Interview with Nas
By David Friedman
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Your last album, "Stillmatic," came out in December 2001 and it’s easily one of the top two or three albums I’ve heard in the past couple years. Given the success of that album, did you try to stick to the "Stillmatic" formula while working on your new "God’s Son" LP?

I couldn’t go for the same if I tried. This is my shit right here. This is my new life, my new thoughts and how I do music now and just what I’m writing about now. It’s just how I feel now.

So what exactly was going through your mind as you recorded the new album?

Everybody grows. You grow everyday, every year. And when it comes to making music, I would die if I had to make the same album over and over. So that’s why none of my albums have been the same. With this one here, a lot of feelings and a lot of me have been put into this and how I have changed and how I have grown and where my head is at these days, as far as making a record is concerned. That’s my offering, you know? It’s a piece of me the way I’m feeling now. I’ve been through a lot of shit and I feel great. I feel like a survivor. I feel like I’m leading hip-hop (and) I’m inspiring younger guys when they listen to hip-hop. I’m one of those guys. I can fall back from the bullshit and just do something that’s enlightening to the youth to let them know I’m not scared to make music with my heart in it. I’m not scared to walk away from my image. I’m not scared to beat other guys that are so caught up in images and they’re not putting their hearts in the music. They’re just selling you a gangsta dream over and over. Don’t get me wrong – I’m a gangsta, I’m a child of God, I’m a loving person, I’m a thug, I’m a nice person, I’m a teacher to some extent, all wrapped up in one. But that should be all wrapped up in the album. It shouldn’t just be one thing. I think that’s fake shit – especially if it’s your seventh album. This is my seventh album and it’s just a beautiful thing. So I just want to express my love and my feelings to whoever wants to listen.

Your first album, 1994’s "Illmatic," is widely considered to be a landmark release. After 1996’s "It Was Written," you released a pair of albums in 1999 that weren’t received as warmly. But regardless of what anyone’s said, I think "Stillmatic" and the tracks I’ve heard from "God’s Son" so far are some of the best material you’ve ever done. Would you agree that you’re even better now than you were when you started?

I feel like my first album, when I listen to it, it sounds like a long demo. And then my second album I think I really got in there and kicked and did it real large. I did it real right. I think it was really good. The third album was coming back from the success of my second album and talking that ‘Hate Me Now’ ’cause muthafuckas were hatin’ me. The fourth album, I went to my spiritual zone and got into the ‘Nastradamus’ thing
because it was the year 2000. It was a beautiful thing and it talked about a lot of the shit that happened in the next two years to come. I just talked about getting closer to God. And the next album was coming back to ‘Stillmatic’ to end off that era and start a brand new era. And I feel like a brand new artist, so I can agree with you. I definitely feel like I just started and I’ve been around for 12 years because my first joint was ’91. And if feels beautiful to be doing what I’m doing. Nobody’s dictating to me what type of music to make. I’m not copying anybody out there that’s trendy. If anybody, I’m copying the teachers that taught me. I’ve been through the high school of Rakim, I graduated from the college of Slick Rick, I got degrees in all kinds of muthafuckin’ things – like the KRS story, the Milk Dee story. So I’m just loving hip-hop and I’m a brand new artist now.

The first street single off "God’s Son" is a bangin’ track called "Made You Look (They Shootin’)" that’s produced by Salaam Remi. I listened to it three or four times when I had the opportunity to visit The Hit Factory – Criteria, where you recorded "God’s Son" in Miami, Fla. That song is still playing in my head. Will that be your first radio single, too?

Yeah. First street single, first single. The word single is the language of record companies, so I don’t really want to go with that. It’s just my first record, a first look, a first listen to what you’re about to get from ‘God’s Son.’ It’s my first street look. So that’s what’s happening.

What was it like making "Made You Look" with Salaam Remi?

