Rebel To America

In The End

2006-12-28T15:20:00.000-08:00

While I had been following along other blogs for some time and trading mp3's back and forth online as well, starting this site was more of an impulse than anything. You also have to remember that earlier this year Nas seemed to be in the news every single day, so I wanted some way to catalog those stories but also cover his music, new and old, with the history and analysis I thought it deserved. Ten months and a hundred-plus posts later, I'd like to think I accomplished that much. And, as I have been saying since summer, with Nas' new album just released, now seems like a fitting time to close up shop.

Let me just give quick thanks to a couple general groups of people:

1.Guest writers: From John Book, who contributed the first guest piece, to Ill E, who was the brains behind two contributions, having guest writers made up for what I didn't know and took pressure off pending updates. Moreover, Nabs, in particular, was largely responsible for many of the breaking links I may have posted.

2.Other sites / blogs: Since RTA's inception, with gracious referrals from other blogs and message boards, the number of visitors here has been on a steady increase. I didn't start this with industry connections or anything, but it was able to grow thanks to word spreading as it so generously did.

3.Y'all people: I don't have the greatest track record when it comes to staying faithful to long-term projects. Often times, I lose interest real fast, especially online, where, with a couple simple keystrokes, virtually a whole world can be forgotten. Anyway, knowing I had an audience that kept coming back motivated me to keep this whole experiment afloat for as long as I have.

So, thanks.

Stocking Stuffers

2006-12-23T12:04:00.000-08:00

As if an entire new album worth of material was not enough, in the time since Hip Hop Is Dead first leaked online and this blog took a little break till now, Nas has kept his name out there on a couple odds and ends. This includes a freestyle, two remixes, and one entirely new song. I've also included an interview Nas did with Flex on Hot 97 earlier this week. It's required listening if only to hear how Live at the Barbeque came to be.

98 FM Freestyle
According to a legendary story, Nas was once such a potent freestyler that after spitting for some time in the company of Biggie, Biggie just had to shrug and say, "there's no way I can follow that." Blunted by time though, in 2006, you'd hardly suspect that was ever true of Nas. As an example, during a recent visit to Detroit's 98 FM, the rapper quickly stumbled on a pre-written verse. Now, a dope freestyler hardly ever equals a dope overall rapper, but it would still be nice to see signs of what once had Big so shook. P.S. The "off the top" stipulation is the revisionist's definition of freestyle.

Look at these clowns that be coming at me / Pac showed 'em how it was done in Makavelli / Exactly . . . who wanna attack me? / When y'all done with the dumb ish, we could break bread / I show you young black brothers how to get ahead / You think I'm not Mr. Entrepreneur / But every time I step out a car, it's from a Bentley door / And that's been happening since '94 / And y'all don't see me talking crack and raw / I hang with gangstas, the kind you never seen before / Or on Lear jets with Webber, no discussions of rap / We talk about American lives that were lost in Iraq / Talk about American lives that were lost in the hood / Al Green ballads and how shit'd never be like it was / Pop bottles for my brothers in prison / Pop bottles for my girls who . . .

That's That Shit (Remix)
This remix of Snoop Dogg's hit song first popped up on LA radio at the beginning of December. A couple weeks later, a radio rip finally made it online, followed by an appearance on a Big Mike mixtape. Initially, I thought it was an official remix; however, given Nas' ad-libs and the lack of a definitive copy, I'm not so sure anymore. Regardless, it's a beat Nas handles with enough humor.

Nas Esco is a menace / My enemy death toll is limitless / Escrow, assets liquidated, we spendin' it / Got you giving these women fits / Got you in Fendi fits / Many gifts, exquisite, most expensive shit / 2009 gear, big rips, you're looking at my D&D collar / For your girl lipstick, ya nitwit / So now you on some wrist-slit / Nas not known for the gossip / You too good to be my side chick / We made the bed rock, then I figure-four leg lock / We did it all, from the shopping mall to the big yacht / With big rocks, see, your ex-man was weak / He ran when I pulled out my cellphone, he thought it was heat / She was torn between us two and things we used to do / But now I'm moved on, I found somebody new

War
"War" is an appropriate title for Nas' contribution to DJ Clue's Professional PT 3. It's not necessarily a song that finds the QB MC in full-on battle-mode, but he certainly attacks the beat strong enough. War also finds Nas revisiting his exaggerated comic book meets religion rhyme style, a nod to Nastier days. Finally, to those who would say this should have been on HHID, well, it's one verse and no hook. Be happy with Money Over Bullshit.

Squinted-eye gangsta / Live in a skyscraper / Platinum Patron-drinker / Stacking that grown paper / God pushed me out his nuts / The Devil swallowed me up / I burnt a hole in his guts / Fell down into a Louis Vitton truck / With stashboxes, and niggas in it saying blast Nas shit / Drove down harm's way puffing that Bombay / QB thug tattoo on my arm say / Names of my fam / So I'ma read you a scripture / And command-ments to get your richer / Bandanas, hammers, MAC's and nina's / With the mismatched Pumas like Shan in Queensbridge / All white shell toes, that's that Queens thing / Brightland, ice wine, call that weed sling / Know where g slang??? / And the bitches with bomb ass that slurp on me and my comrades / Got a new contract / Come on, black / Shit y'all just getting up on, I'm beyond that / No time for crumbs, I really don't see them / They just started living, just started having threesomes / Just started having girls who like them / That's why I got married 'cause my world ain't like them / So why they keep telling those stories? / Nigga, y'all square, nigga, this is my year

You (Remix)
Nas and Andre 3000 finally do a song together, and it's a remix to an R&B track by Lloyd? Oh, okay. As he has grown decidedly more frustrated with the state of Hip-Hop, Nas has name-checked Dre, Atlanta's own pessimist, more and more as well. Nas also has cited the Outkast rapper as one of the last vestiges of creativity in the game. With Dre rumored to be heading back to the studio for something other than singing, we can hope for more collaborations in the future, without Lloyd so much.

Nas be in the crib low / Strip pole in it / Cold Guinness / Bitter taste / Slim waist / I'm gon' hit it / We low key, baby / Like a baritone / Apple computer / E-Mail me to come scoop ya / Run through ya, undo your bra / Give me medulla, ahh / You cute as a movie star / In Sin City, Hennessy / My love slave / Loving this pimp and no rest have' / With none of 'em, I leave everyone one of 'em / You just say it - just leave it where it is / He ain't aware, let sleeping dogs lie / But keep a sharp eye on him 'cause I'm the wrong guy / To wanna put this 4-5 on him / Let's get it on, ma / You got my nose wide open / You already locked down and rocked down / But so delicious / If he get suspicious / Bring up his old mistress / I ain't dry snitching / But why should you be feeling bad / 'Cause I be killing that?

DJ Clue f/ Nas: War
Lloyd f/ Andre 3000 & Nas: You (remix)
Nas: FM 98 Freestyle
Nas: That's That Shit (remix)
BONUS: Nas: 12-19-06 Hot 97 interview

Hope Remix Contest

2006-12-20T23:53:00.000-08:00

The final song on Hip Hop Is Dead, Hope, features an acapella Nas. This seems to have been done in part to emphasize Nas' vocals and whatever statement he's making about the future of Hip-Hop; however, there's also the angle that this song will become its own marketing tool, as amateur producer after amateur producer provide their own beat backing to the track. In the short time that the album has been available, many of these remixes have already shown up, some good, some bad, some otherwise. This entry includes a collection of fourteen such remixes.

You can stream or download the fourteen on an invidual basis (links open in a new window). Also, since the premise of this whole thing was originally a "contest", I've added a voting function to the end of this post.

Thanks to everyone who submitted a remix.

Hope (Damn Da Man Remix)

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Hope (Deacon LF Remix)

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Hope (DJ Incise Remix)

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Hope (DJ Pups Remix)

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Hope (Duke Remix)

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Hope (G Dub Remix)

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Hope (Jee Eye Zee Remix)

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Hope (Kay Be Remix)

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Hope (Legit H Remix)

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Hope (Nabs Remix)

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Hope (SBK Remix)

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Hope (Sleeptime Remix)

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Hope (The ARE Remix)

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Hope (Zilla Rocca Remix)

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VOTE: Which Hope remix do you think was the strongest?
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In Loving Memory

2006-12-19T14:24:00.000-08:00

The plastic is off, the disc is in the changer, the 19th is finally here.

One of the unbeatable things about having the album physically in your possession is the CD booklet of course. On the artwork side, check the turntables and wax (candles) picture, the half-speaker / half-funeral home image, the chalked-out body surrounded by money rolls, and the black and white close-up of the TRC-931 aka "the ghetto blaster." As for the liner notes, you get a manageable font size, appropriate production credits, and a breakdown of most of what was sampled. And although it may be ironic and unsavory to some to circumnavigate the cultural rite of record store digging, here's a little collection I amassed of just what was sampled. Because, if Hip Hop is dead, then consider this the Big Chill, old friends reuniting over some classic songs. (Corresponding HHID track titles within rar package.)

[SAMPLES]
Bill Withers - Use Me
Carmine Coppola - Marcia Religiosa
Diana Ross - The Interim
Eric B. & Rakim - I Ain't No Joke
Herbie Hancock - Sly
Incredible Bongo Band - Apache
Incredible Bongo Band - In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida
James Brown - Get Up, Get Into It And Get Involved
Marvin Gaye - After The Dance
Nat King Cole - Unforgettable
Steve Miller Band - Take The Money & Run
BONUS - Bob Marley - War
BONUS - Minnie Ripperton - Rainy Day In Centreville

Rebel To America: Hip Hop Is Dead Samples Collection

The Séance Sessions

2006-12-17T16:31:00.000-08:00

Hip Hop Is Dead comes out in stores this Tuesday, December 19th, and has been "available" online, from the depths of South Korea, for a couple weeks now. While I didn't want to jumpstart discussion for those RIAA-abiding, discipline-having folks, I have been itching to talk about the album for some while. That, plus the fact that the 19th is right around the corner, makes this as good as time as any.

I've attempted to give each song its own entry for especially concentrated discussion, but if you have any more general reactions to the album or feelings about subsequent controversy, marketing, critical response, etc., lay 'em down here. Also, just because five HHID songs leaked much earlier, don't let that dissuade you from any further or first-time comments.

Black Republican

Can't Forget About You

Hip Hop Is Dead

Hustlers

Where Are They Now?

Money Over Bullshit

2006-12-17T16:30:00.000-08:00

Produced by L.E.S. & Wyldfyer.

[NAS]
My niggas got scarred grills
Skully hats and gats be fully's
Brrrat, cars peel, the East Coast cartel
Rats get their tails snapped and trapped
The snitches in the streets and the snitches who rap
Pure euphoria, a dose of death to all of ya
Coroner choruses sung from The Bridge to Astoria
Dreams of falling in the elevator, passing floors
Suddenly stop, the doors open up to a brick wall
I can smell the haters, wishful thinkers, bad luck prayers
Picture your tarot cards and bodyguards getting sprayed up
Sabotaging my makeup, my watches get laced up
Even if they indicted Jacob
Forensics, paramedics carry cowards off
Defibrillator shot to your chest, try to cough
They die and hit Hell from an iron
I'm fly in YSL, I'm paid from this shit
Got bitches high as hell, and they fucking like AIDS don't exist
They get sent to your hotel, I'm made of this shit
Put a barrel in a capo mouth
Till his scalp come out
You a kid, you don't live what you rap about
King poetic, too many haters to count
Too much paper to count

Join me in war, many will live, many will mourn
Money over bullshit, pistols over brawn
Afraid not of none of you cowards but of my own strength
Afraid not of none of you cowards but of my own strength

Got seven candles lit, black wallpaper, black carpet
Thinking about which nigga to target
You kill a nigga today, he lives forever
So I plotted out smarter, there'll be no martyrs
Black TEC on the table, Mag .44
Black negligee on my bitch, she's at the door
Black fish eggs, nigga, that's the caviar
You niggas fish-made, y'all niggas is fifth grade
Niggas, it's fifty ways to die, said the general
If I give ya the top five, you will not survive
Rule 1, cocksucker, keep my name from your tongue
Rule 2, thought ya knew don't fuck with God's Son
Rule 3, see, matter fact, I just wait
If y'all reach top five, then I'ma eat y'all alive
Each one of you guys that claim Hip-Hop is still alive
Like y'all ain't in agreement with Nas

Join me in war, many will live, many will mourn
Money over bullshit, pistols over brawn
Afraid not of none of you cowards but of my own strength
Afraid not of none of you cowards but of my own strength

From crack pushers to Lac' pushers and ambushers
And morticians to fortresses, case-dismisses
Laced in riches, cake ridiculous
From nickel and diming to tricking them diamonds
Vegas, places in Switzerland
From non-blasting to auto, I don't have to blast mine
They blast mine, black nine, you flatline
My cash climb, buy rare art
Antique pieces, Mona Lisa's, own no leases
Five-star restaurant eaters; don't forget who your peeps is
'Sposed to dine with you, sip that good wine with you
Only if they grind with you - or slang for ya
Seen niggas live, laugh, party, and die in that very same corner
Pretty girls glance at us, status unconceivable
Private planes landed out in Teterboro, weed I twirl
Once even gave me a phobia
That I be in a spot trapped like Madame Zenobia's
With this kid eyeing my Rolly, y'all

Nas: Money Over Bullshit

You Can't Kill Me

2006-12-17T16:29:00.000-08:00

Produced by L.E.S. & Alvin West.

[NAS]
It was just cool like
Smooth night with my jewels bright
Goons left, goons right
Coupe with blue lights
Bad girls and black pearls
Gave us cat calls
Took 'em back to the crib to break they ass off
In the loft, mixing hash and dro
Honey spreaded that asshole
Like a wide-mouth bass
Sipping wine out the glass
Teddy Pendergrass blast
When the phone ring
The house lights flash
Turn down the sound
Let's get down to business
Shit about to go down with some foul niggas
What the voice said, "what up bop?"
Who want it, I put the guap up
Get the boy popped
He said, "son, stop
It's dude you feeding who feeding
Other dudes, but they really not eating"
"Dog, why you calling me?
This our food . . . you handle the mouths that it trickles down to
Niggas want beef, I want some of that cow too
But I'm in my princely robe, simply rich
Don't bother me with silly shit, call Rico"
He said, "it is Rico" . . . of all people
Gave his moms furs, called up the mayor
To get his crime pardoned, his son's godfather
Said that nigga shot up my cars
Last night he laid for me to come out my doors

Niggas always on that bullshit
To make a nigga wanna open up a full clip
Niggas always on that bullshit
Now your funeral, the preacher's at the pulpit

High, fly, Cinderfella loafer glass
Fold up cash, you ain't heard the soldier's half
You speaking hogwash, silly shit, balderdash
I got the lye sparked, Phillies lit, smoker's jacket on
The son of a Capricorn, my dad's a don
What you think that he spawned, a slacker? Nah
Packed the nines, yo this nigga's asinine
Smack ya mom, relaxed and calm, then mack ya mom
In a casket, you'll get ya fashion on
You'll be in a suit and tie, you'll die
You'll make maggots turn to flies, fucking with Nas
Remember anyone can get it at anytime
Lames'll swear by your name when they lie
Get hit with the lone star, ripped where ya bones are
So tell me how yo' ass gon' run from a CZ-PO1?
In the midst of real steel moves, you a loser
Murk you, with your own shooters
All you want is a name, pissed and insane
My security system, my place by the fireplace, listen
Then it going off, start spitting
Niggas try to bring it where I live in
Trusted you, knew where all of the cribs at
So we waited with the SIGs . . . blat, blat, blat!

Nas: You Can't Kill Me

Carry On Tradition

2006-12-17T16:28:00.000-08:00

Produced by Scott Storch.

