Nas: " GRODT was the last time it felt hip hop was alive"

[Meho]

NaS
Death Becomes You

By Adhimu Stewart
photographs by matthew salacuse

Pound: I heard you say that all music is dead. If hip-hop, rock and rhythm and blues are all dead, then we must be “Black Zombies.”

Nas: [Laughs]

But you’re the God’s Son. So aren’t you the one to take us to the Promised Land? Isn’t it within us to resurrect the art form?

Nah, I think I’m more of a messenger, or a troublemaker, that gets people going. That’s what I’m doing.

So what is your writing process, your creativeprocess? Does it take a long time for you to come up with “The World is Yours” or “Nas is Like?”

Earlier projects for me, I took my time because I didn’t really know the value, or I didn’t really realize what the studio costs were or I didn’t care, ‘cause after I did my demos and got my deal, it was all their money. And I didn’t understand the recoup thing at the age of 19. So I just figured, “Yo, it’s Columbia Records, you got more than enough money to work on a rookie’s album without worrying about getting your money back. I’m sure you’re going to make it back a zillion times over.” So I spent all the time I wanted in the earlier sessions. [Now,] I do know that I do like to work. I don’t like to spend too much time on one record. If it’s taking too long, I move to the next idea. I walk around with a lot of ideas and when I get to the studio, I start writing them.

Is there a lot of unreleased stuff? Are there a lot of albums there?

There’s a lot of stuff. I don’t really know if there’s a lot, a lot of stuff, but there’s a good
quantity of different things I haven’t listened to in a while.

So when was the last time that hip-hop felt alive for you?

The last time it really felt alive was when 50 Cent’s first album came out, Get Rich or Die Tryin’. I will admit that it did feel right. The double Outkast album, the Speakerboxxx/Love Below, it felt alive then, other than that, it was of course, the “Ether-Takeover” battle, it was also the Nas-Jay-Z union. With the union, it’s starting to feel like like something’s happening, like it’s the start of something. And just recently with The Game’s new album, and Jay-Z’s new album, you know?

Do you feel any responsibility for hip-hop’s death?
Yeah. [But] with this album, I pushed it. I think that with this album, and the other albums that recently came out, I think everybody’s going to be motivated, including myself, for next year.

“Black Republican” is hip-hop history. Did it take long for it to happen?

Um, well, I had a session, Jay came by, and I had the beat. He heard it, he liked it, he rhymed it. We started saying rhymes to each other, he rhymed on it, I rhymed on it. It wasn’t no big deal, it was just a song. What I mean is we didn’t plan it, we didn’t think of titles, we didn’t do anything… we weren’t necessarily even going to put anything down that day, it just so happened to happen.

What if you signed to Def Jam in 1992? Do you think things would have been a lot different? Like if MC Serch brought your demo there?

I think I would have sold double the records I sold. It’s either I would have sold double the records I sold, or I would have gotten lost in the shuffle of Def Jam. I mean, one never knows, because me being the only rap artist with a rap career on Columbia Records, in Columbia Records history, it’s probably by mistake. With Def Jam, it’s possible I could have sold double the amount of records because it’s a hip-hop record company that caters more to mom and pop stores and the communities that it really belongs in. So maybe I could have sold double the records, or got lost, who knows. But I know one thing for sure, I plan to bring Def Jam back to the days of glory.

You once rapped, “I could show them my fortune, but can’t force them to think rich.” So how could we teach the ghetto how to think like millionaires? Where’s a place we could start educating people on?

Well, first of all, it’s a tricky thing, because when you start educating people, where do you start? I mean, when you’re talking about our people: where do you start, you know what I’m saying? And it comes off like, it’s devastating to know what’s been held back from you, what’s been done to you, and what you don’t know about what’s really happening in today’s world. We got a lot of catching up, so it’s like we have to do it in a speedy process where we have to give people selfawareness, we have to give them American history, political science, political history, we have to first and foremost give us knowledge of self so that we know the greatness that…yeah, we’re from the hood. But if you really want to know where we’re from, it ain’t no hood. It’s way, way greater than the hood. We don’t gotta feel like “I ain’t shit cause I came from here.” Nah, we don’t come from this block. We got brought to this block. We come from greatness. Once you can wrap your mind around that, and realize who you really are, you realize you’re more than the guy that’s a three-time predicate felon, you’re more than just the guy, the perp, you’re more than just the rapper, the ball player. You’re more than all of
these things. [Then] you can start reshaping your family household. Once people start realizing what chemical warfare and genocide is all about, [that] we are literally being erased and wiped off this planet. That’s a lot to cram into our brains in an instant. But at some point, we have to figure out a structure that places all these things into perspective so you can learn them all in chronological order so to speak, so that we have knowledge of self, so that we know the world and how business works in the white man’s world, and how we can exist in it—you know what I’m saying—how we can do for us, and can create our black world.

On “I Can” you say, “we were kings and queens, never porch monkeys” and on “Represent” off llmatic, “I don’t believe in none of that shit, your facts are backwards.” It made me wonder, where do you get your education?

There’s a book called What They Didn’t Teach You In History Class, and there’s a lot of scholars, like J.A. Rogers, there’s tons of scholars that have dedicated their lives to our history here and abroad, and been to Africa and studied in Africa, and studied here, studied in England, studied in Asia, and put together all of these references for us to go and find out what’s really going on. And that was the biggest thing that interested me, from the beginning. ‘Cause I wanted to learn. Being black in America, there’s no home to go to, unless you’re going back to the South, and in the South, you’re going to where your ancestors were dropped off here in America. So, we don’t really have nothing. My Italian friends go home to Italy. My Irish friends go home to Ireland. You know, we don’t have a place to go home to, [Africa’s] not really our home, outside of America. So, to learn it is fascinating. So that’s what got me going from the beginning.