Salaam is one of the most credible producers I’ve ever worked with. He lived hip-hop, he grew up in Queens and we share the same types of memories and experiences. We didn’t know each other, but being that we grew up in the same borough it’s like we grew up through the same experiences, knew the same people and we talk the same language. His dad was a great producer in hip-hop and other music and he’s been around music all his life and so have I. Us working together was just a long time coming. When we finally started on ‘Stillmatic,’ I felt his energy was right. He was willing to work and willing to experiment and he’s very creative. He’s a true producer. And just working with him, it made my job much easier. At this point in my career, it’s a blessing to be blessed with somebody like that to come around and know what direction to go into.

Another producer you worked with for the new album is the Alchemist. Three of the songs you did together made the album, including "My Will" and "My Book of Rhymes." What’s it like working with him?

Alchemist is dope, man. Pure nigga. He comes to the studio and brings more than enough records, more than enough ideas and more than enough energy to get in there and make records. And he just loves that. He don’t come with no bullshit. That muthafucka’s talented. Every beat he plays for me is incredible. He has so many beats just dropping all over the place.

In the song "My Will," you say that people shouldn’t include you in their lists of the top-10 rappers of all time. But I think a good number of fans and critics would put you in the top-10. Why do you say not to?

My thing is like this: A lot of people get caught up in being the best nigga, the best rapper nigga. You know, everybody’s the best at what they do. I’m the best at what I do. And I’m happy about that. I’m happy to have been around as long as I’ve been and know that nobody could budge me off my throne. Everybody has their thrown. And I think it gets
confusing when a BET or a magazine does the greatest rappers of all time and puts a Nas in front of a KRS or in front of Ice Cube. I think it’s kind of ridiculous when those brothers are the most incredible rappers who did it. We’ve got all the bells and whistles like MTV today, so muthafuckas are up there making party-ass, cartoon records – which is cool because I like to party and have fun too. But that’s not compared to when radio wouldn’t even play N.W.A. and they were coming out with revolutionary-ass, gangsta-ass music like ‘Fuck Tha Police’ and Ice Cube’s ‘Death Certificate,’ which is one of the greatest albums, not just rap, ever fuckin’ made. It’s sad if someone just comes out and says Nas is better than this nigga. And y’all are out of your mind.

Another song that Salaam Remi produced for your new album is called "I Can." This one has the word hit written all over it. What do you mean when you say "save the music" on that song?

When we were creating, the nigga Salaam told me to come in and say ‘Save the music’ at the end. And I said, ‘What do you mean?’ And he said, ‘Well, this message right here is going to the kids. This song here is for the kids and it’s for the grown kids.’ You know, adults who really haven’t heard any music like ‘I Can’ in a while, since the mid-’80s. So he says ‘Save that part of music.’ He has the Mozart shit playing in the back. And there’s no music classes in a lot of schools in poor communities. There’s no proper music classes where kids could learn like Miles and them would learn back in the days. It’s a new day now and a lot of it is rap and rappin’, but we’ve gotta realize with this music that we can go anywhere with it. We don’t want to just have to rap. I mean, when you first get on and you rap about your neighborhood and your life, that’s a beautiful thing. And it’s pure. But as you grow, you can be free to do whatever you want to do and take music to new horizons. And that’s what ‘save the music’ is. There’s so many R&B songs – there’s so many songs out there – that’s the same shit on the radio all day, pop sounding shit all day. People could be really taking a chance to express and explore. I appreciate when what Lauryn Hill did by taking time out to do what she wanted to do. You know, just go with it somewhere else. And if anybody don’t get it today, it don’t mean they’re not gonna get it tomorrow. That’s the beauty of the music. ‘Save the music’ just means everything. It’s just saying so much. So on a record like that that’s for the kids, maybe let the kids hear that right there.

In that song, you tell young people not to spend their time smoking weed and you tell teen-age girls not to go looking for older men who only want to use them. Do you feel like your music has always had positive messages for children and teens? And, if so, why do you have a positive message when a lot of other rappers don’t necessarily bother?