[NAS]
Some rap pioneers be them crackheads
When they speak, you see missing teeth
Silver chain with a silver piece
Niggas your grandfather's age
They pants still hanging down they legs talking about they ain't paid
And they hate you, 'cause they say, you ain't pay dues
And (Sylvia Robinson) was stealin' and robbin' them
I feel it's a problem we gotta resolve
Hip-Hop been dead, we the reason it died
Wasn't Sylvia's fault or because MC's skills are lost
It's because we can't see ourselves as the boss
Deep-rooted through slavery, self-hatred
The Jewish stick together, friends in high places
We on some low level shit
We don't want niggas to ever win
See, everybody got a label
Everybody's a rapper but few flow fatal
It's fucked up, it all started from two turntables

When they crown you
And you rise up to your position
Carry on tradition
When they knight you
And you go to fight, go to war
Don't petition, carry on tradition
Carry on tradition

Now some of these new rappers got their caps flipped backwards
With their fingers intertwined in some gang-sign madness
I got an exam, let's see if y'all pass it
Let's see who can quote a Daddy Kane line the fastest
Some of you new rappers, I don't understand your code
You have your man shoot you, like in that Sopranos episode
Do anything to get in the game, mixtapes, you spit hate
Against bosses; hungry fucks are moraless
You should be tossed in a pit full of unfortunate vocalists
Niggas, I coulda wrote your shit; I had off-time, was bored with this
I coulda made my double-LP just by sampling different parts of Nautilus
Still came five on the charts with zero audience
The lane was open and y'all was dropping that garbage shit
Y'all got awards for your bricks - it got good to ya
You started telling them bigger dogs to call it quits?!

When they crown you
And you rise up to your position
Carry on tradition
When they knight you
And you go to fight, go to war
Don't petition, carry on tradition
Carry on tradition

Now niggas got the studio poppin', it's mad clearer
Engineers got us earplugs and still hear us
The live-in-the-park sound versus the studio state of art sound
We on the charts now; from British Walkers and Argyles
Look at us rap stars now, with our black cards now
Fortune 500 listed, brunch at Cipriani's
Sipping, blunted, with rich white guys around me
Thick white girls around me, Chinese lined up
Because I'm what every dime lust
We used to be a ghetto secret; can't make my mind up
If I want that or the whole world to peep it
Now carry on tradition
Fuck a wack bum rapper making his career out of dissing
Peace to the struggling artists and dead one's gone, we miss 'em
I promise I carry on tradition

When they crown you
And you rise up to your position
Carry on tradition
When they knight you
And you go to fight, go to war
Don't petition, carry on tradition
Carry on tradition

Nas: Carry On Tradition

Not Going Back

2006-12-17T16:27:00.001-08:00

Produced by Stargate.

[NAS]
My man Kool G Rap told me, son, do not look back
Chill up in the mansion with a fat gluteus max, relax
When people ask, school 'em with facts - tell 'em
At this point in my life, I'm all about chilling
Riding around in something sickening and dress fly
It's a twist, homies of mine who just died, I gotta let it ride
That's what I got the public thinking, my nigga
Just because I ain't in the hood don't mean shit, my nigga
I know who died before the body dropped
I know the guns that were used, how much money the shooter got
'Cause on a private yacht I'm still within earshot of it all
The top ten list of the most grimiest guys of all-time is all
We talk when we talk of New York, y'all
Who to call and who to stay away from
Whose mother's address to have just to play it safe, son
Women they lust up so quick to give 'em up
What cars and what trucks they drive and
What towns they spend the most time in, where they grinding
I found out most of them are cowards, they hiding
Behind reputations, that's sour . . . I'm not going back

First thing that happen when you make a little paper
You think the Marriot is living in the skyscraper
Till you come across some even more flyer paper
Realize the five star telles are even greater
Terrycloth robes, elegance, movie shit
Heated up marble floors with jacuzzi's in it
First class flights, diamonds in your cruxifixes
All those things, you still ain't really doing shit kid
Because in reality, I learnt my salary
The way I flaunted it then would now embarass me
It kinda make me wanna hate bling, it's a race thing
How they sell blacks to bootleg shit, in fact
Real millionaires spend sixty mill on paintings
Whores charge niggas with rapings
Because we come out doors of Maybach cars
Watch us make bets on race tracks, smoking cigars
So they count on the laws to take what's ours
About 500k on the lawyer to beat the charge
So you can't stop us from making a billion dollars
Instead of going back, I'm buying the projects

And of course y'all know what I'm not going back to
Those no friends of mine . . . and I'm not going back to
Ten carat gold, no shine . . . and I'm never going back to
Sony if the don't have dough to resign . . . and I'm not going back to
Y'all know that I'm not going back to . . . those liars who would
Not going back to . . . not help you if they could
Not going back to . . . coke on the stove in the hood
Y'all know that I'm not going back . . .

Nas f/ Kelis: Not Going Back

Who Killed It?

2006-12-17T16:27:00.000-08:00

Produced by Salaam Remi & Will.I.Am.

[NAS]
Look here, see
Pretty Mike shanked Two-Face Al over some gal
Somebody dead in the aisles
Death by strangulation, microphone cord
A dirty broad, guess they'll never Play It Again, Sam
Damn, that was my jam
Now she's on the lam
She made it out with two-hundred grand, what a scam
While these two compete on whose the star of the show
Golden Legs there makes off with the dough
I read the paper there with Joe the Butcher
He says, one glance is all it took ya
She's a real looker
They say her old man's a bootlegger
Transport in any weather
And at this rate will never get her
Fellas, think it's time I called it a night
All this talk of this mystery dame's getting me tight
Thought I saw her in my eyesight, right
Hate to spoil a party, what you guys having, the same?
Waiter, another round for the gang
It's strange how I always felt out of place
Joe the Butcher's my ace but in comes Freckle Face
So I said, see ya later
Before I hurt him and his two ugly thumb-breakers
You met them in Louisiana wrestling gators
An idiot can tell they're involved with the caper
So I pulled the revolver out my waist up
Between the patrol car and the gray truck
Behind the street lamp was a silhouette
White gloves and a real long cigarette
Whatta ya know, all this time she's got me in the scope
She spoke, says the devil got you guys by the throat
Your conspiracy theories won't work without evidence
That's the reason why Eric B. is not President

Look here, see
I Know You Got Soul, you're trying to hide it
How'd you Kill A Man out in Cypress
One-Eyed Charlie, he only hangs with the Criminal Minded
Says you guys did it Doggystyle, is he lying?
She says, Walk This Way, I'll tell you a Children's Story
We hit the bodega, got a few forties
We jumped in my ride, we drove, and she cried
Twisted Off The Cap there and opened her mouth wide
Swallowed It, whole bottle's half empty
Drinks like a fish, now she's past tipsy
The truth came out as we got to her Suave House
Chopped 'N Screwed her mouth and sat me on the couch
I said, it's getting late, come on, give it to me straight
Who's your sponsor, lady? She says, Bill Gates
Whatta ya born '77 or '78?
She said, nah, it goes way to an earlier date
Slave times, plains of slaves said rhymes
But she fell in love with some fella named Clive
Who? Clive Campbell from Sedgwick Ave
The Bronx; now she shows me the cash
I said, who's Clive? Don't play with me, skirt
She said, Clive Campbell, he's Kool Herc

Listen up, sweetheart
Now we getting somewhere
As she's talking, she starts vanishing in thin air
But before she drops the money bag on the floor and died
She said if you really love me, I'd come back alive

Nas: Who Killed It?

Still Dreaming

2006-12-17T16:26:00.000-08:00

Produced by Kanye West.

[NAS]
How you a man waiting for the next man to get rich?
Your plan is to stick out your hand real quick?
So if he feed your family and he serve you shit
Then he need that head you get, and he deserve your bitch
Since you wishing cash fall from the sky all your life
Dwelling on the past when you was alright
When you was getting cash but wasn't too bright
Now your luck down, you feel like busting them shells
Nobody owe you, can't do nothing for self
Want niggas to show you how to come up with green
I schemed since I'm fourteen; what the fuck was your dream?
Rent-A-Car's, little broads, saying you was seen
With little niggas, little chain, you was doing your thing
How high was I? You the thousandth guy
That came around thinking we could see eye to eye
We on a different ech-elon
Coulda got bread together, now you get steaded on

She had several cars
She had credits cards, a castle
Large master bathroom
Getting a pedicure
Bellini by the glass full
Said she been meaning to ask who
In need of cash rules
Who could blast tools
And I'm eating cashews
Knew she was bad news
But we mad cool
Nothing sexual
'Cause I knew her since high school
Grew up with my dudes
Like one of my crew
She work for FOX News
One of her mens that she lent her drop to
Won't come back with it, so she want him clapped in it
Says it's important that it looks like an accident
She was snorting, and her eyes had bags in it
She was recording, had a wire, asking shit
Four days before I came by, she got bagged with bricks
Crossed the line from her world of news casting
To a world of entrapment, a good girl going backwards

Nas f/ Kanye West & Chrisette Michele: Still Dreaming

Blunt Ashes

2006-12-17T16:25:00.001-08:00

Produced by Chris Webber.

[NAS]
The making of a mad band
Intricate stories of DeVante Swing
Ava Gardner, the crashing of James Dean
Bobby Brown influenced by Rick James and ???
Prince wanted Alexander O'Neal to be Morris Day or Jerome
But Alex was putting coke in his nose, nigga whylin'
Could be a myth but I swear that the source was close, Phyllis Hyman
Killer herself, it was crazy
Mommy was bad they say
Donny Hathaway freefall from a balcony

As the blunt ash falls into the ash tray
I could see my whole life fly past me
Did I keep it gangsta or keep it classy?
And will the money and fame out last me?
The blunt's ash falls down in the ash tray
Will I see my whole life fly past me?
I'm asking did I keep it gangsta or keep it classy?
Did I . . . anything else you know, just wanna ask me?

Sam trusted Womack with his main lady
He tossing in the grave, like, "this is how you repay me?
A Change Gonna Come, wish you didn't trust me so much"
Marvin said no mountain's high enough, fly stuff
David Ruffin was punching Tammy Terrell, gave her concussions
While the Funk Brothers was laying down the percussion
When Flo from the Surpremes died, Diana Ross cried
Many people said that she was laughing inside

As the blunt ash falls into the ash tray
I could see my whole life fly past me
Did I keep it gangsta or keep it classy?
And will the money and fame out last me?
The blunt's ash falls down in the ash tray
Will I see my whole life fly past me?
I'm asking did I keep it gangsta or keep it classy?
Did I . . . anything else you know, just wanna ask me?

John F. Kennedy's enemies dealt with treachery
It interests me, Judy Campbell in Gucci sandals
She's what a temptress be
The death of Ennis Cosby, what a mystery
Or the Chicagoan Harold Washington
Someone is sabotaging them
Watch out for the traps
Larry Troutman killed his brother Roger Troutman
Then he killed himself, that's the end of Zapp
And I wouldn't change a thing, mistakes of the greats
This is what came from their pain
From their hurt we gain
An unfair exchange

Nas: Blunt Ashes

Hold Down The Block

2006-12-17T16:25:00.000-08:00

Produced by Mark Batson.

[NAS]
Feds feast on street dons
Look at their teeth showing
Salivating at the mouth, South to East Orange
Keep pouring that liquor, but nigga don't sleep on it
You'll be giving up your Jesus piece to your peeps to pawn it
For legal fees in the penal dorm
Screaming on the horn with 'bout thirty years on your conscience
I'm watching brothers disappear, it's appalling
Some dudes had just only a year of balling
Counter-intelligence found a strange evidence
Still we behind the wheel with heat on us, hanging with predicates
Position we placed in caves in, so they got us caged in
Ways spinning like Mike Bivens from New Edition aging
I got families I'm feeding 'cause my mans is bleeding
Every five seconds look in all directions
I come through prepared; I give 'em a call
I'm close, bring them guns downstairs

It's beef week
Monday, murder
Two niggas dead, Tuesday
Wednesday and Thursday is hearse-day
Friday, somebody-gotta-die-day
Saturday, put the gat away
Chilling with your chick and a bag of haze
Wondering how it's all gonna end and what type of way
'Cause Sunday back to gunplay
Mo' shit start over nothing
And get finished quick 'cause the art of repercussion
Yeah, I seen it, a g' going out indecent
Taking a plea agreement, thinking he secret
Escape the crime scene, now you live straight like 9:15
Then one-time intervene
My man ain't like me saying I don't care if I die
But the SIG Sauer on me now I'm scared to die
You thinking the one I send to clap you be a shorty
But he old school, holding a .38, he in his forties

Anytime brothers can't get jobs, then they rob
A man rather die than live on his knees and starve
Cops steady asking your man what happened
First he tell then he stop, like he not really rattin'
Guess he not really in that casket from a sawed-off
Listen, peep game from the brain of an all-star
The rain hurt niggas' bones who been shot
Metal pins in their leg, they walk with a limp-hop
The streets lie, so you better be cautious
Your man'll fry you plus, everybody talking
A vet, a general, don't step where I walked in
Make your own path, be a legend in your skin
Make your own cash, don't stress what I'm forcin'
Don't expect more when you put in less work than all them
Queensbridge projects has taught him, and that's for life
You heard me right, I got the block

Nas f/ Mark B. Mayfield: Hold Down The Block

Let There Be Light

2006-12-17T16:24:00.000-08:00

Produced by Kanye West.

[NAS]
Let there be light
No gangbanging in New York tonight
Just murals of Biggie Smalls bigger than life
Turn up the kid's mic, because y'all ain't listening right
What's all this talk that Nas got bought?
I'd rather outline my body in white chalk
Ain't nobody been where I been, they at a standstill
This is all overseen by my man Will

This ain't the glorified, just painting of street pictures
There's no guidance or Bibles, just blunts and swishas
Gillette's cut caine in the kitchen
Now every rapper wanna claim he hang with Kenneth Supreme Griffith
It's like the same difference, except when niggas get arraigned
They don't want the same sentence, niggas get to snitching
If I could reverse demises and turn falls to rises
It bring back niggas who was livest
Old hustlers, reminiscing on better days
They home doing nothing, might as well be in the cage
Hating on young brothers, one foot in the grave
They used to love us till we found our own way through the maze
New York set-trippin' and flaggin' got the West Coast laughing
Now Esco's asking what happened
My homegirl from Upper Manhattan
She remembers the Quarters that's Latin
A lot of rat-tat-tat-tatting

The son of the audio cassette era, TEC-wearer
Bullets and baguettes, Benz Bose speaker terror
Demand I get mine till I'm dead, so I can drive something red
Like that horse standing on its hind legs
Since Arnold and Willis in their bunk beds
I wanted bread like Wonder
Not Ned the Wino, like the parents of Lionel
Nas is the ghetto American Idol
No matter what you do, you're never getting my title
I cant sound smart 'cause y'all'll run away
They say I ain't hungry no more, and I don't talk about yay'
Like there's no other way for an ex-hustler
Cake-getter, ex-wig splitter to touch ya - I beg to differ
When you four years in the game, we can have a conversation
Eight years in the game, I invite you on vacation
Ten years in the game, after I've enjoyed my fame
Only then I let you pick my brain

Nas f/ Tre Williams: Let There Be Light

Play On Playa

2006-12-17T16:22:00.000-08:00

Produced by Scott Storch.

[NAS]
How much money's enough? Think maybe like the trillion figures
Pray my daughter don't wil' like the Hilton sisters
That'd kill me, yo, filthy rich
My daughter pass it on to the next generation
Throwing carnations at my tombstone
In my new home, meet moms in my Yves St. Laurent suit on
Then we do a dance like my man Luther jam
But my verse came first
I stole change out her purse now I wanna dig her up outta the earth
Too morbid, learn forward toward a new paragraph
Blue carats, D-Class, strictly that kush in that weed bag
Tryna figure out what Berry Gordy had put in production
Studio smoky now, hard like David Ruffin
Hit a spliff through a séance, play on playa

Ruby red grapefruit juice with Grey Goose, rubies in the Jesús piece
Pimped out like Snoop be but an East Coast thing
My girl stocking tied up in a knot, top of my bean head
Billion dollar dream head, went from triple beams to digital
Serving fiends, the minimal - sixty g's, no criminal no mo'
Just mo' dough, mimosas pouring
Oprah's earrings on fingers
While your girl performs cunnilingus
'Cause this big money aroma lingers
Barber cleans his blade then he give me a fade, hot towel on the face
Hot models who vomit after they eat so they can stay lightweight
Swallowing my protein like an Ovaltine shake
Come through like Mo Green from Godfather so clean
Where I step, I Clorox it
Keep twenty g's on both sides of the thighs - that's four pockets
Eighty thousand, browse for the nicest price
But we ain't into buying conflict ice
That's the shit they stole from the Congo and other black soil
True mack for you, nappy hair, just spinning
Honey gave me a massage with the happy ending
Finest females I just came on and sprayed her
Gotta get your papes on, play on playa

Nas f/ Snoop Dogg: Play on Playa

Hope

2006-12-17T16:21:00.000-08:00

Produced by Nas and L.E.S.

