AR-AB

AR-AB, born Abdul Ibrahim West, is an underground rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, known for a raw, aggressive freestyle-driven style rooted in the city’s battle rap tradition. He began his career around 2007 as a battle rapper before joining fellow Philadelphia rapper Cassidy’s group, Larsiny Family, appearing on the crew’s mixtapes before going independent with his 2008 debut mixtape Welcome to Trap Street.

His profile rose significantly with the 2011 mixtape Who Harder Than Me?, whose sequel drew a guest feature from Swizz Beatz, and he continued releasing street mixtapes through the early 2010s, including M.U.D Musik in 2013. His delivery is characterized by dense, rapid-fire freestyles and confrontational lyricism typical of Philadelphia’s battle scene.

AR-AB became more widely known outside underground circles through his public feud with fellow Philadelphia rapper Meek Mill, aligning himself with Drake during Drake and Meek Mill’s public rap battle and releasing his own diss material targeting Meek. He is referenced in Drake’s track «Back to Back», part of that feud, which brought him attention well beyond his existing mixtape fanbase.