Well, it’s just me. I think some rappers do and I do too. Ever since my first album, it’s just been in me to make records. ‘The World Is Yours,’ really, it’s to kids but it’s to everybody. It’s to grown-ups, it’s to street niggas. ‘The World Is Yours,’ ‘Represent’ – in a lot of my lyrics, I’m saying a lot of things that I want to inspire people because I’ve been inspired through music. It’s like Slick Rick when he said ‘Hey, young world.’ It’s just me giving back. The title ‘God’s Son,’ it’s written across my stomach. And I feel a responsibility being one of God’s kids to be happy that I’m one of God’s kids and not care what nobody says. I’m taking a sacrifice where a lot of people will look at me and want to judge me and characterize me or throw titles on me because of a certain song that I’m doing, but this is all love. I’m just spreading the love and anybody that hates love is gonna lose. So I’m just showing love, man. This ain’t ‘Stillmatic’; this is ‘God’s Son.’ So
what I’m saying on ‘God’s Son,’ it may be more things that God would want me to say. It may be me just going through my shit, just fighting my demons. So a lot of love is gonna come out of here, regardless. Love is gonna overpower any demon or any evil.

You’re always really good in terms of describing situations and telling stories in such a way that fans can visualize what you’re talking about as they listen. A perfect example of this is on one of your new songs, "Crabs In A Barrel." How are you able to stay so in touch with the struggle when you’ve been a platinum-selling artist for many years now?

Well, one thing’s for sure. Money isn’t everything. And if you let earthly treasures become your god and become your happiness, you’re heading down to self-destruct. Going platinum is a blessing, but going platinum can’t save my community. A million records can’t save an entire community. You can get a lot of niggas off the streets. You can help a lot of muthafuckas. That’s what I’ve tried to do with the Queensbridge album, that’s what I’ve tried to do all throughout my career. I definitely got a lot of niggas off the streets. In reality, (when) you sell a million records, that really shows what type of character you are. Put some money in a muthafucka’s pockets and you can see who they
really are. And this is who I am. So I’m representing for God. I’m God’s son and we’re all God’s sons and daughters. I’m just representing.

When I was listening to "My Book of Rhymes," I was wondering whether you actually have a book where you write your lyrics down as you come up with them. Do you write all your stuff down or do you just come to the studio and rap over beats there?

I never write at home. And I hate it because I wish I did write at home because that’s what I used to do and I had more time to work with my material. I haven’t written at home since my first album. Nowadays, sometimes it’s freestyled, sometimes it’s written in the studio, sometimes the niggas around me give me ideas. With ‘My Book of Rhymes,’ when I went in the studio I didn’t know I could do this album (because) I’ve been through so much this year. This album’s really for me. It’s really for me to say, ‘Look, nigga. God is smiling on you, your mom is smiling on you and you’re super. You’re a soldier. Ain’t nobody out here made like you and there won’t be another made like you. So be proud of yourself. And if you can complete this album, complete it and get it out there and that’s the biggest accomplishment you’ve ever done.’ And I said, ‘OK, cool. But it’s gonna be hard because I really can’t think about getting in the studio.’ I was going through some shit. And I got in the studio and I just grabbed my old books of rhymes and shit. When I got to the studio, I realized those were just thoughts that I was
writing down and really not songs in those books. I just got in the mic booth and I was frustrated. So I looked at all those rhymes and I knew I couldn’t use them, so I said, ‘Fuck it. Let me go through my book of rhymes.’ And we really did it just like that. It was not scripted because if it was I could have been more creative with it and write some shit I felt was incredible. But I really went in there with the books of rhymes, like four different books, and went through different pages and just said it raw like that. Alchemist was laughing at me, I was making mistakes and slurring some words because I was reading it off the paper. And it was fun. It was a fun record.

You mentioned that you went through a lot this year before going into the studio. What are you referring to?