[NAS]
Ghetto niggas strutting with nothing but dreams in Queens broke
MAC-10's, you can smell the PCP smoke
Mele Mel told it real in the music he wrote
Those were the days I remember
We used to be close, then I was nine, coldest winter I remember
Was slipping in December, two feet of snow
Yeah, that's the East Coast, that black ice
Symbolized the rap life
It was slick and smooth
I understood I had to come from the hood
Doing the Pee Wee Herman, the Smurf
Before them phones chirped
The block's drugs flowing, didn't have your own work
You had to have somebody else's, a small chrome on your pelvis
Starter Jacket, blue Georgetown or green Celtic
Your girl's too expensive, she wants shellfish
Red Lobster was poppin', standing on that line forever
I wish somebody would step on my Bally leather's
Now it's whatever . . . Hip-Hop's forever
Kept my radio on 98 or BLS
Had a pre-pubescent lyric gift but niggas never hear me spit
My little brother tried to warn 'em, I was a tornado coming
He knew from inside, like the eye of a storm and
Told my pops about it; he gave us tickets to that Wild Style flick
Double Trouble, retarded, we was the proudest
I never had a summer job
Sweeping leaves, socks to my knees
Homemade shorts, cutoff Lee's
I ain't work a day in my life
Wiping away eraser of the paper man
I'm just trying to say it right
Big radio, tape slowing down
Lower the lights go, battery dead
I gotta freeze 'em till they ice cold
In the freezer later, I'm staring at the speaker
Sunk in them 808's deeper, cleaning my sneakers
With the bristles of a toothbrush, soap and water
I let the shoe strings soak in water

Nas f/ Chrisette Michele: Hope

Across The Tracks

2006-12-05T09:13:00.000-08:00

Nas: Hip Hop Is Dead (2006)
01.Money Over Bullshit (Prod. L.E.S. & Wyldfyer)
02.You Can't Kill Me (Prod. L.E.S. & Alvin West)
03.Carry the Tradition (Prod. Scott Storch)
04.Where Are They Now (Prod. Nas & Salaam Remi)
05.Hip Hop Is Dead (Feat. Will.I.Am) (Prod. Will.I.Am)
06.Who Killed It? (Prod. Salaam Remi & Will.I.Am)
07.Black Republican (Feat. Jay-Z) (Prod. L.E.S. & Wyldfyer)
08.Not Going Back (Feat. Kelis) (Prod. StarGate)
09.Still Dreaming (Feat. Kanye West) (Prod. Kanye West)
10.Hold Down the Block (Prod. Mark Batson)
11.Blunt Ashes (Prod. Chris Webber)
12.Let There Be Light (Feat. Tre Williams) (Prod. Kanye West)
13.Play on Playa (Feat. Snoop Dogg) (Prod. Scott Storch)
14.Can't Forget About You (Feat. Chrisette Michele) (Prod. Will.I.Am)
15.Hustlers (Feat. The Game & Marsha Ambrosius) (Prod. Dr. Dre)
16.Hope (Feat. Chrisette Michele) (Acapella)

This is according to ITUNES, where, if you pre-order the album, you can have access to the bonus track, "Shine On."

To read early reports of some of these songs, many have been discussed in early press coverage. One in particular that was covered but is missing all of a sudden is White Man's Paper, produced by Afrykan and featuring Damian Marley. Take your guess as to why it got cut.

Finally, so as to not leave you empty-handed, here is a very early Nas verse that I was passed along. It sounds like a first draft of Live at the Barbeque almost.

Nas assassinates the pope with a scope
I mutilate mics till my voice box is broke
Try to battle me and gag for breath
Words I speak is a step beyond death

Nas: Nasty Nas verse

Can't Forget About You

2006-12-01T17:45:00.000-08:00

This is the second single and the four minutes which Def Jam seems to be betting a lot on. I wonder if Will.I.Am gets an extra check for pulling that off.

Hip-Hop Is Dead . . . December 19th.

[NAS]
There comes a day in your life
When you wanna kick back
Straw hat on the porch
When you old perhaps
Wanna gather your thoughts
Have a cold one, brag
To your grandkids on how life is golden
So I'ma light a cigar in the corridor of the crib
Pictures on the wall of all the things that I did
All the money and fame, 8x10's of the whole Rat Pack inside of a big frame
Colliding with big names that coulda made your career stop
All that, and your man is still here, and I'm still hot
Wow, I need a moment y'all, see I almost felt a tear drop

When was the last time you heard a real anthem?
Nas, the millionaire, the mansion
When was the last time you heard your boy Nas rhyme?
Never on schedule, but always on time

Can't forget about the old school
Bam, Caz, Mele Mel, Flash
Rock Steady spinning on their back
Can't forget when the first rap Grammy went to Jazzy
Fresh Prince - Fat Boys broke up, rap hasn't been the same since
So irregular, how it mess you up when Mr. T became a wrestler
Can't forget about Jordan's retirement
The shot Robert Horry hit to win the game in the finals, kid
Some things are forever, some things are not
It's the things we remember that gave the world shock
They stay in a place in your mind so snug
Like who the person was with whom you first made love

When was the last time you heard a real anthem?
Nas, the millionaire, the mansion
When was the last time you heard your boy Nas rhyme?
Never on schedule, but always on time

Unforgettable, unsubmittable
I go by "N" now, just one syllable
It's the end 'cause the game's tired
It's the same vibe Good Times had right after James died
That's why the gangsta rhymers ain't inspired
Heinous crimes help record sales more than creative lines
And I don't wanna keep bringing up the greater times
But I'm a dreamer, nostalgic with the state of mind
The past the past, enough of it, aight then
But nothing gives me chills like Douglas and Tyson
Or Mike when his talk was live
Or when he first did the moonwalk on Motown 25

When was the last time you heard a real anthem?
Nas, the millionaire, the mansion
When was the last time you heard your boy Nas rhyme?
Never on schedule, but always on time

Nas f/ Chrisette Michele: Can't Forget About You
BONUS: Nas: Can't Forget About You (instrumental)
BONUS: Nat King Cole: Unforgettable

I Already Know

2006-11-29T23:05:00.000-08:00

Out of left field comes this Nas collaboration with the brains behind the Thong Song, Tim & Bob. The duo has also worked with the likes Boyz II Men and the Isley Brothers, and even Nas previously on the remix to Bobby Valentino's Slow Down, but I don't think this was expected. The production has an odd boudoir-Wudang Mountains feel to it, as Nas provides three female-concerned verses of varying quality. Maybe it's wishful thinking, but I'm going out on a very hopeful limb and saying this is not for Hip-Hop Is Dead. Perhaps it's for Corny R&B-Styled Hooks Should Be Killed.

[NAS]
Man, Prince was a pimp
Apollonia, Vanity, Shelia E had me on the edge of insanity
Swore if I made it in music, I'd be similar
Here I am, this is the future, I'm where the women are
Rocking with Tim & Bob, y'all need me, shine the spotlight up
In the sky then like Batman, I pops right up
This is Nas, hate if you must hate
Been hot since the days of cassette tapes
T-Shirts over the thermal, drifting on memories
Sipping that Hennessy, 4-5th in my denim jeans
She told me she wants my eyelashes
When we hump, I grunt, just like a Bullmastiff
They call me the best whoever did it
Only in the club one minute, guess who I slid wit'
A chocolate dyke, ghetto thing, sweet
We gon' pop tonight, bon appetit

You know
Mirror, mirror on the wall
Who's the nastiest, sexiest, thug of 'em all
Seen her in the mall, she was wearing
Comme Des Garcon ??? cherie cologne
She was looking very alone
Till this big weightlifting Mr. Universe clone
Starts grabbing her arm
But she can't stop looking, I'm in the zone
One look at the kid, she's taking off her stone
Cash crazy, ass crazy, hair long
The baby amaze me because I'm in rare form
She like an ice cold bowl of Post Honeycomb
Followed me in the shop while I cop Nina Simone
Tapped me on the shoulder, I told her I'm on the phone
I played it off well - nobody was on the cell, shit, she set the tone
She said, "Excuse me Mr. So-And-So, should I leave you alone?"

You know
Lover not a fighter
I'm the vagina-lining reconstructer, bed sheet-ruffler
For your freak girls undercover, who love's ya?
I'm not a priest, don't front for me
But step in my confessional
That's the bedroom, to tell the truth I be impressed you don't wait
Before you pass your collection plate
Show me you a professional, so we straight
She tried to kiss my lips, but no, I don't do that
Want me to kiss her lips, but not with a new jack
Few stacks, spend my chips, yeah, I do that
See, the problem with ya women is . . .
Look, I got 'em
You can hear a mouse piss on cotton
You don't wanna miss it, then listen
Stop stressing a man, we out to get as much sex as we can
And you roll with the plan, shortie, you live
Uh, but you gotta leave, it's 2:45

Nas: I Already Know
BONUS: Bobby Valentino f/ Nas: Slow Down (remix)

Access Granted

2006-11-29T07:30:00.000-08:00

BET Access Granted, The Terrero Brothers, and Nas present:

Hip-Hop Is Dead

Vote for Hip-Hop Is Dead on BET.

Thanks much to Nabs.

QB Tru G

2006-11-28T17:55:00.000-08:00

I see you Def Jam.

Nas' new label is trying to build up buzz for Hip-Hop Is Dead, i.e., the songs that have been leaked so far seem to have been given the corporate okay. Hustlers (QB Tru G), produced by Dr. Dre and featuring The Game, is the latest example.

[NAS]
Do the history
Way before The Firm, like back in the day
Nas was the first New York nigga rapping with Dre
So of course I got a track to bring it back to your face
The one kid that woulda been Aftermath but got away
But we still get together like every several years
To sprinkle - a little bit of Heaven for your ears
Relax, sipping Clicquot in Rio
Stupid fuckers, low keynote g's
But it's still Gucci luggage, I love Cape Cod
And watching fly bitches with grey eyes
Wrestle in a tub of KY to get my day by
I like to celebrate, why?
'Cause I can vision collages of images
Of my life with no regrets or hate
So every breath I take
It's all about the rules
It's hard for you to breathe, like you at high altitude
So crack the Patron, it's on, heathens
The God's back, hardbody, Mr. Jones never leaving

[N]He a Compton, Compton OG
[G]Mix that with a QB, QB Tru G
[G]Whatcha got [N] is a concotion
[N]Of some different ghetto blocks
[G]West Coast kill the tracks
[G]East Coast gun shots

Yo, the Jordan sporting
Come off the dice game with a fortune
Walking - you a walking coffin
The musket, I tucked it, you bluff it, I bust it
Ya sideways talking, so I lay often
I wait patient - to duct tape hating
Fuck ass niggas, get bucked ass niggas
Pluck ashes of Cuban cigars, you fooling with Nas
That's i-nane and I came with Rugers this time
And if I'm sane, that Soul Plane movie's the bomb
Word to my mom's name tattooed to my arm
You can't revolve me, embalm me
Calm me or harm me
Rob me or dodge these
Bullets I'm busting, see
That's malarkey, you yapping
I open up the tripod to put the Gatling on, and I start clapping
Nasty man from bagging grams and running from cops
To a mill in the hand, a mill in the watch, I'm fucking with Doc

Nas f/ The Game: Hustlers (QB Tru G)

Mixtape Tuesday

2006-11-28T10:45:00.000-08:00

The anticipation of a new album and the throws of insomnia produced the following: a quick mix of the majority of Nas' work post-Street's Disciple and leading up to Hip-Hop Is Dead. It's not an expert job and was done using freeware, but it's worth a download, I'd like to think.

LAST RITES (45MBs)
01.Nas - The N (2:48)
02.Break - The Jimmy Iovine's (0:13)
03.Nas - Bossed Up (0:57)
04.Nas - We Major (1:13)
05.Nas - Death Anniversary (3:15)
06.Break - The War Is Over (0:27)
07.Nas - Murder of the Gomez Brothers mix (3:47)
08.Break - Youth Movement (0:16)
09.Nas - Level 7 (2:46)
10.Nas - Across The Tracks (1:04)
11.Nas - Can't Fade Me (0:59)
12.Nas - Shootouts 2005 (1:30)
13.Break - Busta Rhymes (0:12)
14.Nas - Don't Get Carried Away (0:56)
15.Break - The Game (0:27)
16.Nas - Why You Hate The Game (1:05)
17.Nas - Black Stacey remix (1:17)
18.Nas - Rough Around The Edges (1:18)
19.Nas - Rainy Day In QB mix (4:15)
20.Break - Kelis (0:28)
21.Nas - Blindfold Me (0:39)
22.Nas - She Don't remix (0:58)
23.Nas - Everything I Love (0:58)
24.Break - The South (0:16)
25.Nas - You're Gonna Luv Me remix (1:01)
26.Nas - Thief's Theme Is Dead mix (3:56)
27.Break - New World (0:19)
28.Nas - Shine (2:40)
29.Nas - Living In Pain (0:55)
30.Nas - Road To Zion (1:02)
31.Nas - Jackson Street (0:35)
32.Break - It's Dead (0:09)
33.Nas - Music For Life (2:19)

Rebel To America: Last Rites

Hush

2006-11-27T10:50:00.000-08:00

Not everyone in the whole of QB is worth putting on, and yet, over the years, many of them have been lined up and mic'd up and paraded around Nas' music. In a way, Nas is caught because of this: on one hand, he wants to keep the Queensbridge MC tradition alive and pay back some to block that raised him, while, at the same time, these songs hardly ever inspire much attention / praise beyond Vernon Boulevard. But Blitz is the exception to this equation. Although he's been featured just twice alongside Nas (2000's Street Glory and 2001's Every Ghetto), in each instance, he proved himself more than merely the good fortune of some hood handout; instead, he showed that he was actually worth listening to whether accompanied by Nas or not.

Even though it's been five years since that Stillmatic bonus track, Nas and Blitz are back again, as Blitz debuts his new mixtape It's a Problem Vol. 1, backed by Shadyville's DJ Noodles.

[NAS]
They coming at us from every direction
Each and everyone one of them with size no less than
Some linebackers, now this nigga ask the one question
"Who these guys know?", replied, "now we got the wrong impression"
He must be thinking we won't leave him dead and stinking
Hugging two dozen roses in the back of a Lincoln
Uh, time's shrinking, no patience left
It was me, Gov, Cuzzo, Black, and little Nef
No escaping death, it's either us or them
Cuz left a hole in his chest bigger than his rims
The DJ backspins and Nas been on the sound system
Niggas' lives ending, they rich enough to buy women
Linen suits wasn't bulletproof
Adios, mad fights breaking out over by the coats
I'm trying to hide the toast, sneaking out
Hawaiian hoes in the hotel, why the fuck did we go out?
Jump in the car, who they recognize? . . . Nas
That's all I need, another fucking charge
Barging the hotel, Cuzin's like, "oh well"
Nef got caught and guess who gotta post bail
Took a while but I see how niggas get down
Get me all hot and now I gotta skip town
And I ain't even the shooter, fell asleep with the Ruger
Next day we caught a flight to St. Lucia

Blitz f/ Nas, Tre Williams: Hush

Even More Fingers

2006-11-26T16:05:00.000-08:00

Analyze This
If you ask someone about the recently-leaked Black Republican Nas / Jay-Z track, they might tell you that's not really the first collaboration between the two rappers; next, they would point to something called Analyze This. However, what they're referring to is actually a blend. The story goes that NBA center Shaquille O'Neal was assembling material for his 1996 release Can't Stop The Reign. He then brought in the Trackmasters who eventually enlisted their comrade Nas to lay down some vocals. Nas obliged, spit an Esco-inspired verse but then ran into some issues. Either there were money holdups or personality disagreements, whatever, but he soon dropped out, and Jay-Z, coming off the release of Reasonable Doubt, was brought in as a replacement. Subsequently, it was only years later, with Shaq completely edited out but Lord Tariq, also on the original, still there, that Nas and Jay-Z's raps were paired together.

