Nas was in a battle with Jay-Z and he did not use any freestyling tactics.

I used to be a big Nas-fan, but he gets worse every day now.
The bold lines are REALLY stupid.
Looks like he thinks he's a mix between Rakim, Eminem & Pac..
And Nas who can't even freestyle


The artist formerly known as Nasty Nas was, for most of 2002, up to his neck in more nasty beef than a British cattle farmer. In high hip-hop tradition, he'd been trading vicious yet safely lyrical barbs with fellow rapper Jay-Z, but the conflict escalated to unnerving proportions when a popular New York radio station nixed Nas' plans to lynch Jay-Z in effigy on stage at their biggest summer concert. Nas began publicly, and scathingly, criticizing not only Jay but also the station's most beloved on-air jocks and several other rap celebs. Egos bristled, snipes sailed through the airwaves, and soon much of hip-hop was taking sides. Just when it seemed there'd be blood in the streets for sure, Nas mellowed. In September, his label, Columbia, put out ''The Lost Tapes,'' a collection of unreleased material that was more introspection and insight than insult, and suddenly Nas had little else to say on the subject. With his seventh disc, ''God's Son,'' due in stores Dec. 17, Nas is, once again, upset. We interrupted him while he was screening the video for ''Made You Look,'' the album's gritty first single.

LISTEN2THIS How'd the video come out?
NAS It sucks. It looks glossy. It looks like we want to be on TV, and it ain't about TV; it's about the streets.

Will hip-hop ever not be about egos? Okay, imagine there were a ban on rhyming about cars, money, jewels, clothes, girls, and yourself. What would you write about?
That would be a terrible thing because that's like saying ''Whatever makes you happy, all your dreams, don't rap about it.'' It'd be a good thing, though, because every song you hear would be incredibly creative and innovative.

Do you think you could write a hot verse about, say, a puppy?
I have a skit on my album [where] I'm a roach in the projects. I don't know if it's going to stay, but I have fun doing raps like that.

There was a rumor that you almost named your last album ''Nastalgia.'' What are your golden days?
The '80s. When you look back, you really find what [hip-hop]is; it was a sound that was at the park jams before there were any radio spins, before there were any videos, when it wasn't compromised, tampered with. It was a block party.

On ''The Lost Tapes'' you call yourself a Columbia Records slave. What did you mean?
I may not be a slave because I get paid for what I do, but the system still pimps artists. [The line is] to educate youngsters about music careers. Do they just want the fame and the cars or do they want to own their masters, or a bigger percentage of their record, or do they want to own their label?

I was watching MTV2 last week, and I saw the 1992 ''Back to the Grill'' video with you, MC Serch, Red Hot Lover Tone, and Chubb Rock. Everyone seemed to be having fun, but you were dead serious. Do you lighten up?
[Laughs] What makes me laugh is hearing my s--- on the radio, that excitement, that enjoyment. I had a ball making this album. The music just comes out and sometimes I say, Damn, I hope people don't get too wrapped up in the seriousness! I hope they enjoy it, too.

Speaking of serious, does it bother you that your single came out with gunshot sound effects right around the time of the sniper tragedies?
I thought about that. [The chorus is] ''They shootin'!'' and then at the same time on the news, they're shooting in D.C. It's not on purpose, but because [rappers] always [keep pace with] current events. Just like the war; brothers are over there fighting the Taliban. If they want to get charged up, play [my new single]. It's wartime; I make music that's relevant for the times. A lot of people are making bulls--- records that don't have anything to do with anything. And that's all good; I love it. [Laughing] That just leaves more room for me to do the reals---.

In the past year you've had verbal conflicts with a lot of other rappers. Do you worry that it'll become more than just words?
Everybody worries about that. We should worry about getting together to fight our real enemies and not each other. I never was a battle rapper. It's the craziest thing; I became like the battle rapper! How the f--- did that happen? I hate it now. I mean, it happened for a reason and at that moment I enjoyed it, but I don't ever want to go through that again. I'm done with it. I've moved on.

Do you think you could take Eminem in a rap battle?

I respect the guy's art, but I don't think it's wise for anybody to challenge me right now. There's really nobody out there that's reached where I'm at yet, and I'm only using one percent of my whole 10 percent. If it gets turned up all the way, I'm gonna lose everybody and they're going to be thinking I'm from another planet.

_______________