Because when I went in there, it was more of me and God going through something. My mom had passed this year and I didn’t think I could go on with the music or anything. But I realized if I sat around and did anything, I was more liable to lose my mind. So I had to keep busy and keep working and I knew that’s what she wanted me to do. She was even saying that on her last days. ‘Go ahead, go work, go out there’ – even though I couldn’t. But she was trying to tell me to do that because she’s strong – the strongest person I’ve ever seen in my life. Just for me to go deal with this album, I had to be alone. So it’s really just me and Nashawn and Bravehearts, my man Lakey the Kid.

So Irv Gotti, the CEO of Murder Inc., is producing just one track on the "God’s Son" album, right?

Yeah. We plan to make more, but I was already knee deep in the album before we had got started. He was knee deep in Ja (Rule)’s shit. I really wanted to work with the muthafucka a lot, but we’re working on one joint right now.

I’ve read all sorts of rumors about you signing with Murder Inc. But then I’ve also heard that that’s just a lot of talk and you plan on staying with Columbia Records for the rest of your career. Would you set the record straight?

No, I’m not signed with Murder Inc. I’m signed straight with Columbia and I’m about to pop off my label Ill Will. What Irv did do was have ideas that’s bigger than skyscrapers, you know? And I was all for it. But time was the enemy. We wanted to make some masterpieces, but I was already in there knee deep into my own shit, going crazy in my own world. And I was away from everybody. Irv wanted to be in a city-like environment, where I was like in more quiet zone, away from a lot of people. So he was knocking out joints with Ja and we just mash out together. When I rode on the radio station that I’m trying to tear down (Hot 97) because they fuck niggas and now they’re trying to come back to the streets because of what I said and have got these niggas losing their minds... When no other rappers were feelin’ me publicly, publicly Murder Inc. – Ja and them niggas – said ‘That’s right. Do that shit, Nas. Do your muthafuckin thing.’ And they went on the radio supportin’ me. And I kept reading in magazines where Irv said, ‘If Nas
was with the Inc., it’d be crazy.’ And I was thinkin’, ‘Yeah, man. We could take it to all kinds of levels.’ Them niggas make records that everybody parties to. I make records for the street niggas and shit. And if we collab, it’d be explosive. But we only got a chance to do this one joint. So I’m gonna ride this out. In the near future, you never know what’s going to happen. I’ve still got my label and I’ve still got my niggas that are coming out on my label, but I’ll ride with them if they need me, man.

For your next album after "God’s Son," I’m wondering whether there will be Murder Inc. artists and producers all over it. Nothing against that camp, but when you start taking a good thing like a Nas album and adding other ingredients, you worry whether that will screw things up. Do you feel like this is something fans should worry about?

I think they should! Yo, man, that is the best feeling when I heard that people really cared and were concerned about what was gonna happen with that. It was the talk. So I was like, ‘Yo, this is crazy.’ So that meant that me and Irv’s job, it would have put some challenge on it. I think that’s what pushes me and that’s what pushes him. And it pushed us toward making the most incredible shit niggas ever heard.

When Snoop Dogg signed with Master P, some people felt like the number of No Limit guest rappers on Snoop’s album watered it down. Do you feel as though you might lose some of the formula that makes your albums great by having Murder Inc. all over it?

What Snoop did, I think, was a survival thing at the time and a smart thing to do at the time. I think it was something that held him down for a little while and he needed to do it. I respect that move he made. A lot of people from the outside don’t really understand. It’s a triteful, crazy-ass game you’re in. So you’ve gotta play chess out here. He’s now doing his own thing, he’s got his own shit. So it got him through whatever shit he was going through. I don’t know what he’s going through, you don’t know and whatever it was he’s still here, he’s still around, he’s doing movies, he’s got another album coming. So whatever it was, it didn’t kill him. It didn’t hurt him no more than what he could have done to himself. It just kept him riding. And you’ve gotta explore. You’ve gotta have allies in the game. We spend so much time doing us that we don’t pay attention to the surroundings. There’s a lot of other brothers out here that’s getting money that want to get together and form some type of alliance. Sometimes you need allies; you always need allies. So there ain’t nothin’ wrong with going to get money with this crew, that crew or whatever. It’s all about love, as long as you hold on to who you are. And that’s what I’m always gonna do. So I’m never worried about it.