Nasir Jones
The first song on 2005's Nas / Dirty Harry mixtape Living Legends found the rapper delivering an emotionally-fueled story rap over a collection of charging horns and strings, "In this room / This hideout, seclusion / It's darker soon / I'll ride out as soon as the sun's up / My goons with their guns up / Are tired, been driving for hours / Not resting, inside I feel weary / My mind and my spirit strained / The suffering, the pain / Missing my wife and my kids / And at night, I wish for the day / I see that this world will be righteous and fair / I struggle, my life isn't rare / While smoking, I heard a commotion, I stare / From the window, I call to my gods / "They coming, get ready, let's do it" / Fast as your perish, I laugh while I'm jetting / You get, keep going, you slowly closing in on this shit / You bitches remember I did it the best / Slugs'll enter your chest / Alive, I spin around and press / The triggers and cry"

Let My Niggas Live
Every time a new Nas album rolls around, people start pining for the Premier's and Large Professor's to come aboard. However, there's another legendary New York producer whose track record and success rate with Nas is just as unbeatable: RZA. First on Raekwon's Purple Tape and then on 2000's The W, the QB MC and the do-anything Brooklynite cooked up two songs as impressive as they were unique. While '95 found Nas in the grips of Escobar and RZA calling on some Shaolin soul, the later collaboration, Let My Niggas Live, proved all the more grim. Based around a rather sparse rhythm, the beat here is a skeletal collection of tambourines and almost knock-at-the-door-like percussion. Fittingly, Nas caps off with a verse just as shadowy, anxious, and expressive. He traces everything from the figure of a hunted man taking sanctuary in a Black church to the pattern of an addict's abused veins. And even though the Wu brain trust didn't let Nas bat leadoff this go-round, a la Verbal Intercourse, with his dark imagery and detail, once more Nas is the star attraction, next to RZA's production of course.

Nas' Angels... The Flyest
There is no two million dollar beat--never was and probably never will be. The rumor that Nas had won a high-priced bidding war for a Neptunes' production spot was just that, a rumor. Regardless, Nas has twice been featured on Neptunes tracks: once on a remix to Kelis' Popular Thug, and then the more so solo Charlie's Angel soundtrack cut, Nas' Angels. Related to Nas' Angels specifically, there is a common thought that Nas lacks the versatility to sound comfortable over more club-friendly tracks. While, sure, his style is more at home amongst a more thoughtful sound than what the average ladies' night provides, he has charted time and time again, just as this particular Neptunes concoction did. However, numbers aside, how does the quality fare? Well, the overall sound here is dated, especially with the now-cliché inclusion of Raje Shwari for the Indian flair on the vocals. Nas then delivers a pretty ehh-inspiring performance, mostly littered with generic name brand references; yet, his rhyme scheme does manage to out-bumrush the club scene in the final verse, "I got 'em / Peeling out their clothes / Really 'bout this dough / Problem / Hear me out , I just go for my steel pistol / Poppin'."

Why (remix)
A surprise political hit from the 2004 election year, Jadakiss' Why found the rapper teaming up with ~~the Alchemist~~ Havoc for a generally effective question and answer session. Then, for the remix, Jada invited his rhyming partner Styles P along, as well as Common and Nas. For his part, Nas asks why not form alliances with Zimbabwe. Reading Zimbabwe as representative of a larger picture of Africa, this is an idea Nas has cherished throughout most of his career. It's an interesting depiction, because when he speaks of Africa, it has almost has this abstract sense about it. For instance, taken quite literally, freeing criminals from New York's Attica Prison and sending them across seas, as described on If I Ruled The World, or, as in the movie Belly, all of a sudden planning to go to "Africa" as if it is one specific location where all the planes land, Nas comes off a little foolish. However, if you read "Africa" as a metaphor for a spiritual state of mind, this Black haven of peace and righteousness, it tends to make more sense. Nas isn't proposing a specific point-by-point program to strengthen economic ties with Zimbabwe as much as he is encouraging a connection with Africa, a metaphysical path home.

Jadakiss f/ Styles P, Common, Nas: Why (remix)
Jay-Z, Lord Tariq, Nas: Analyze This
Nas: Nasir Jones
Nas f/ Pharrell: Nas' Angels
Wu-Tang Clan f/ Nas: Let My Niggas Live

More Fingers

2006-11-21T22:43:00.000-08:00

Can't Fade Me
While most attention paid to Cassidy has either concerned his murder trial or recent near-fatal car accident, he of course first made his name coming up on the freestyle battle circuit. That his album work never really got too much notice shouldn't be a surprise though: his first album, Split Personality, was handcuffed from the start by a mundane R. Kelly duet, in the midst of a slew of such Kells collaborations; and his most recent project, I'm A Hustla, featured a weakly-produced lead single maligned by an already cliché Black Album vocal sample and then trotted out B Boy Stance, more known for a its anti-50 Cent video, another uninspired career choice. To play computer A&R for a minute, if Cassidy and company had instead chosen Can't Fade Me, a smoothed out slice of soul guest starring Nas and Quan, although it may not have guaranteed pay dirt, it at least would have been a welcome change of pace. For Nas' part, his verse is a cross-country travel, a semi-sequel to God's Son Get Down.

I Want It
E Money Bags has been a presence in Nas' music since the early days. However, that he was a part of a less musically-inclined side of things, namely crime, is the most intriguing aspect of the story. And while his murder in 2001, allegedly by the order of legendary boss Supreme McGriff, in retaliation for the killing of Black Just, did shed some public light on the interbreeding of rap music and the streets, there are connections beyond this one court case: connections between guys who touted platinum sales and guys who toted steel weapons, those who rapped with 5-percenter-based rhymes and those who used the faith almost as a gang recruitment tool, and those who took on mob personas and those who never needed to act at all. And though Nas' work with E Money Bags on I Want It doesn't reveal the world, it does confirm the relationship between the two, a relationship that most likely went beyond what anyone would ever volunteer to admit, "If the street could speak and sidewalk could talk / Everybody business be heard - so I prefer / To blueprint every plan amongst fam clear / Don't wanna risk a billion dollar plan, the walls have ears."

Number One with a Bullet
Even as you hear Nas proclaim, "9-6 shit" at the beginning of Kool G Rap's Number One With A Bullet, it hardly sounds as if from that time period (probably because it got a mixtape look in 1996 but was recorded much earlier). For starters, the dancehall-styled hook and the ugly-in-a-good-way production all point to the early 90's, but the real evidence comes with Nas' own verse. Keeping in mind the differences between his Illmatic and Escobar periods, Nas' rhyme-scheme is not as dexterous as it would prove on It Was Written, his voice has been intentionally deepened a la I'm A Villain, and his content mirrors the snuffin'-Jesus shock-orientated style he primarily sported early on in his career. Lastly, Nas' reference to the 41st President of the United States is a dead giveaway, "aiming a Tec at George Bush, he's a sucker."

Quick to Back Down
A lot of people, those with their own agendas and then those with their own guilty conscience, have taken the title of Nas' upcoming album, Hip-Hop Is Dead, to be a big smack in the face of the southern rap scene. While Nas, now on numerous occasions, has denied this, people are still going to pick and choose their own drama. Part of what they will conveniently forget is that Nas has never shied away from reaching out and working with those on the bottom of the map, i.e., Da Backwudz, Cash Money, Devin the Dude, Jermaine Dupri, Ludacris, Master P, and Scarface. Even the poster boy for Atlanta's own recent rise, Lil Jon, has twice been a collaborator of Nas', the first during the early climb of goblet mania. That song, Quick to Back Down, though officially credited to the Bravehearts, showcases a rather raucous Nas, at home over Lil Jon's mosh pit-ready production and still basking in his post-Ether victory, "I'm a Braveheart veteran / And y'all already know who I'm better than."

Show Discipline
Speaking of Ether, Nas' menacing verse on Jadakiss' Show Discipline, from March 2001, should have hinted at what was to come that infamous December day. Although the hook borders on self-parody, the beat manages to find its own pace, that of a threatening creep. In turn, Nas serves up his own night-stalker flow, "Speech totally calm / Hold a dead rapper's dome in my palm." Of all the sides of Nas we've seen, nasty, arrogant, vulnerable, introspective, nostalgic, political, etc., perhaps the continually most interesting mood on the mic he's displayed over the years is this crypt-keeper character. This is Nas encompassing many of those aforementioned attitudes but taking them in a direction beyond the margins: murky, eerie, surreal, almost occult. It's where his imagery captures more than what most see and his pen acts as if a mystic guide, "Leave no prints on the toast / Played with Ouija boards, burned frankincense with a ghost."

The Braveheats f/ Lil Jon, Nas: Quick to Back Down
Cassidy f/ Nas, Quan: Can't Fade Me
E Money Bags f/ Horse, Nas: I Want It
Jadakiss f/ Nas: Show Discipline
Kool G Rap f/ Nas, White Boy: Number One with a Bullet

Where Are They Now?

2006-11-19T00:48:00.000-08:00

Everything about Where Are They Now is in memory of Hip-Hop, from the many old-school references to the very beat itself, a nod to Big Daddy Kane's Set It Off and a classic James Brown break. And if you want to see who Nas is referring to throughout, just click on the links provided.

Hip-Hop Is Dead . . . December 19th.

[NAS]
Redhead Kingpin, Tim Dog, have you seen him?
Kwame, King T, or King Sun
Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud
Antoinette, Rob Base, never showing up
You seen Black Sheep, Group Home, Busy Bee?
Ask Ill and Al Skratch, "Where My Homiez?"
Leave it to y'all, these niggas left for dead
Last week my man swore he saw Special Ed
Rap is like a ghost town, real mystic
Like these folks never existed
They the reason that rap became addictive
Play the CD or wax and get lifted
I recommend when your kid turn ten
Let him hear Spice 1, made plenty noise
Positive K, Father MC, the Skinny Boys
Where are they now?

See, I remember them forever
The original Spinderella
Lakim Shabazz, Nine Double M, Fu-Schnickens
Buckshot, Finesse and Synquis
Who was the Rappin' Duke?
Dah-hahh, Silk Tymes Leather was cute
Body & Soul was Dee from Pump It Up's group
Oaktown 357, J.J. Fad too
Had pop hits and gold ropes
Where my man Young MC and Tone Loc?
Kriss Kross, the Boss, Divine Styler
Def Jef of course, let's break it down to
Mic Geronimo, Pharcyde, and Coolio
I heard Craig Mack back in the studio
Have you seen these lost MC's?
Funky Four Plus One, Force M.D.'s
Miss Melodie, I hope she packing a bankroll
As well as Educated Rapper, Ice, and Kangol
Shante, she from around my way, yo
EPMD, K Solo, where are they now?

Nas: Where Are They Now?
BONUS: Big Daddy Kane: Set It Off
BONUS: James Brown: Get Involved
BONUS: Nas: Talks About Where Are They Now

Villain State of Minds

2006-11-18T17:24:00.000-08:00

If Nas Will Prevail gives you a sense of the early stages of Illmatic, then I'm A Villain is essentially the genesis story of Nasty Nas altogether. By all accounts, this is the very first solo studio song Nas ever recorded, especially highlighted by the heavy James Brown production, a sign of the times of the Golden Era courtesy of Large Professor, and the strong G Rap inflections in Nas' voice. It also served as an early draft for what would later become NY State of Mind. And just as that classic did, I'm A Villain captures all sides of the Illmatic narrative quite well: paranoid, poetic, brash, and QB all the way.

The point above, about the influence of Kool G Rap on Nas' early career, is one that often gets overlooked. Born as well in Queens, New York, everything from Nas' polysyllabic rhyme scheme to his crime-filled story raps can be traced back to the one Mr. Giancana. And while Nas certainly had other inspirations and his own innovations, I'm A Villain best epitomizes the influence left by his borough-mate. Here you have the quick-draw lyrical delivery ("I'm out to kill / Like Navy Seals / I'm crazy ill / And what I can't do my .380 will"), the hard-edged content ("At every block party / I try to catch a body"), and even that patented G Rap misogyny ("Stripping mad hoes and kick 'em to the side"). Nas' voice also sounds as if intentionally deepened to hang with the vets of the mic. With all this in mind, Nas trying to come off as though the baddest gunslinger in the entire Wild West, you could say he was pumping up his chest something extra, not yet comfortable in his own skin, with his own voice. Fortunately, this would all be smoothed out by the time Illmatic rolled around.

Now this is not at all to bash Nas' beginner steps, for even as just a teenager, cutting his chipped tooth on record, there is still something profound and unique in his rhymes, specifically in I'm A Villain's anti-government-charged second verse. You have to remember that Nas is the MC who once touted kidnapping the president's wife without so much a plan. While that may not be the most poignant political statement ever, it does underscore the mind state of this anxiously combative project resident, who saw threats not only from all sides of the block but from the executive branch as well. On Villain particularly, Nas has the constant ring of cop patrols in his ear, the posture of an outlaw, and the spirit of a rebel to America:

I got beef with the president and still loving it
Tryna to make plans to overthrow the government
It won't work, because niggas don't believe enough
They'd rather stand on the corners and receive a cuff

Nas: I'm a Villain

Nas Will Prevail

2006-11-15T20:20:00.000-08:00

All three versions of Nas' It Ain't Hard To Tell are classic in their own right.

The rendition most know is the important early single from Illmatic, where Large Professor and Nas managed to cook up an anthem in just over three minutes and without a standard refrain. Here Nas references everything Greek mythology to 1980's Sylvester Stallone movie work to an Iranian professional wrestler, the sum total of these points to prove, "I'm dope, as are my rhymes." For his part, Large Pro most notably samples Michael Jackson's Human Nature to create the da-da-da that's as close to a conventional hook as It Ain't Hard To Tell offers. The production's further interesting, because, at one time, there's multiple vocals on top of each other, the blow of a horn, and a synthesizer, and then, all at once, in the middle of the verse even, the track's drums and bass are isolated. All in all, it's one of the album's lighter, more brief moments, but just as memorable as any throughout its forty minutes.

The second classic-status song in this trilogy is actually the original. Known as Nas Will Prevail and passed around primarily through the bootleg circuit, it's Nas plus Large Professor plus Human Nature once more. However, this edition clocks in at about ninety seconds longer with extended verses that the label must have deemed too "involved" for radio consumption. Moreover, there's no vocal sample to catch on to and the beat is a bit more subdued. On the other hand, Nas' rap, though changed up some, fits into the same genre of MC'ing: brag-heavy and simile-centered.

Interestingly enough, while both similes and brags are found throughout Illmatic and the whole of Nas' catalog, they have never been a real staple of his career. But it seems as if early Nas, the one found especially on Live at the Barbeque and Back to the Grill, Halftime and here was more "like"-minded and boastful, in the spirit of a punchline rapper almost. In fact, using "like" to test for the appearance of similes, in doing a search on Illmatic's nine songs, plus Nas Will Prevail, you can see the change in his style from 1992's Halftime days to later 20th birthdays (of course, Life's A Bitch, for example, is only one verse compared to Prevail's three, but the ratio is still clear):

Number of Appearances of the Word "Like" on Illmatic:

Memory Lane: 0

Life's A Bitch: 2

Represent: 2

One Time 4 For Your Mind: 2

The World Is Yours: 4

One Love: 5*

NY State of Mind: 7**

Halftime: 9

It Ain't Hard To Tell: 14

Nas Will Prevail: 18

This is not to suggest that the tracks with a high count of like's are somehow less lyrically credible than the rest, however, they do point to the evolution of Nas' rhymes.

The final It Ain't Hard To Tell entry maintains those same rhymes but features a remixed production look from Large Professor, and a genius bit of sampling. Interestingly enough, here the beat is more straightforward than its predecessors and actually comes equipped with an identifiable and quite notable hook. This hook is propelled by the same near-shriek found on Illmatic and the call of "it ain't hard to tell", but the real winner comes next, with what sounds like a sample saying, "Nas is the king of the disco." In reality, LP just took a Biz Markie line from Nobody Beats The Biz and cut "recognized as the king of disco" so that it came off as tailor-made for the QB MC. It's a master move in a series that offered many such examples.

