed my rhyming skills. I had been rapping a little earlier, maybe around 12 [years old], but when I hopped online and into that culture, that textcee culture. It really got me going as far as being a rapper."
Stevens claims to have written his first verse when he was 12 years old, to the beat of Twista's "Emotions". Rapping continued on as a hobby for Stevens, whose parents "saw a bright, college-type future" for him and enrolled him in advanced classes. It was not until Stevens graduated from high school that he began to take a career in music seriously.
In 2002, Stevens recorded his first song. In 2005, he signed a recording contract with StreetBeat Entertainment, but just a year later, in 2006, he met Punch, President and Chairman of Carson-based indie record label, Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), who as Stevens says, "saw more in his music than metaphors and punchlines". Before signing to TDE, Stevens was a part of a rap group called Area 51, alongside Brooklyn-native and fellow American rapper Snake Hollywood.
In 2007, Stevens officially became part of the TDE roster. In 2008, Stevens made a brief cameo appearance in the music video for his TDE-mate Jay Rock's commercial debut single, "All My Life (In the Ghetto)". Also in 2008, he began recording music for his debut mixtape, at the TDE Recording Studio: House of Pain. In December 2008, Stevens released his first music video, for a song from the mixtape, titled "A Day in the Life", through YouTube. The mixtape, entitled Longterm, was released in January 2009. It was the first in a series, that Stevens claimed would have four installments: "When I did the first Longterm I knew that there would be four of them. When I did the first one. So there will be four of them: Longterm 1, 2, 3, and 4. So right now we're at two. You'll have to wait for the next one. That's for the next Ab-Soul interview.".
In 2009, he formed supergroup Black Hippy, with his frequent collaborators and TDE label-mates Schoolboy Q, Jay Rock and K-Dot. Stevens released his second mixtape, and the sequel to his first, on June 28, 2010. The tape, titled Longterm 2: Lifestyles of the Broke and Almost Famous was highly acclaimed and featured Stevens singing on several songs.
In February 2011, Ab-Soul revealed he was working on an album titled Longterm Mentality, and subsequently released "Hell Yeah", a track featuring Schoolboy Q. On February 22, 2011, Stevens released another promotional recording taken from the album, "Moscato", a collaboration with another fellow Black Hippy, Kendrick Lamar. In February 2011, Stevens also embarked on the "Road to Paid Dues" concert tour, after being enlisted by fellow American rapper Murs.