You’ve said before that you don’t make a concerted effort to commercialize your music. At the same time, to have a song like "One Mic" or a song like "Made You Look" draws fans in and gets them to listen to all the other great songs on your albums. Would you agree that having strong singles is important for that reason?

Well, ‘One Love’ was never intended to be a big record. It was intended to be a big record to street niggas and muthafuckas that feel me, but I never thought it would play on the radio. It just didn’t seem like a record that would play on the radio. I produced it because I was vibin’ and I just hired Chucky Thompson as a musician. I had him come in there to play my ideas. So I produced every second of that record because it was in my heart and in my thoughts and in my mind. I was vibin’ off other records, other old classics, and I was inspired to do that. I never intended for that to be on the radio. So when the album dropped and people liked it, it’s ‘Oh, shit. Let’s try radio with this muthafucka.’ And it worked. What that proved to me is that I didn’t need a famous chick on the hook to draw people in. And I don’t need that now. But when I do collab with a famous chick, it’s because the chemistry could be incredible. I could have a famous nigga, a famous girl on the hook and pop and make the party records. I like to have a great time and I want to hear that. So you’ve gotta have your record that’s doin’ what these niggas are doin’ because you want to jump in the party. You want to join the party too. But if your whole album is like that, if every song’s like that, you’re really bullshitting yourself. If every record is like that, come on, it’s not even an album. You’re really just trying to make you some cash. And I’m not knocking your hustle. Do your thing.

In addition to Chucky Thompson, Salaam Remi and Alchemist, who else will appear on the "God’s Son" album?

I’m trying to get Nasheim right now to do some shit and Premier and Irv. That’s about it.

Singer-pianist Alicia Keys is doing a track with you too. Could you tell me about that?

We talked a few times and she just said there was something I said... We were talking about leadership and being leaders and just talking about life and what we’ve gone through and how the strong survive. And she came up with ‘Warrior Song.’ She said, ‘I’ve got a song for you.’ And when she said it, I was like, ‘Wow. I love that.’ And we just talked about music and we listen to all kinds of music and put each other up on all kinds of African music and all kinds of music. We spent time together just talking. She’s so talented and she’s like an old soul. We know what type of battles we’re fighting out there. It’s so many. She produced the whole thing and showed me where to get busy at and the whole nine. It’s just an experience that me and her had on that song that’s gonna speak to a lot of warriors out there.

Two of my favorite tracks from "Stillmatic" were "Ether" and "Destroy and Rebuild." When you talked about Nature, Cormega, Jay-Z and Prodigy, those were some of the best diss tracks I’ve ever heard. On "God’s Son," you didn’t call out any name. How come?

I did that. A lot of niggas started battling hard after me and Jay battled. I know it became the thing for a lot of niggas. But me and Jay’s thing, it took a toll out of me, just battling that. That was a serious battle. It was definitely one of the serious battles in hip-hop and I know it took a toll out of him. A lot of people don’t understand that. They don’t see that part. It took a lot out of us to do that shit. That shit you don’t just plan. That shit you don’t want to do. These niggas battling is nothin’. With us, there’s a lot of other shit involved. There’s a lot of back history. So I’ve done that and I was the successor and that was a blessing. But now it’s time to move on. I know he still wants to get his weight up and still try to redeem himself, coming back at me on his album. And that’s because he just has to do that for himself. He took time off to get his head right, his whole spirit back together and come back for a second chance. But my thing is he can do him without battlin’ me. I’m going to the next level. My mission is different now. I want niggas to be all peace. I want Nas, Jay, Ja, X, Nelly, KRS – it’s time now that we move on before anything escalates that’s really unnecessary. I’m being a bigger man to say that all know we want peace. We’ve got peace in our hearts, but I understand niggas still gotta get their shit off their chest. So let it get off your chest. I don’t mind that because I’m moving on. I moved on and I can’t acknowledge that. It’s not right. I’m focused on the light. And I think they all are too. As soon as they get their shit off their chest, they will be too.