Nas: It Ain't Hard To Tell
Nas: It Ain't Hard To Tell (Large Professor remix)
Nas: Nas Will Prevail
BONUS: Biz Markie: Nobody Beats The Biz
BONUS: Michael Jackson: Human Nature

*Of the appearances of "like" on One Love, only two are traditional similes, i.e., Nas also relies on the word to note resemblance between similar objects and in the informal way people use it to fill pauses in speech.

**We know that NY State of Mind itself is, in part, a combination of two early-on tracks, I'm A Villain and Just Another Day In The Projects.

Blood Diamond

2006-11-12T21:49:00.000-08:00

It looks like Leonardo DiCaprio is a Hip-Hop head.

The common link between the prominent appearance of Thief's Theme in Martin Scorsese's The Departed and Nas doing a track for the upcoming film Blood Diamond is that aforementioned A-List actor. Subsequently, just as the Street's Disciple standout was the sole rap song featured throughout The Departed, Nas popping up, seemingly out of the blue, on the soundtrack to Blood Diamond is another good look for the rapper and movie alike. On one hand, now Blood Diamond, and the issue central to its story, the infamous diamond trade in Africa, will likely connect with the otherwise-elsewhere rap music audience, while Nas too gets to broaden his listenership, and flex his creative muscle as well.

Blood Diamond is released in US theaters on December 8th.

[NAS]
They dug me out the soil in the mines of the motherland
Now I'm misplaced, one hand to another hand
Illegal smuggling, people struggling
Wish they could just throw me back in the mud again
Yeah, guess that's how we got here
Slave trade then the diamond trade
Every child's afraid
When his mother and father get sprayed
Forced in the army, young killer birgade
Gets a new name and then they give his nose glue
Till his mind can't take what he's going through
Looking in that dirt for that ice so blue
Then the royal family, the ice goes to
And this thing has to change
Feeling half-ashamed
As I rap with my platinum chain
When you shop for a gift for me, you think about the misery?
The same way we made apartheid history
We can do the same thing to the conflict ice
But everybody wanna shine, right?

Everybody wants Heaven but nobody wants dead
Everybody wants diamonds without the bloodshed
Everybody wants Heaven but nobody wants dead
Everybody wants diamonds without the bloodshed
They want the shine on 'em

My VVS glimmers on my chest
200-thou-encrusted watch on my wrist
I wonder how people starve to death
When God bless the land that lacks the harvest
The stone's are quality, but they homes are poverty
And the whole world ignores the robbery
Bought my girl pretty rocks when she's mad at me
Tear-drop shapped, uh, perfect clarity
In shock, so many are killed annually
'Cause of greed, lust, and pure vanity
Stop talking and do something about it
Every holiday season, jewelry stores crowded
Kids snatched from their homes, mutilated alive
Husbands seperated from wives, keep a Jesus piece to be fly
But back in the day there was a time when they called us shine

Nas: Shine On 'Em (Blood Diamond)

Black Republican

2006-11-12T11:36:00.000-08:00

"Let's go, Esco."

I think if you know the words to a rap song, that generally means the song had a noticeable effect on you. If you know the track's ad-libs, that means you heard it again and again, hopefully for good reason. If you know what one rapper said at a concert to another rapper, pretty much to the point of memorization, even though that concert took place on the other side of the country when you were at work one Thursday night, chances are that's history.

In 2001, Jay-Z took to the Summer Jam stage to set off a lyrical beef with the rapper Nas that quickly became one of the most influential on-record feuds in all of Hip-Hop. Then, four years later, on that October night of last year, Jay-Z was joined on stage by Nas. The immediate surge of energy felt throughout the venue quickly spread via cell phone and soon enough video, until the pairing of these two heavyweights had taken over rap music once more. While it remains to be seen if the impact of their newly-formed alliance will measure up to the impression left by their past rivalry, for whatever concerts or interviews the two have held together, ultimately, the collaboration with the most hope and interest will always be the music. Today, we get our first glimpse of what that music holds.

Hip-Hop Is Dead . . . December 19th.

[NAS]
I feel like a black militant taking over the government
Can't turn my back on the hood, too much love for them
Can't clean my act up for good, too much thug in him
Probably end up back in the hood, I'm like, "fuck it then"

I'm back in the hood, they like, "hey Nas"
Blowing on purp', reflecting on they lives
Couple of Fat Cat's, couple of AI's
Dreaming of fly shit instead of them gray skies
Gray 5's, hate guys wishing our reign dies
Pitch, sling pies, and niggas they sing, why?
Guess they ain't strong enough to handle their jail time
Weak minds, keep trying, follow the street signs
I'm standing on the roof of my building
I'm feeling - the whirlwind of beef, I inhale it
Just like an acrobat ready to hurl myself though the hoops of fire
Sipping 80 proof, bulletproof under my attire
Could it be the forces of darkness against hood angels of good
That form street politics - makes a sweet honest kid
Turn illegal for commerce - to get his feet out of them Converse
That's my word

Nas f/ Jay-Z: Black Republican
~~BONUS: Carmine Coppola: Murder of Don Fanucci~~

Five Fingers of Miscellanea

2006-11-09T18:38:00.000-08:00

Black Stacey (remix)
At Nas' 2004 Central Park concert, slam poet Saul Williams helped open the show. In return, when it came time for a remix to Williams' Black Stacey single, Nas was happy to accommodate. The song is aimed at those, particularly blacks, who wear a public mask to cover up their insecurities, i.e. that front many put on to pretend they're something not, simply because it may be expected of them. This then is specifically tied to a criticism of rappers, as Williams recites, "share your essence with us, 'cause everything about you couldn't be rugged and rough." For the remix, Nas answers that call appropriately. His verse is still filled with the palm trees, Dom Perignon, and platinum lifestyle that Black Stacey seems to rally against, but as his rap tells the story of being discriminated upon by a black flight attendant, two points are made: 1) if your skin is one color and your money another, the stack still isn't going to get you accepted by everyone; 2) by puckering up to his boss and refusing a brother, the flight attendant himself is wearing a mask of great consequence.

The Cross (9th Wonder remix)
Part of the marketing strategy for Jay-Z's The Black Album was to make the LP's acapellas widely available and then encourage everyone from five-figure beatmakers to Soundclick producers to remix the entire thing. With these new renditions pouring in for nearly two years, TBA was able to stay a successful topic of conversation well beyond its initial release. However, it wasn't as if the ROC brain trust was doing anything too revolutionary, for, just one year prior, Nas' God's Son had been given much the same treatment. (Nas himself wasn't first either, but he certainly seemed to revitalize the idea.) One of the most notable of these remix projects was helmed by Little Brother's 9th Wonder, whose sample-heavy production was a prayer answered for those disgruntled with Nas' increasingly mundane beat selection. While the end result in some instances was too soft, 9th's makeover of the formerly-clunky The Cross, for example, was a perfect blend of soul and head nod.

Everyday Thing
Even if Lost Tapes 2 or 3 or 4 . . . ever do come out, chances are there will still be a decent amount of unreleased Nas material lying around, simply because not everything would be feasible to put out. Some songs may be caught by sampling issues, others may have featured guests that could hold up the process, while even more could just be too "minor" to fuss over. One such lost track that most likely will never see the light of a record store is Everyday Thing. Produced by Dr. Dre, who calls upon a gorgeous Minnie Ripperton sample (Inside My Love), it also features a rap from the legendary producer. Joining him then are Nas and Nature, the two unfortunately sporting recycled verses. Because of all of this, we know Everyday Thing is a Firm-era outtake that's probably destined to be no more than that.

If I Ruled The World (live)
When Nas took to the Radio City Music Hall stage earlier this year, he was backed by the Roots; after the show, he told MTV, "I never had a band behind me before, so working with the Roots on that show was a first for me on a concert level." Well, blame it on being caught in the moment or a decade's worth of weed, but this was actually not the first time Nas had worked a concert with a live band. Back in 1996, with his If I Ruled The World quickly moving its way to classic status and The Fugees also enjoying their own sophomore album success, Nas was invited by Lauryn Hill and the gang for a performance at Germany's New Pop Festival. Beyond being the actual first Nas + band experience, listening to this live version of If I Ruled The World also points to a time when the rapper's on-stage breath control hadn't become so blunted by reality.

Soundtrack to the Streets
If you know your history, you know that in the early days of Hip-Hop the DJ was the star and the MC was no more than a mere hypeman. While that has definitely changed in the many years since, the DJ remains an integral part of the culture. In a sense, as a choice spin or a notable mixtape cut can change a career in a minute, they are the gatekeepers of the music. One such prestigious DJ, Kid Capri, was even able to exert his influence everywhere from early block parties to the mixtape circuit (52 Beats, 10/9/89) and still remain relevant in the 90's; subsequently, he pulled some of rap's biggest names together (Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Big Pun, The Lox, etc.) for a 1998 compilation album, Soundtrack to the Streets. Here Nas was given the title track duties:

Spit -- cartridges at so-called hard ni-ggas
You get -- sparked and hit, held as hostages
You know how the mobsters is from the heart of the Bridge
We just started getting dough, yo, pardon the kid

The Firm: Everyday Thing
Kid Capri f/ Nas: Soundtrack to the Streets
Nas: The Cross (9th Wonder remix)
Nas f/ Refugee Camp: If I Ruled The World (live)
Saul Williams f/ Nas: Black Stacey (remix)

One Blood (remix)

2006-11-06T20:44:00.000-08:00

What did I say about The Game? He may not be the most graceful rapper ever, but he's got balls where others have Chris Brown duets, and respect for Hip-Hop's history where others have only short-term memories. Accordingly, the first single from his all-important sophomore album, Doctor's Advocate, wasn't just some generic copy and paste copout. It was One Blood, a solid street look, a real left turn for someone in his position. Now, recalling The Luniz's 5 On It, he's remixed One Blood in grand posse cut fashion, with more than twenty rappers on board--Nas included.

[NAS]
Game got at me about the remix, it's an honor, my nigga
I made rap one blood, that's why I'm signing with Jigga???
I got rappers getting mad at me
I got these new jack rappers tryna clap at me
I got these corny wannabe diss song kings
On the radio talking about how they gon' spray or take me away
But I'm the true living legend, I'm not to be questioned
Have your whole hood holler ??? about my profession

The Game f/ Hip-Hop: One Blood (remix)

*NOTE: Lyrics?--Fletch

Brolic with Knowledge

2006-11-05T19:08:00.000-08:00

With 1st Class now on record shelves, while fans should have rejoiced over Large Professor finally having an official product on the market, after years and years of toiling in the ranks of the unreleased, it wasn't as if everything had played out to some perfect ending. The LP was still absent, and what ended up in stores, in its place, hardly proved to be any consolation. In the cruel way the industry can be at times, the masterpiece had been kept in the vaults, while the too-little-too-late effort was the project that actually got a fair deal. Moreover, those spots where 1st Class did hold its own were as Large Professor let another MC hold the mic, e.g. Nas on Stay Chisel.

The version of Stay Chisel appearing on 1st Class features the Queens duo delivering one verse each over a medium-paced beat. It's a concept track, playing to the idea of "knowledge is power", where, accordingly, Nas defines true strength less by physical prowess and more so by one's own intelligence:

Mental calisthenics got my mind stretching, then I release it
Have my whole frame bulging under diamond pieces
Take the weight of the world on my shoulders, I hold it
So I consume most the pain for my niggas I roll with

Then Large Pro comes in and gets out quickly, leaving the song's length at just over two-and-a-half-minutes, good but not remarkable. Fortunately, another Stay Chisel exists, with Nas on a solo mission, three verses long, unreleased, and entirely more notable.

With these two additional verses at his disposal, Nas is able to flush out the metaphor: now a loyal crew is akin to a trusty workout partner, and a balanced diet is used to demonstrate the need for a balanced lyrical approach, "reduce fat rap, no calories in my mentality." Elsewhere, he espouses mental focus ("keep your chest up / eyes straight to the center") and even preaches the wonders of wheat bread. But the most interesting portion here may be the names Nas checks. Typically, rap songs will scroll though a list of fashion labels, big time moguls, movie stars bad asses, and the like. Yet, while Nas does mention Lou Ferrigno and Arnold Schwarzenegger to explain a kind of muscular clout, he also acknowledges such African-American pioneers, intellectuals, and leaders as James Baldwin, John Hope Franklin, W.E.B. Du Bois, John Chavis, Angela Davis, and Assata Shakur. However, the most fitting individual referenced is Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, the once-middleweight contender who was wrongly convicted of murder and had to rely on inner toughness to outlast an erroneous prison sentence.

Nas: Stay Chisel

One Plus One

2006-11-03T01:41:00.000-08:00

The days of the self-made star are done. Look around from Hollywood to 106 & Park, and though the big names in music, movies, and television might have manufactured some of their own hustle, they didn't get there completely by themselves. Maybe it was a mentor, a DJ, a casting agent, whoever, but chances are someone along the line gave them that all-important first push. For Nas, that person is without a doubt Large Professor (himself a product of Paul C's good graces). And although Large Pro would be absent during much of Nas' most commercially successful times, he was behind Illmatic, he was behind the music that got Nas to the point of Illmatic, and, for that, his credit is unquestionable.

Beyond producing a third of Illmatic's tracks and its first two singles, it was Large Professor, a fellow Queens native, who blew breath into the Nastiest lungs, supplying the beats and studio time for Nas' earliest recordings. Afterwards, as one third of Main Source, he would give Nas his first exposure, out of the blue, as this unknown entity, on the now legendary posse cut Live at the Barbeque, "I was trapped in a cage and let out by the Main Source." Nas' verse quickly achieved classic status and soon won over the ears of MC Serch, who would later get Nas a record deal and oversee the making of Illmatic. And while Serch's great involvement here shouldn't be ignored, it was truly the work put in by Extra P that put Nas on.

However, it's not as though Large Professor's legacy rests merely on making Nas known. In fact, before there was ever any word of 1994's Second Coming, it was the MC's involved in that previous line of Hip-Hop lyricism, those like Rakim and Kool G Rap, who Large Pro was also working with--all while still attending high school no less. And even when he wasn't laying down the initial round of production for rappers, his remix résumé proved to be just as extensive and notable, e.g. tracks with Common Sense, Gang Starr, Organized Konfusion, and Slick Rick. What's more, his reputation would have only further been bolstered if his 1995 solo album, The LP, had actually come out back in 1995.

Being signed to Geffen Records was Large Professor's first bad break. Known primarily for putting out John Lennon's solo work and the likes of Whitesnake and Guns N' Roses, Geffen started signing Hip-Hop acts as the genre demonstrated staying power. However, this meant that the label was still kind of new and naive as to how to handle and market these rappers. They knew they could get some sales if they had Bart Simpson do Deep, Deep Trouble and that they could tap into the already-established Wu-Tang fanbase with GZA's Liquid Swords, but Large Professor must have been, and apparently was, an enigma. So while two singles, IJUSWANNACHILL and The Mad Scientist, were released and the rapper / producer, in a guest appearance on ATCQ's Keep It Rollin', had implored, "Queens represent, buy the album when I drop it", no such album ever made it out.

A bootleg was eventually passed around, and when 1st Class, Large Pro's too-long-in-the-making 2002 solo debut with all new material, did get released, it was accompanied by a promotional version of The LP, in a plain jewel case like a seven-year time capsule. And although this promo copy was still missing some previously bootlegged material, such as Queens Lounge, no matter how delayed, incomplete, or anti-climatic it might have been, it at least came in good sound and with a number of gems that time and Geffen had once seemed to forget. A duet with Nas, One Plus One, perhaps best epitomized the overlooked-but-not-unheralded quality of the work.

Recorded after Illmatic and before It Was Written, One Plus One features Nas at a crossroads between his Nasty and Esco personas. It's him celebrating a bright lights lifestyle, "Avirex gortex wet with fly jewelry", while the very same lifestyle leaves him depressed, "feeling slight chills finding out that rich niggas have to write wills." Overall though, Nas' words do favor this latter somber tone, thanks, in part, to the rather melancholy production on display. For instance, the track's opening isolated clangs are reminiscent of a dawn-hour worker whose only company is the early morning echo. Match this with some understated keys and consistent drums, and you'll see why heads continually plead for more Nas-Large Pro collaborations. On the mic as well, though he seems to always be thought of for beats first and then ignored in favor of whatever guests he's joined by, with a strong, clear voice and a quick rhyme scheme, Large Professor efficiently holds his own. It was just Geffen that never did their job.

