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Life gets better. California-based rapper Ab-Soul knows that. The Carson native who formed the supergroup Black Hippy alongside fellow California-based rappers Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock and Schoolboy Q had these wise words to say in an interview with Montreality:
“I don’t care what you want to do man. I don’t care what you think you’re gonna do. You think you’re gonna die and leave the earth or something like that? Bro, we’re still gonna keep you alive down here. Man, you got people that love you down here whether you think so or not. And we’re gonna keep you alive so you might as well do whatever it is you’re here to do. You’re NOT here to off yourself. That is a complete waste of birth, don’t you think? It’s a complete waste of birth. You are not here to take yourself out. You’re here to figure out what it is you’re here to do and whether or not you think that’s gonna take your problems away or anything like that, you’re gonna harm somebody else severely. Somebody, whether it’ll be your mother, your best friend, your boyfriend, your future husband…”
Ab-Soul, who was diagnosed with Stevens–Johnson syndrome as a child, suffered a huge loss when his girlfriend Alori Joh committed suicide on February 6, 2012. Joh was an up-and-coming singer that was featured heavily on Kendrick Lamar’s Section.80 with uncredited vocals on the songs “No Make-Up (Her Vice)”, “Chapter Six”, “The Spiteful Chant” and his breakout single “HiiiPoWeR.” She was only twenty-five years old.
Her legacy lives on however as Ab-Soul dedicated the track “The Book of Soul” in her honor. The song is a powerful ode to what he believed was the most beautiful soul. His final thoughts of the interview were just as poignant.
“When it feels like Hell, that means that Heaven is around the corner. And I live by that.”
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