You recorded a song called "You Wanna Be Me" for the soundtrack to Eminem’s movie, "8-Mile." What made you want to contribute to the project?

That nigga’s dope, man. That nigga’s crazy with it. He called me and was like, ‘Yo, I need a joint.’ He’s a businessman. He’s putting a soundtrack together, which is really dope. I had a song that I was working on and when he called I sent out some shit to him. And he was feeling one of them, so I just finished it up and sent it out to him.

Is there any plan for you and Eminem to do a song together in the future where you both rap on it?

I’d love to work with Eminem. He’s one of my favorites.

Which other rap artists do you like out of who’s out today?

Trick Daddy, Outkast, Styles P, Jadakiss, Sheek. Those niggas, I love their shit.

Could you tell me about your life outside of music? Do you have family of your own?

I’m just really trying to live a peaceful life. I really don’t live the hip-hop life. I love hip-hop. But I try to be happy, I want a family, I want to be married. I’ve got a girl now and I’m just trying to live my life and I’m thinking about a life outside of being a performer. I’m still being creative with art, producing and shit like that, writing or whatever – but not being away from family so much no more. I’ve been doing this shit since I was 18, 16. I’m 29 now and I love music. I’m gonna keep making it. I’ve still got it in me for another seven years, I think. But I really want to stop. I want ‘God’s Son’ to be my last
album, but I can’t. After this album, I want to take off and disappear for a little while (and) then come back and go do shows for my niggas out there. I want to get back in their face and do shows and sing songs off ‘God’s Son’ and all the rest of the music that I’ve ever done by early next year. (I’ll) spread the love throughout the world and, you know, tour, shit like that, and then take off again and really take time and be at home and relax.

Do you think it might be a good while before you release your next album after "God’s Son"?

Maybe, man. I was planning on making a Mother’s Day album dedicated to all the mothers, to drop on Mother’s Day – dedicated to my mom.

What was your relationship with your mother like?

We were real, real close. She was an angel. And now she’s a bigger angel.

Your father, Olu Dara, is a veteran jazz musician who is actually touring at the moment. Are you close with him too?

Me and pops are cool. We’re real cool. He’s in a class by himself. He does his own thing. He’s a cool nigga. He hangs out in Harlem all day or tours Europe or tours the states. He works on music and he just does him. He just does his thing. I was in Cali. I was staying out there for a while working on a film that I made. And he was there and I went to his show and had a great time.

Given your talent at telling stories through your songs, can fans expect to see a Nas autobiography down the line?

I think so because I’ve read a lot of people’s autobiographies and I think if people could read mine, they could see themselves in my autobiography. I think it would be a great read and one hell of a story, baby.

Earlier this year, AZ was saying that he was working on an album with you. Is that the case?

No.

After "Stillmatic" came out and totally blew up, Nature, Cormega and AZ released albums. It was as though they were saying, "Look at me. I used to work with Nas." What’s your take on that?