Rebel To America: Large Professor collection
Includes: Common Sense: Resurrection '95; Eric B & Rakim: No Omega; Gang Starr: Gotta Get Over (Large Professor remix); Kool G. Rap f/ Ant Live, Freddie Foxxx, Large Professor: Money In The Bank; Large Professor: IJUSWANNACHILL; Large Professor: The Mad Scientist; Large Professor: Queens Lounge; Large Professor f/ Nas: One Plus One; Organized Konfusion: Stress (Large Professor remix); Slick Rick: It's a Boy (Large Professor remix); A Tribe Called Quest f/ Large Professor: Keep It Rollin'

The N

2006-10-31T20:02:00.000-08:00

The rush of new music isn't even taking Halloween off. Because it's produced by Nas' go-to-man Salaam Remi and is leaking as the 19th of December slowly creeps up, you'd figure this was an album cut in the making. However, given the feel of the hook especially, plus the fact the outro ad-libs don't sound all that LP-ready, this could merely be a mixtape / DJ song. Maybe not.

[NAS]
It's the late night, Greasy Spoon patron
Poolhall making - big bets
Midsection got the 8 in
Dior, Christian pimping
Got that penal system diction
Riffing, you don't wanna be snitching
Spit a few at a traitor with that new AR
Try to kill me, I'm a leader, that's coup d'etat
Streetsweepers in that Coupe all black
Bitches want my chipped tooth back
Steel MAC so my kufi never gets smacked
Squeeze a fifth with a grip
As I dip from the paparazzi
Still playing numbers, you can't stop me
Still wearing bundles and spark weed
If I ever say, Queens, get 'em, you know they got me
Success, scandal, bone deep personal beef
So lead by example or get trampled
Since Hip-Hop Is Dead, this is the N
Congratulations in order 'cause we did it again

Don't hate me now, congratulate me now
I'm still getting it and don't even love the dough
Don't hate me now, congratulate me now
I'm still ripping, and I don't even love the hoes
Still getting it and don't even love the dough
Still gripping it, you know that I tug the fo'
Stay splifted 'cause you know that I love the dro

The style is taboo, the chain's offensive
Brain on airplanes, Gucci frames are vintage
The two-TEC don in Yukon's and Benzes
Chicks who suck other chicks tits like infants
Apprentice but not Trump
I'm the nigga with glocks and pumps
That you don't see much, sucka free from chumps
Homes with cobblestones in front of 'em
Got guns in cummerbunds, so understand you under son
Don't make me have you running from a hundred guns
Don't make me grab your only son, I'm coming from
A place Tanqueray and weed's the only escape
From phonies who hate when you rolling with papes
That's why the god party with Juicy models
They mob me, Denali, Charlie Luciano - hardly
Have to tell y'all, I kill y'all
For spitting songs that involve me, nigga
Original verbal assassin, have to carve me a nigga

Nas: The N

Hip-Hop Is Dead

2006-10-30T19:03:00.000-08:00

Everyone wanted to talk about the snippet so bad. I said wait until we have the full length. Well, we now have the full length. Have at it.

Production by Will.I.Am

Hip-Hop Is Dead . . . . December 19th.

[NAS]
If Hip-Hop should die before I wake, I put an extended clip inside of my AK
Roll to every station, murder the DJ - roll to every station, murder the DJ

Niggas smoke, laugh, party, and die in the same corner
Get cash, live fast, body they man's momma
Rich ass niggas is riding with three llamas
Revenge in their eyes, Hennessy and the ganja
Word to the wise, with villain state of minds
Grinding, hitting Brazilian dimes from behind
Grinding, hitting Brazilian dimes from behind
Grinding, hitting Brazilian dimes from behind
Whenever, if ever, I roll up, it's sewn up
Any ghetto will tell ya, Nas help grow us up
My face once graced promotional Sony trucks
Hundred million in billing, I help blow 'em up
Gave my nigga my right, I could have gave left
So like my girl Foxy, a nigga went Def
So nigga, who's your top ten?
Is it MC Shan? Is it MC Ren?

The bigger the cap the bigger the peelin'
Come through something ill missing a ceiling
What influenced my raps? Stick-ups and killings
Kidnappings, project buildings, drug dealings
Criticize that? Why's that? 'Cause Nas rap
Is compared to legitimized crap
'Cause we love to talk on ass we getting
Most intellectuals will only half listen
So you can't blame jazz musicians
Or David Stern with his NBA fashion issues
Oh, I think they like me - in my white tee
You can't ice me, we here for life, b
On my second marriage, Hip-Hop's my first wifey
And for that we not taking it lightly
If Hip-Hop should die, we die together
Bodies in the morgue lie together
All together now . . .

Everybody sound the same
Commercialized the game
Reminiscing when it wasn't all business
It forgot where it started
So we all gather here for the dearly departed
Hip-Hopper since a toddler
One homeboy became a man and then a mobster
If it dies, let me get my last swig of vodka
RIP - we'll donate your lungs to a Rasta
Went from turntables to MP3's
From Beat Street to commercials on Mickey D's
From gold cables to Jacob's
From plain facials to Botox and facelifts
I'm looking over my shoulder
It's about eighty niggas from my hood that showed up
And they came to show love
Sold out concert and the doors'll close shut

Nas: Hip-Hop Is Dead

New York Shit (remix)

2006-10-28T21:15:00.000-07:00

New York's shine in the spotlight has been stolen by the likes of Houston and Atlanta in recent years. While everyone from rappers to message board posters has an opinion as to why this happened and how it can be reversed, it's safe to say any New York comeback isn't going to spring from a song specifically about a New York comeback. That's way too self-serving, predictable, and corny even; in fact, it proves the point that New Yorkers are, at times, like modern day geocentrists, so sure that everything revolves around them, despite all the evidence to prove the opposite. This much Busta Rhymes found out when his New York Shit single went belly-up earlier this year.

Well, now too many months later, trying to resurrect his own buzz, Busta has returned with a New York Shit remix, four actually: a New York remix, a Midwest remix, a Dirty South remix, and a West coast remix. Scratch your head on that for a second. However, at the very least, the NY rendition of NYS brings us a new Nas verse.

From the Kay Slay mixtape Myspace Maniac.

[NAS]
Savoir-faire
Radiant, conscience clear
I'm about to have a monstrous year
Livest spots, e'ry night we deep
Ladies get you harder than termite teeth
Check me, Broadway 42nd Street
Legendary, 3 Card Molly
Nasir drives a Harley
Now, wrist is froze
Like toes on the body in the morgue
They were all put there by the squad
FYI, for ya info, insects splatted on the bike window
Had an innuendo, take a look around, what you found?
Crème de la Crème from everything I be in
Like Masta Ace, tell me the world's a faster place
High school students will slash your face
Look here, I'm the god on the mic on the track
Like Arthur Ashe on the tennis rack'
Tell the DJ, spin it back

Busta Rhymes f/ Papoose, MOP, Nas & Labba: New York Shit (remix)

Why You Hate The Game

2006-10-28T10:03:00.000-07:00

Since the dialup head can hardly stay bipartisan these days, any rapper that has beef with another rapper is typically going to cause "fans" to sway their support dramatically to one side or another. Take The Game for example. He's feuded with perennial New York underdog Joe Budden, The Bay's own Yukmouth, ROC underlings like Memphis Bleek and the Young Gunz, G-Unit and extended family, and even more recently with Ras Kass. Because of this, plus his rather fast multi-platinum rise to fame, he's become an ever increasing target of fickleness and loathing. Throw in the fact that his lyrics, admittedly, have a tendency to read like a Hip-Hop roll sheet, and there's even more inspiration for hate. However, if anything, that namedropping says to me, although in an incessant sort of way, that The Game is a fan of Hip-Hop, something that's more endearing than another rapper commenting, "I only listen to Coldplay."

The Game's respect for the legends of the genre has been clear since day one. From outright refuting that he would ever diss someone with Jay-Z's résumé to acknowledging the often-ignored likes of Eazy-E and Ice Cube, Game knows who came before him and what they meant. Because of this, it is fitting that one of the most anticipated songs from his highly anticipated new album, Doctor's Advocate, does indeed feature a certifiable legend, Nas. And they're even doing it old school style, like back when extra-long tracks were the norm. Just Blaze on the beat.

[NAS]
The streets made me Illmatic
For that, I'm still at it

Felon -- Vice behind me on the intersection
Sex and drugs, my anthology on perfection
Dress superb, admired by conspirers
Who wanna try me but ain't high enough
To 4-5 me up
Child of the 80's
Y'all niggas is lazy
Complain about labor pains
Nigga, show me the baby
And my nigga Game, light another L, pass the bottle
Pro-black, I don't pick cotton out of Aspirin bottle
Yeah, I learnt my lessons and heard y'all snitching
Witnessing you rocking with Narcs confirmed my suspicion
Green fatigues on, my niggas I bleed for 'em
I could show 'em the water but can't make 'em drink it
And I could show them my fortunes by can't force 'em to think rich
And still I don't abort 'em when and if they sink quick
Ignore the ignorance, I rep the brilliance of Queensbridge
And pray the Feds let Murder Inc live

The Game f/ Nas & Marsha of Floetry: Why You Hate The Game

Thugz Mansion

2006-10-26T23:41:00.000-07:00

Because their relationship was less collaborative and more so based on animosity, when Nas and a 2Pac, via a posthumously released verse, linked up for 2002's Thugz Mansion, many were taken aback. While the song may have turned out well, it still remained mired in a decent bit of confusion and controversy. Some saw it as Nas blatantly going against his own philosophy of "let the late great veteran live", and even more pegged it as a situation where a rapper, who had had beef with Pac while he was alive, was now trying to eat off his legacy and pretend that things had always been cool. Well, it's not that simple.

2Pac as some vigilant anti-East Coast menace was an image created, blown up, and exploited by a record label and the media in whole. In fact, born in Brooklyn and once even known as MC New York, Pac routinely paid praise to such steady Rotten Apple stalwarts as Wu-Tang and the Boot Camp Clik. At the same time, it's also true that he didn't extend kind words to everyone, as the likes of Biggie, Lil Kim, Mobb Deep, The Fugees, Jay-Z, etc. all were targets at one time or another, Nas included.

Whatever relationship existed between Nas and 2Pac, it really began on positive terms, those of mutual respect. For instance, 2Pac was said to have listened to Illmatic intently and later was inspired to pen his own gun-personification tale after hearing I Gave You Power. Likewise, Nas has always maintained that he was a fan of Pac's ever since the Digital Underground days. However, if a choice cut from It Was Written hit Pac the right way, a couple others didn't go over quite as smoothly. For starters, Nas' Street Dreams employed the very same Linda Clifford sample that just months prior had served as the production base for the title track to All Eyez On Me. Nevertheless, any beef stemming from this would merely be a prelude, as the real drama soon kicked off over similarities between Nas' very lyrics and Pac's own life.

The first full song on It Was Written, The Message, found Nas caught up in an exchange of bullets, himself hit and then firing back, before a visit to the hospital later that night. While most would have listened and taken Nas' verse as just an early entry into his soon-to-be extensive storytelling collection, such as in the tradition of Slick Rick and Kool G Rap, 2Pac believed Nas was mimicking his own infamous five-shot escapade at Quad Studios in New York 1994. Subsequently, Pac recorded Against All Odds, a searing free-for-all diss track, "This little nigga named Nas thinks he live like me / Talking 'bout how he left the hospital took five like me / You living fantasies, nigga . . . It Was Written / Hey Nas, your whole damn style is bitten / You heard my melody, read about my life in the papers / All my run-ins with authorities, felonious capers . . . Since you lie, you die." Passed around extensively, Against All Odds quickly became 2Pac's definitive post-Hit Em Up "ride on our enemies" anthem.

Much later, Nas was questioned over any similarities between The Message and the actual Quad Studios episode, to which he replied that he was merely putting the real life experience of a friend of his into a first-person rhyme, "I'm talking about altercations that happen in my neighborhood. Where a friend of mine was shot and came out of the hospital the next night, and I talk about it as if it was me." But if few people know this side of the story, just about the same number know that Nas in fact had responded, on record, to the above-mentioned Against All Odds diss.

Released on a DJ Clue mixtape, though his appearance on the Welcome to the Firm freestyle was limited to just a single line, Nas made sure it was a powerful one, "Black Pirelli's rolling over this Makaveli." By referencing a brand of high-grade racing tires and the persona behind 2Pac's 7 Day Theory album, Nas' intent was clear. Even still, there remains some discrepancy over when this response was first recorded and whether or not it leaked to the Clue mixtape with Nas' permission at all. It is, however, not the only piece in this battle shrouded in uncertainty.

Just a little over a week before his death, 2Pac, with his Outlawz crew nearby, made it to New York for the September 4th, 1996 MTV Video Music Awards. And despite everything that might have been captured on camera, perhaps the most interesting incident took place far off screen. The basic facts are that Nas and Pac somehow meet up at Central Park, but as to what was said, and in what manner, there are competing stories. First, as you might recall, this is the scene described on We Will Survive, where Nas gives his version of the night:

We had words 'cause the best supposed to clash at the top
But kept it brotherly, when we seen each other and stopped
In NYC, at MTV, people watched
We was both deep, after you left, I got no sleep

In a 2002 interview with XXL, Nas even went so far as to say that he and Pac were supposed to record for the One Nation album, a project where the Death Row rapper was reaching out to his East Coast brethren in a show of unity. However, disagreeing with this "brotherly" depiction, Snoop Dogg, who has put himself as well in the midst of this New York night, described it differently, "Pac checked [Nas], punked him in Central Park, I mean straight punked him." It might be good to take this account with some skepticism though, because while Nas' own story has varied at times, Snoop Dogg's version comes off as less reliable. Thankfully, there's yet another, more credible eyewitness report, this time from some of the Outlawz themselves.

On their 2004 DVD release Worldwide (youtube link), principal Outlawz members Young Noble and Napoleon spoke on the Central Park saga. For his part, Young Noble confirmed the meeting, "two days before [2Pac] got shot, we was in New York. That's when we seen Nas. Them niggas chopped it up, squashed that shit they had." Then Napoleon mentioned that Pac had planned to remove all references to Nas from the Makaveli album. Unfortunately, no change was ever made, for just two days after the MTV awards, 2Pac's black BMW, near the intersection of Koval Lane, in Las Vegas, Nevada, was ambushed by an array of bullets. A week later, his wounds would prove fateful.

The reason to dredge over any of this is to answer the question if Thugz Mansion was a legitimate move to make or not. For those who believe 2Pac went to his grave with nothing but ill will aimed towards Nas, it was essentially a coward's play by the QB MC, a mere PR stunt. For those who would say Nas and Pac had settled their differences and planned to work together in the near future, it was a way to finally do what death had prevented the pair from accomplishing in the first place.

Nas et al: Welcome to the Firm
Nas: Interview on 2Pac's Death
Nas: We Will Survive
Nas f/ 2Pac: Thugz Mansion
BONUS: 2Pac: Against All Odds

Serious

2006-10-23T21:05:00.000-07:00

There are three main points to make about the Nas-AZ track Serious.

1. The Lost Tapes Syndrome
Before Street's Disciple ever hit stores, it was shaping up to be the album of the year. While this was due in part to the standard protocol of "Pre-Nas Album Hype", it was also a reflection of the quality of songs that had already been leaked to mixtapes and online. Five songs specifically, Disciple, Good Morning, Serious, Thief's Theme, and You Know My Style, were cause for real anticipation, "is Nas back?" Well, as most hype usually does, by the time the 2LP hit stores, it lost some steam. Additionally, for those who had been privy to the five aforementioned tracks, it was even more of a letdown: the beat on Disciple was downgraded, Good Morning and Serious were both nowhere to be found, and Thief's Theme and You Know My Style were relegated to the role of bonus tracks. The absence of Serious, in particular, proved most disappointing.