On another subject, the platinum recording days seem to be over, pretty much. Killed by Internet downloading and leaks, do you feel optimistic about hip-hop in the next two or three years still?

You know what? I feel like, things change. And to survive, you have to change with it. And it’s nothing. You just have to change. It’s hurtful, but all things die and all things change. Change is good. And online, you can still go digital download platinum. Like Kelis has sold over a million ringtones, a million downloads. This is just on one song. You can still go digital platinum, and then have a physical record that’s platinum or double platinum. We just have to structure our deals differently, and I think that the musicians will always be here. It’s forcing us to go back to being all about the music again. Now you might not have enough for the fans to see you on MTV Cribs and all that bullshit. Now we might have to say “Yo, we make our money differently, so we live differently.” We can still get those things, but we have to start all over and figure out our deals so our deals benefit us through the Internet now.

So I want to talk about some conflicts you have been through. You technically haven’t responded to “Piggy Bank,” except for “MC Burial.” Would you make peace with 50 Cent and Mobb Deep like you made peace with Jay-Z, at one point?

I think me and Jay-Z is the peace with everyone else, you know what I’m saying? I think that was to show everyone else. Now, they can go out and start thinking about do they want to make peace with whoever. Do they want to do this? Do they want to do that? Because, I don’t have any beef with no rapper. If a rapper has a beef with me, then I respond. But I don’t have any beef with them—they have beef with me. So I think the me and Jay thing was a way for them to see, this is where I’m at. You guys can do that amongst yourself, ‘cause I don’t even want to be included in anymore of the nonsense with the rap, ‘cause it embarrasses us as a people. I just think these guys made enough noise saying wild shit about everybody and they need just to do some soul searching and figure it out.

[UKnowWhatItIs: welcome to my traps....game over]

All this bullshit about hip hop being dead is getting on my nerves.It's not dead.People are just saying it is cause they wanna look cool, I don't know.It's like a fad.

[WC Iz Active]

Nas is a loser

[AlerG]

Like Nas said, if you're mad he's saying, you're probably part of the reason why it's dead,

chill

[Meho]

All this bullshit about hip hop being dead is getting on my nerves.It's not dead.People are just saying it is cause they wanna look cool, I don't know.It's like a fad.

In the end its obvious this was a promotional "stunt" from Nas. Hes a smart dude.

[wcsoldier]

I like Nas music but he's just a moron... once he said " this real hip hop, not that fake 50 shit" now he said this..  

[The King]

Nas is a loser

you MAD? doggie.

[$Eg2$]

I like Nas music but he's just a moron... once he said " this real hip hop, not that fake 50 shit" now he said this..  

Real Talk

[Throwback]

did that grodt thing get your weiner hard?

[LyRiCaL_G]

its truth, hiphop was on some steam back then when grodt dropped....i remember back then niggaz was selling but nobody was dropping big big numbers apart from the whiteboy....then 50 dropped and everyone was like, dayum....there is still hope.......now u see every record tryna for a new record coming out on the club tip....but back then when it dropped, aint nobody can deny it put some major steam back i hiphop at the time...

oh and its truth, right now hiphop is dead.....when a jigga/nas reunion aint doing shit, a snoop album gets passed by....a game album gets checked for a lil while through reasons we all know and then gets passed.....and still we feel like nuttin aint happened....right now hiphop is dead........they are all big names we talking about , infact huge names, game included......but nuttin really happened.......infact i dont think even one of these niggaz is at double plat......music in general is leaking right now not just hiphop......but its truth hiphop is dead right now.........we need cats like 50 now to drop some real heated shit....damn even though i cannot stand dude eminem no mo, even he needs to release some shit....but not know encore or massacre because that will make the situation worse....they need to release some grodt standard shit for 50 and some MMLP standard shit for em.....and dre better bring his A game....not some imagine bullshit

peace

[Elevz]

All this bullshit about hip hop being dead is getting on my nerves.It's not dead.People are just saying it is cause they wanna look cool, I don't know.It's like a fad.

In the end its obvious this was a promotional "stunt" from Nas. Hes a smart dude.

LOL. Yeah. Have you even read the interview you just posted?

[herpes]

Nas is a loser

hes better then any rapper in your sig tho

[Smoke Break]

Nas is a loser

hes better then any rapper in your sig tho

that's the truth

[Meho]

All this bullshit about hip hop being dead is getting on my nerves.It's not dead.People are just saying it is cause they wanna look cool, I don't know.It's like a fad.

In the end its obvious this was a promotional "stunt" from Nas. Hes a smart dude.

LOL. Yeah. Have you even read the interview you just posted?

Nas is bipolar. One interview hes tlaking about hip hop is dead, enxt interview hip hop is alive. One interview hes dissing the south, next interview giving props to the south.

[js83]

All this bullshit about hip hop being dead is getting on my nerves.It's not dead.People are just saying it is cause they wanna look cool, I don't know.It's like a fad.

Well, considering the fact that the quality of hiphop music nowdays have been declining for some time now...i think its dying...it's not dead, but its getting there...if this continues..