For Life+Times’ Decoded series, Ab-Soul took time to explain one of his verses with more depth. The TDE emcee discussed his verse for “Illuminate.” According to Soul, his shot at Jay-Z and Nas on the cut was a form of extending a challenge and he also explained why he feels he can become “one of the best authors ever.”

“This is basically a traditional or a conventional jab at my favorite artists or favorite players in the game at the time. It was just extending a challenge to play on their same court, if you will,” he said of his jabs at Jay-Z and Nas. 

On the song, Soul says he feels he can “run laps ’round Jay-Z” and that “Nas ain’t seen nothin’ this nasty.” 

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In the song, Soul also shares that he’s “the best author ever to breathe.” 

“I think I have a shot at being one of the best authors ever,” he clarified. “I do plan on publishing a few books in my lifetime. We’ll see.”

In the interview, he also shared that his Paid Dues tattoo is real. 

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“As for the Paid Dues reference. I did get Paid Dues tatted last year.”

The tattoo is of the Paid Dues logo for Murs’ annual festival for independent Hip Hop. 

More from the interview can be seen below.

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