2. Brooklyn-Queens Connection
On Serious, the pairing of Nas and AZ reunited a legendary duo ten years past their first collaboration (Life's A Bitch) and two years since their latest turn (The Essence). Showing no rust at all, the chemistry between the two is especially noticeable in the handoff from AZ's second verse, "we back and we come to conquer . . ." to Nas', "the last of the fuckin' genre." Elsewhere, AZ plays his unique pronunciation to good effect, "the God of the Serengeti / I charge with a large machete / And carve up ya starvin' belly." For his part, Nas' greatest strength on display is his delivery. Here he injects a high dosage of adrenaline into his flow, providing real energy that could have greatly benefited the overall Street's Disciple album. As a final note, because I know it's a tendency, as I have said before, rap music is not a game of Clue, i.e., someone doesn't always have to have murdered someone else. When there are two rappers on a track and both MC's come off, hit repeat and just let it ride. Serious is one such case.

3. Last Bongo in Belgium
As exciting as the performances of Nas and AZ are, the credit for Serious is every bit due to Salaam Remi and the Incredible Bongo Band. Once more sampling the classic Bongo Rock album, as he had previously done for Made You Look and Thief's Theme, Remi's old-school concoction is equal parts irresistible and unrelenting. Immediately, the horns are introduced, as if a signal to prepare for the pandemonium ahead. Next the percussion dives in head first, literally sprinting across the track. Like so many speed freaks charged from a score, it moves, twitching, fritzing, anxious, pulsing, pounding, a head nod that hardly lets up, a constant surge of acceleration. Then, to keep the drug analogy going, Serious too is a rather quick high, topping off at just over two minutes, but worth every second of its rush. Unfortunately, when it didn't show up on Street's Disciple come release day, that was any buzz bottoming out at once. And the reason for its absence? Coincidentally enough, the IBB sample couldn't be cleared in time.

Regardless of where it did or did not end up, Serious is Hip-Hop as it exists beyond the reach of pop music trends and watered-down production, or, as Nas himself puts it, "never neo-soul . . . not Joss Stone, Hives, or Coldplay. . . . Anthony Cruz, Nasir Jones shit, very serious."

Nas f/ AZ: Serious
BONUS: Incredible Bongo Band: Last Bongo in Belgium

Get Dis Money

2006-10-21T17:39:00.000-07:00

The introduction to the world of Illmatic took place behind window shades, where a money count was the principal focus. When a project warrior later morphed into this all-out Escobar figure, the gusto grew and the dollars chased in the dream expanded just as well. Sensing a backlash, Nas' '99 anthem was a Cristal-soaked strike at the growing number of critics lining up against the rapper, "don't hate me, hate the money I see." In many ways, this quest for cash is what drove the early QB narrative, and, when Nas actually achieved that status, started counting his stash with the shades up and in the whole world's face, it's what moved many away.

To say the least, money has starred as the subject of many of his Nas' rhymes. He's not the exception however, because, for many rappers, especially during those jiggy times of the late 90's, the paper chase has long since been a heavy presence. At a certain point, popular music all over really got touched, as even R&B singers started serenading their stacks of green. Perhaps this money-minded mentality was nowhere more evident than on R. Kelly's 1998 double-opus R., where a handful of big-name MC's and the Chicago singer cooked up such splendid titles as "Spendin' Money'", "Dollar Bill", "Only The Loot Can Make Me Happy", and "Money Makes The World Go Round." Nas was one of those big-name MC's invited along, and the collaboration proved to be a match made in commerce heaven.

Beyond being two of the biggest acts of past decade, R. Kelly and Nas share a couple other points: both debuted in the early 90's, both were signed under the Sony BMG umbrella at one point, and both made countless records with the hitmaker team of The Trackmasters. In fact, it was the Trackmasters remix to Nas' Street Dreams, which they had produced in the first place, that initially linked QB with Chitown. While the Choosy Lover sample and R&B-led hook only continued to piss off purists disgruntled with Nas' changing beats, the duo kept on. Two years later, the aforementioned 2LP R. was released, with Nas close by and financial means at the heart of the matter.

The first of '98's two collaborations came in the form of Money Makes The World Go Round. With a simple piano track and background vocals moving throughout, the Trackmasters production sets a rather calm tone. Just off the title, most would assume the song nothing more than a big brash celebration of excess. However, it really frames money as this thing we all chase after, but, when you have it, you find it only goes so far. Nas, no doubt looking at life with a new perspective in the wake of It Was Written's good fortune, could surely attest to the ups and downs of the dollar. In this way, he's able to speak to both sides of what money means, "When you poor, it's like life ain't even worth living / But when you rich, is every fat ass worth hittin'?" This last question is asked from a pessimistic, almost disappointed position, like the man who spent his whole life on a hustle, trying to make it large, gets there, and can't enjoy what he's got, for any number of reasons. Yet, later in the verse, Nas shows he's still caught up in the illusion, "it's V-12's, honeys on the cell." This presents a contrast, where, on one hand, he knows everything that's big isn't always worth its height, but he can't quite shed the materialism either; it's really a very human condition, where you're often stuck between two sides and can't decide which to follow ("rap about big paper or the black man plight?").

Nas and R. Kelly worked together once more, for the remix to Did You Ever Think. Again, Poke and Tone were behind the boards, with the subject of money hoisted back to center stage, "Did you ever think that you would be this rich? / Did you ever think that you would have these hits?" Taken from the track's hook, these lines might be mistaken for pure bragging. And while the song is more celebratory than not, it's not necessarily the money they're celebrating; instead, it's coming from poverty to being paid that's reason to rejoice. Nas' verse does its job to explain this much:

We ghetto, never thought we'd ever reach this level
My people behind metal - the streets coulda had us
But now we live lavish

At the same time, though we can talk about Nas catering to both sides of the coin, his own rhymes, R. Kelly's singing, and the overall production come off generic at points. There's a certain chemistry the pair share, more so than any of the other rappers featured throughout the double album even, but it's not like this is all-time classic material at hand. Moreover, eight years later, though still listenable, both Money Makes and Did You Ever Think smack of a 1998 sound. You can also hear the faint ring of a cash register in the back.

R. Kelly f/ Nas: Did You Ever Think (remix)
R. Kelly f/ Nas: Money Makes The World Go Round

*NOTE: Primary contributions to this entry by Eli Jabbe aka Ill E. Thanks.--Fletch

Hip-Hop Honors

2006-10-18T22:05:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure the exact point when you could begin to mention Nas' name in company with some of Hip-Hop's elite old-school legends and have it not be blasphemy. Maybe it was Illmatic that crystallized his clout, maybe it was soaring to multi-platinum heights with It Was Written, maybe it was earning his battle stripes with Ether, maybe it was proving he could last longer than a couple albums and some trends, maybe it was resurrecting the breakbeat aesthetic on Made You Look, or maybe it was showing that Hip-Hop could grow with relative grace into its and his third decade. Then again, maybe it's really a combination of all these achievements. However, you'd also have to factor in that Nas has never shied away from a) giving respect to his elders b) working with these very same MC's. In the process, these collaborations have helped older artists receive some attention from a newer set of fans, but also bolstered Nas' status from the p.o.v. of these very same artists, to the point that you could consider him in their class without causing too much fallout. Three such acts Nas has worked with are Run-D.M.C., Scarface, and Slick Rick.

Run-D.M.C. f/ Nas, Prodigy: Queens Day
As much as any other one location, Queens, New York is responsible for some of the most important music and moments in Hip-Hop's history. In particular, Run-D.M.C. can lay claim to a bulk of these moments. Because of this, when Nas came through with '94's Illmatic, though the projects of QB were given his specific attention, on a larger scale, he was also carrying on the tradition that Run-D.M.C., amongst others, had helped etch out. Fittingly, when the Hollis trio released their first LP since before Illmatic, 2001's Crown Royal, Nas came along to represent for the second generation of Queens Hip-Hop. Over a Primoesque beat, he appropriately tripped back to memory lane with a verse that honored those days of the 80's when the likes of Run-D.M.C. ruled:

A lot of ghost towns and memories, bad blood and enemies
So many died with the same gangsta pride that entered me
Peace to them old timers, they who taught us
How to stand strong and pass it on to the sons and daughters

Scarface f/ Nas: In Between Us
You may be wondering why Scarface is included here in the same company as Rev. Run and 'em, from a chronological perspective at least. However, the first Geto Boys album did come out in '88, although, admittedly, that may not be strict "old school" by a purist's standards; regardless, I've always grouped him in with the N.W.A. and Kool G Rap league of Hip-Hop, that Reagan era, menacing, unrelenting, and ultra-violent approach to lyricism. But maybe that's part of Scarface's greatness, that he could come up in a class of rappers now considered vets and still maintain a consistent level of respect and relevance in the game to also be seen as a peer of 2Pac, Nas, Jay-Z, and even Beanie Siegel. He's accomplished as much as any other Hip-Hop artist, from business to the music side of things, and, in 2002, proved he could still hang around in his third different decade of recording on a 5-Mic level. That album, The Fix, also paired the South Acres MC with QB's own, Nas, for an ode to "O.G. knowledge."

Slick Rick f/ Nas: Me & Nas Bring It to You Hardest
It takes some guts to get on a bragging track with Slick Rick. While Nas' storytelling abilities are worthy enough to be compared to the pioneer legacy left by MC Ricky D, he's never been quite the brag artist, at least not to equal one of the greats. This is especially evident on the song in question, Me & Nas Bring It to You Hardest, where, despite being more than a decade removed from his Great Adventures debut, Rick the Ruler provides his trademark combination of conceitedness plus charisma, "when I step into a room, pimps hide they hoes ." Enhanced by his UK stylings, Me & Nas is another example of Slick Rick as the original aristocrat MC, whose asshole tendencies were balanced with the right amount of wit to win over even the crumbs.

Run-D.M.C. f/ Nas, Prodigy: Queens Day
Scarface f/ Nas: In Between Us
Slick Rick f/ Nas: Me & Nas Bring It to You Hardest

Another Yesterday

2006-10-16T12:14:00.000-07:00

Part of the reason Hip-Hop Is Dead is so anticipated, beyond fans just wanting to hear new music, is because there's a certain curiosity as to where Nas will take the album. This means not only what coming to Def Jam and working with a stable of new producers will entail, but, literally, which Nas will show up.

Perhaps more than any other rapper, each new Nas album has reflected a certain personal and artistic change. God's Son wasn't Escobar, the fiery return of Stillmatic contrasted with the depression of I Am, and the engaged, father of Street's Disciple surely differed from the street corner youth of Illmatic. In the decade-plus since Nas first broke into the game, he's gone from saying he "won't plant seeds" to dedicating whole songs to his daughter, from a lifestyle with "crazy bitches" to celebrating monogamy and getting married. And while these changes have not always produced artistically successful projects, they do reflect a personal growth, a honesty with the music that Nas exemplifies as much as anyone.

At the same time, though we're curious where he's going to take the new album, in most of us who beg for Primo or wax nostalgic on those Halftime days, there's a desire to hear that early Nas once more, that Illmatic Nas, that '94 adrenaline shot from the jungles of QB that came in without all the pretenses and impossible expectations future albums would meet. We want to hear those struggles from the stoop's side of things, when the beats were that classic New York call, the tooth was chipped, and the name was Nasty. Yet, as Nas has continually said, "it's always forward I'm moving, never backwards." Because of this, the only real way to revisit those days is to revisit that classic ten track trek of his, or, because like anything where Nas leaves a trail of unreleased work around, you can go back before Illmatic, before '94, to when it was Just Another Day in the Projects.

One of several available pre-Illmatic songs, Just Another Day in the Projects is similar to the later NY State of Mind; the two even share a couple of the very same rhymes, "I had a dream I was a gangsta / Drinking Moet, holding Tec's." However, whereas Nas rather quickly snaps out of that dream on the Primo-laced album turn, "but just a nigga, walking with his finger on the trigger", here Nas leads the illusion on for an entire lengthy-sized verse. The conclusion is along the same lines, where thoughts of the good life are juxtasposed by the trigger-ready reality of the projects, but the gangsta fantasy scene is at least given more descriptive space on Just Another Day:

Custom made suits, hands full of ice and gold
Making $1000 bets on the dice I roll
Girls work the night patrol, the whore market
When I walk, niggas is rolling out the red carpet

In looking at the song's overall lyrical content, as it was most likely written when Nas was still just a teenager and yet to develop the voice that would shine on Memory Lane or Life's A Bitch, for instance, there's a particular roughness to his rap. As an example, you hear him using "nine", on two different occasions, to set off a rhyme and see him blunder with a couple borderline corny brags, "I made the bad guys on Miami Vice look nice." Fortunately, elsewhere, Nas still proves quite adept with a multisyllabic style and a use of verbal imagery, such as in his description of a New York cop, "he looked like a Klansman with a gun." Even still, that aforementioned roughness, that rawness, if amateurish at points, is part of what is so appealing about a track like Just Another Day in the Projects. It reminds people of a time when Nas was Nasty, when the package wasn't so polished, when Hip-Hop could come from the gutter without first being sanitized for mass consumption. But everything has changed, Nas included.

From the early 90's to now in 2006, Nas' world view has evolved noticeably; as a result, no matter how nostalgic you may get, it'd be rather futile to ask him to go back to "gunfights with mega cops." It'd be impossible to have him deliver another Illmatic -- Hip-Hop Is Dead is the title after all.

As a final note, it appears necessary to remind that Hip-Hop Is Dead is not the name of the new LP because the south has been the go-to choice for the past couple years, as some have taken it to imply. Instead, it's fitting because the corporate machine, from record companies to communication channels, has expanded ever more and more, consolidating power in the hands of a few scant shareholders. In the process, what gets play has become overwhelmingly one-sided, the artist increasingly deprived of any control, integrity lost for all. With this pressure on Hip-Hop, this loss right before him, having seen something once so potent stripped of its very spirit, it'll be interesting to see how Nas reacts and in what mood the game has left him; come December, we'll hopefully find out.

Nas: Just Another Day in the Projects

Roundup PT VI

2006-10-13T10:35:00.000-07:00

The major news coming from Nas' corner regards the new album, but let's start elsewhere first:

Before his own project hits stores, come next Tuesday, October 17th, Nas will be featured on two new releases: Diddy's Press Play (Everything I Love) and Hi-Tek's Hi-Teknology 2 (Music For Life). The version of Music For Life I previously upped featured only Nas, but the retail copy includes a very poignant message left by the late J Dilla and one from Busta Rhymes, as well as a new verse by Common. On Diddy's side of things, he announced that Everything I Love will get the "split video" treatment. Remember what happened last time Nas and Puffy did a video together?

Earlier this year, Fat Joe criticized Nas and his partnership with Jay-Z, "I used to look up to Nas a lot, and I don't really respect what he did." Because Misters Escobar and Crack used to be more aligned than not, even collaborating on 1998's John Blaze, this revelation came as a surprise to many. ~~Well, according to the most recent album release schedule, with Nas said to be on Joe's upcoming Me, Myself, & I, whatever discrepancies were momentarily there have supposedly been put aside.~~ UPDATE: Fat Joe's album came out today and Nas is nowhere to be found on it. Maybe there was bad info from the release schedule lineup, maybe the track hit the cutting room floor suddenly, maybe the beef is still there, maybe maybe not.

Perhaps more cloudy than the Fat Joe-and-Nas setup is the trio of Rakim-Freddie Foxxx-and-Nas. Now, Foxxx and Rakim have their own issues, going back to earlier Long Island days, where, depending on who you ask, Ra did or did not turn down a challenge from the one Bumpy Knuckles. Later, Rakim got a little touchy when the subject was brought up in an interview; Foxxx then responded, in print and on record. On that record is where Nas, seemingly out of the blue, becomes involved, "Here's the facts / Eric B wanted Nas / Ra said he was wack / Jesus Christ was black / So Nas, you ain't God's Son / 'Cause he won't do the track." This is all a part of the strong-armed MC's portrayal of Rakim as a liar, a phony, and his point that, in this case, whatever respect has been shown to Nas isn't how it really is. (Freddie Foxxx himself is cool with Nas, as the two once recorded Turn Up The Mic together.) However, with the Eric B-Nas connection left as vague as possible and Rakim yet to tell his side of things, this story remains unfinished.