Well, I brought them in the game to become successful. That’s me. I’m always gonna be that nigga because somebody helped me. And that’s what we’re supposed to do. More power to ’em. They didn’t work out good with me, but they have their own destiny. They have their own paths to follow. Maybe there was some confusion there where they wanted what I had, or maybe they just didn’t understand. I don’t want to blame them. I don’t want to blame anybody. That’s what it was and unfortunately it comes to rap battles and violence happens on top of that. I wish it didn’t have to happen like that, but I felt obligated to make a song about guys who were representing my hood just for props but weren’t really willing to put their life or their career on the line for it. When niggas were on the radio trying to diss my hood, besides Mobb Deep I was the only one out there riding. The niggas I didn’t feel like were riding the right way or were riding halfway or were not really playing for real, I had to straighten them out and I had to let them know this is real. That’s what a general does. You’ve gotta let the soldiers know. The general was once a soldier. I’m a soldier and a general. That’s why I have to let the up and coming soldiers who want to be on the frontline know how it goes down, whether they like it or not. It hurt me doing it. Nature had made a record dissing me back and I wasn’t really dissing him. I was trying to tell these niggas what’s going on and I was being for real with it. They looked at it as an opportunity to come back and sell a record off me or come back and just explain their part of the story. I’m not mad at that. But Nashawn had stomped Nature out because of what he said. My man Nashawn had stomped Nature out in the street over that. I didn’t want him to do that, but that’s how things can escalate. I don’t want things in rap music to even go that way no more. When somebody says something on record and then apologizes behind your back and tries to call you and tries to give your people money and tries to get on your good side – but yet they were just (saying) gangsta shit on the radio and on songs saying shit that they could die for – we’re not playing with real men. These aren’t real men that I’m in the ring with. It doesn’t make no sense for me to be in the ring with niggas that ain’t even real. And they’re just cartoon niggas. So I don’t knock them for being a cartoon, fake muthafucka. But I can’t get in the ring with these niggas because that’s not even my mission. If these niggas really had something that meant anything and wanted to get in the ring, then you’d probably see me get in the ring with these niggas.

What is it in life that generally makes you feel good?

What makes me feel good is I have no more fears. The only thing I fear is my temper. I could walk through the streets and New York is mine. I’ll go anywhere, with security or without. New York is a beast, so you’ve gotta be on point. But, at the same time, I’ll go anywhere that these guys (are) who are talking this gangsta shit and I’ll walk up to them with love. Because that’s more powerful and I want to show them that it’s time for love. You can still deal with your reality because the hood is hell. You’re gonna have to deal with that with helping your niggas and your issues in your own neighborhoods or whatever. My neighborhood is love and wherever I go, I represent love. And niggas know that.

Is there anything else you’d like to say to the fans that are looking forward to picking up your new album?

It’s another experience with your boy Nas. Strap on and let’s go for it. Block out all the bullshit that you see on 106 or TRL and the bullshit that you read in the magazines. Block all that corny, fake shit out. Hip-hop, when I first was listening to it, it was niggas smoking joints and drinking Balantine ales and Private Stock 40s and zip guns. And then
they turned to 22s and 9 millimeters and you couldn’t even stay outside because when they’d be playing the music loud it would just be a shootout. And muthafuckas would be coming through with fly cars and fly girls and big ropes and it was real gangsta. It was beautiful back in the days. That was before MTV was showing muthafuckas love. That was before rap music was getting love. So think about it just as a nigga with something to say – not a nigga that’s just trying to go platinum, not a nigga that’s trying to convince you he’s the illest nigga in the world, but a nigga that’s got the power of God in his house and in his heart that’s seen it all, that’s been through it, that his mother’s become an angel to help guide him. I’ve been through it and I’m a warrior. And all my warriors, I want them to hear some music from their brother Nas. That’s it.

BG
solid crew
wolf town recordings
narcocorrido
x-ecutioners
spice
swizz beatz
paris
c-bo
nelly
the grind family
dead prez
brotha lynch hung
dayton family
wc
NAS
mike mosley
kottonmouth kings
fat joe
lil jon & the east side boyz
david banner
insane clown posse
too $hort
dirty
DJ screw
DLT
E-40
eastsidaz
eightball
fredo
ghetto mafia
jt money
st lunataics
mac mall
pastor troy
petey pablo
project pat
rass kass
sammysam
the shinin
shocklee
tech n9ne
the click
xzibit
bg
a-damn-shame
doc
fifty cent
jt the bigga figga
proof
zion
bone crusher
fiend
freeway
technine
bravehearts
Chingo Bling
Diplomats
Killer Mike
State Property
Willie-D