Okay, but the big news now: Hip-Hop Is Dead. Several media entities with press credentials I wish I could pull recently had a chance to preview songs from Nas' upcoming release. These parties include XXL, MTV, and FADER. From reading their write-ups, and also based on earlier reports, here's what we know thus far:

Carry the Tradition (Prod. Scott Storch): According to his interview on Radio 1, Nas covers the subject of old school rappers who have been left out of much of Hip-Hop's commercial success, now becoming upset at Nas and his generation of MC's for their good fortune. Fader describes the beat as "pretty."

Blunt Ashes (Prod. Chris Webber): That's right, that Chris Webber. If you've been following the concreteloop part of the world, you'd know that Nas and C-Webb have been friends for quite some time now. However, that the power forward is producing a track on one of the most anticipated albums of the year is still a bit surprising. (Word is Chris might have done some ghostproducing before, coming up under the tutelage of Detroit's Kaos & Mystro.) For his part, Nas is said to go through the high's and low's of a laundry list of varying famous people.

Hip-Hop Is Dead (Prod. Will.I.Am): This one's just as Rolling Stone reported back in the summer, where "hard drums and crowd chants rule." Moreover, MTV writes that it incorporates Iron Butterfly's In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida. Salaam Remi previously used the Incredible Bongo Band cover of that classic for Thief's Theme, so we'll have to wait to see how they compare.

Play on Playa (Feat. Snoop Dogg) (Prod. Scott Storch): If your memory is good enough, the title "Play on Playa" should sound familiar. This is because, in certain Street's Disciple media coverage, Playa was written up, and even quoted, "throw carnations at my tombstone." On the other hand, a Snoop Dogg appearance was not documented in any press, so that appears to be a recent addition.

QB True G (Feat. The Game) (Prod. Dr. Dre): Although no official word has been sent down yet, Nas has hinted that his collaboration could end up as the "street single" look. From the production's side, MTV relays that "the beat has the feel of the dark party track Dre gave 50 Cent for the Outta Control remix, but [with] a bit more bite." FADER too sizes it up as a left turn, in the sense that Nas is enlisting these big name hitmakers but not so much for their instant Billboard-chart qualities.

Still Dreamin' (Feat. Kanye West) (Prod. Kanye West): Having previously used Kanye's production to propel Poppa was a Player, Nas returns with his Chicago brethren, though this time 'Ye handles both rapping and beatmaking duties. Apparently Nas delivers two verses, including a story set on the fast life of a female newscaster caught up in some nasty nasal habits.

Unforgettable (Feat. Chrisette Michele) (Prod. Will.I.Am): Based on the Nat King Cole standard of the same name, XXL first reported that "Yvette Michele" was the featured female singer. However, "Chrisette Michele" turns out to be the real "Michele", and also just happens to be a Def Jam artist. MTV makes it out to be a reminisce-type track, which has always been a strength of Nas'.

Where Are They Now (Prod. Nas): While write-ups thus far do not mention it, back on Radio 1, Nas broke down this song and his role behind the boards as well. Nas explained how it focuses on today's young rap music audience and their disconnect from the very artists that once inspired him back in his youth.

Where Y'all At (Prod. Salaam Remi): Although it was let loose this past summer, Where Y'All At also has not been discussed during the preview reports as of yet, but we can probably assume that's because it's already out there.

That makes nine songs we know the titles, guest lists, and production credits for. Others have also been referenced by XXL, MTV, and FADER, although with some information lacking:

Let Me in the Light (Feat. ???) (Prod. Kanye West): XXL suggested that "one of Nas' homies does a good Anthony Hamilton impersonation on the hook" but didn't have a name to offer. Perhaps that means Ill Will Records signee Tre Williams, who does have a quality similar to Anthony Hamilton. Williams was also featured on several tracks from 2005's Living Legends mixtape, including Jackson Street.

New York Stomp (Prod. ???): If the aforementioned QB True G is not going to be the single release, a Mixtape Monday interview with Nas has the rapper saying that honor could go to a record named, "New York Stomp." No mention of any such title has been made elsewhere however.

White Man's Paper (War) (Feat. Damian Marley) (Prod. ???): The reggae-scented duet between Nas and Marley, in part, concerns "the politics of warfare", as Rolling Stone detailed earlier. The question marks regarding the producer are there because we only know from FADER that "some new African dude" put the work in. Who is that? It's anyone's guess, Africa is kinda big.

Title Unknown??? (Prod. Salaam Remi): As the first outlet to hit on this one, FADER tells of the song's stadium-like strings and drums. With Nas striking a bit venomous, apparently the stadium setting takes on an especially Roman coliseum feel. New York Stomp?

Title Unknown??? (Feat. Jay-Z) (Prod. L.E.S.): According to XXL, Jay-Z and Nas "knocked out three songs in one night, and one is making [Hip-Hop Is Dead]." This doesn't necessarily mean that all important first collaboration will appear on HHID, but, during the Westwood interview, Nas implied that much. And lucky LES gets the honor (see: pressure).

So you got your Jay-Z collaboration, your Dre and Kanye beats, and nothing that seems to be pining for the TRL market too hard. You got your political Nas, your introspective Nas, your student-of-the-game Nas, and your angry Nas. You got over a dozen tracks and a swelling of anticipation, and yet you may still not be satisfied, "where's Primo?" Well, Nas recently sat down for a partially coherent interview with AHH, where, amongst other things, he kinda sorta told them that DJ Premier was on the album, "some people I've been working with, you know Salaam Remi, L.E.S., you know Dr. Dre, not as much but Dre. Premier, you know." So . . . .

Hip-Hop Is Dead . . . The N: December 19, 2006.

Fat Joe f/ Nas, Big Pun, Raekwon & Jadakiss: John Blaze
Freddie Foxxx f/ Nas: Turn Up The Mic
Nas f/ Tre Williams: Jackson Street
BONUS: Freddie Foxxx: Rakim Diss
BONUS: Incredible Bongo Band: In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida

Keep Goin'

2006-10-11T00:15:00.000-07:00

Suge Knight is evil.

Not that I necessarily have any Old Testament passages to quote, but there's definitely an underworld vibe with the one Mr. Marion. Maybe it's the baldhead-bearded look, maybe it's the fact that he's been smoking the same stogie since forever and lung cancer is too scared to set in, maybe he truly is Bizarro Kool-Aid Man, whatever, but you do get the feeling that Suge Knight would be more than comfortable eating hard-boiled eggs in Harlem. Above anything, he is most responsible for pushing rap music in the mid-90s in such an extreme direction, a direction that it probably wouldn't have gone without him. Sure, he didn't invent rap beef, and Puffy, Pac, Biggie, Snoop, and the LAPD are not without their own blame, but like some Hip-Hop version of the Bush administration, Suge rode a consistent campaign of fear and bullying to platinum success. He prodded and poked his stable of artists into joining this clusterfuck of a coastal feud, in the process, bringing the wrong kind of attention to the genre from all the wrong kinds of people. As if that was not enough, in the years since his Death Row empire crumbled, his biggest stars either jumping ship or winding up dead, he's attempted to manipulate the music they made while with him and sabotage their new projects as well.

For an example of this nonsense, take the Dogg Pound track Don't Stop, Keep Goin'. The version most will have heard came on 2001's 2002, where the team of Daz and Kurupt were paired with a recycled Bad Boy-killer verse from the late Tupac Shakur. The release of this 2002 album coincided with Suge's release from prison and his plans to rejuvenate the crippled Death Row record label, so what better way to start anew than to rely on some old tricks. It's all a part of the Suge Knight overseer strategy: milk the tapes and tension until they're dry and then try and sell their dust to the suburbs. But this isn't even the half of the real story.

Back in 1995, the Dogg Pound released their debut, Dogg Food. This since-overlooked LP was full of Daz's Dre-like g-funk beats and Kurupt's lyrical sniper-tight verses. In recent years, it's been played off as just another second-string Death Row release, a cog in the anti-New York machine. However, while the most infamous Dogg Food track, New York New York, did feature Snoop Dogg mocking NY in his opening ad-libs and later crushing Big Apple skyscrapers in the video, as those instances proved to be in the minority, it's really been misrepresented. In fact, not only would it seem a little odd for Philadelphia-born Kurupt to be taking shots at his home turf or thereabouts, but the duo, at the time, had even reached out to one of New York's finest, Nas.

Yes, the initial plan was for Nas to guest on Dogg Food, but because Suge ruled over Death Row with a one-note grip, trying to pump up beef between East Coast and West Coast, and win over 2Pac probably too, Nas was cut. And what song was he cut from? That's right, Don't Stop, Keep Goin'. The reason we know this at all is because of the original track's release on The Last of Tha Pound project, Daz's strike back at Suge for mucking up his music all these years. (Note the number of "Fuck Death Row" taunts from Daz as well.) While all three MC's seize upon the song's smoothed out production, for his part, Nas does a bit of what would eventually become Nas Is Coming, but also provides some otherwise unheard-of vintage Esco flow:

For you to diss is hazardous, gold chain and diamond Lazarus
I rap fabulous, loaded gat stay strapped and cap cabbages
Jesus Christ, I piece it right on the time
Interludes vary like illusions in the mind
Destruction on the black planet, I crack granite
Bourgeois repertoire, rude and bad-mannered

That Don't Stop is available now hardly erases the fact that it should have been heard over a decade ago, back when its "East-West connection" would have been a welcome break from all the coastal posturing and the antics of an oversized ex-bodyguard. It would have meant Nas, Kurupt, and Daz all together, in their prime, making music and not just threats.

Tha Dogg Pound f/ Nas: Don't Stop, Keep Goin'

Posse Up

2006-10-08T22:57:00.000-07:00

If it's true that Hip-Hop took a nosedive at the end of the 90's, that there have been very few quality posse cuts since is understandable. What once used to be a staple in rap music, the joining together of a handful of MC's over one beat with a single mission, over time has been replaced by the likes the rap / rock collaboration, the club banger, and the R&B first single. And while there have been a few notable exceptions in recent years (Scarface's Southern Nigga, Kanye West's We Can Make It Better, Federation's Hyphy remix, etc.), the posse cut has mostly suffered the same fate of Busta Rhyme's recent Touch It remix: poorly conceived, poorly executed, jumbled, and contrived.

In discussion here of these Hip-Hop hallmarks, it's then fitting that Nas' name was made off of one of the finest, Main Source's Live at the Barbeque. After this introduction, Nas went on to grace a number of other gems, everything from Back to the Grill to the Affirmative Action remix. He even was featured on 2004's Grand Finale, a nod to The D.O.C. / N.W.A. classic of the same name. In honor, tonight's entry reflects an attempt to spotlight ten great posse cuts, without being too cliché however, i.e. we all know about the likes of The Symphony and Scenario and Self Destruction, Wu-Tang to the Boot Camp Clik, but what else?

01.3 Strikes
Askari X featuring Seagram, 3xKrazy, Bad-N-Fluenz, Mr. Ill, The Delinquents, Mike Mike Ansar Moe
BEST VERSE: Ant Diddley Dog

While The Bay's appearance on a list such as this usually begins and ends with the Bay Ballers remix of 5 On It, 3 Strikes says different. Not only does this 1995 sleeper feature a pre-fame Keak Da Sneak (3xKrazy), but all of the rappers were brought together in a timely protest against California's Proposition 184, the then-recently-enacted three strikes law.

02.4 My Peeps
Red Hot Lover Tone f/ Notorious B.I.G., Prince Poetry, & M.O.P.
BEST VERSE: Notorious B.I.G.

Although Red Hot Lover Tone became better known as one half of The Trackmasters, during his MC days, he was able to serve as host for this Brooklyn-Queens connection. 4 My Peeps offers production a bit more hard-hitting than Tone's latter work, allowing, for example, Biggie to ooze authority all over drums just as brash as his rhymes ever were.

03.Don't Curse
Heavy D f/ Kool G. Rap, Grand Puba, CL Smooth, Big Daddy Kane, Pete Rock, Q-Tip
BEST VERSE: Q-Tip

Yes, Don't Curse came with a music video, a Pete Rock beat, and a lineup including both G Rap and Kane, but it's been ignored too often in the fifteen years since its first release. Proof of its greatness, though you'd think with a guest list this deep there'd be a lot of chest-pumping and ego all over, the truly fun end result, where each MC plays into his own strength without overdoing it, says otherwise.

04.Got My Mind Made Up
2Pac f/ Daz, Kurupt, Method Man, Redman
BEST VERSE: Method Man

2Pac may not have always had the kindest of words for certain East Coast rappers, but his coastal feuds were usually exaggerated, as evidenced by inviting the team of Mef 'n Red along for his '96 double album, All Eyez On Me. And while Redman had previously left his mark on the similarly classic Headbanger, in the midst of a mid-90's Tical and Kurupt, two then-undeniable MC's, he gets lapped sufficiently.

05.I Shot Ya (remix)
LL Cool J f/ Fat Joe, Foxy Brown, Keith Murray, Prodigy
BEST VERSE: Keith Murray

The mid-90s New York remix posse cut honor typically goes to Craig Mack's Flava In Ya Ear. However, I Shot Ya provides a more consistent roster of rappers and an at least comprehensible verse from LL Cool J. The Mr. Smith remix as well includes the back-story of Keith Murray and Prodigy supposedly firing subliminals at one another on the very same song.

06.Peruvian Cocaine
Immortal Technique f/ C-Rayz Walz, Diabolic, Loucipher, Poison Pen, Pumpkinhead, Tonedeff
BEST VERSE: Diabolic

Even as a couple of the cuts listed thus far have also fit into the "concept" category, Immortal Technique's Peruvian Cocaine ups the ante just a little more. Not only does the track track the path cocaine takes to reach America's urban cities, but each MC acts as a voice of the trade's many players. This includes every actor from the South American laborer to the corner pusher.

07.Show and Prove
Big Daddy Kane f/ Scoob, Sauce Money, Shyheim, Jay-Z, Ol Dirty Bastard
BEST VERSE: Big Daddy Kane

Usually the leadoff spot on a posse cut is of utmost importance, as the rapper placed here can set the tone and even become show-stealer; and although Scoob, in this role, doesn't ruin the mood, Show and Prove is known more for the crew that follows, such as two top-ten worthy MC's, Big Daddy Kane and Jay-Z, and a legend in his own right, Ol' Dirty Bastard. The funny thing is that even still with these heavy-hitters around, the also-included Shyiem more than holds weight, however kid-sized it was at the time.

08.Two To The Head
Kool G Rap and DJ Polo f/ Geto Boys, Ice Cube
BEST VERSE: Kool G Rap

Since the Geto Boys, Ice Cube, and Kool G Rap represent some of the darkest, most brutal music Hip-Hop has ever produced, it is therefore appropriate that this closing track to 92's Live and Let Die provides a healthy serving of the slaughterhouse style of rap, over cellar-dwelling percussion and an eerie vocal sample. And even though the Texas boys and Compton's own don't disappoint, you had to know G Rap wasn't going to be outdone on his own album.

09.Usual Suspects
Mic Geronimo f/ DMX, Ja Rule, The Lox, Tragedy Khadafi
BEST VERSE: DMX

Two different versions of Usual Suspects exist (the second exchanging Tragedy with Cormega, The Lox with Fatal Hussein). However, the Kiss-Styles sendup is highlighed to recall a time when The Lox were known less for contract disputes and more for being quality posse cut staples themselves, e.g. Banned from TV, Jada on John Blaze. Along with these two examples, Usual Suspects stands as one of the last great New York entries in the subgenre.

10.Watch For The Hook
Cool Breeze f/ OutKast, Goodie Mob, Witchdoctor
BEST VERSE: Witchdoctor

With its energetic use of Merry Clayton's Southern Man and an Olympic-like passing of mics, Watch for the Hook could probably move the pulse of a casket full of cadavers. In fact, off this song alone, many were moved to buy Cool Breeze's debut, for better or worse. Highlights include Andre's repetition of "somebody let me hold a number two pencil 'cause they testin'" and the Goodie Mob back and forth.

Lil Jon f/ Bun B, Ice Cube, Jadakiss, Nas, T.I.: Grand Finale
BONUS: The D.O.C. f/ N.W.A.: Grand Finale

Gangsta Tears

2006-10-06T00:28:00.000-07:00

Everybody has a hustle. From the president to probably even your mailman, there's a "get money" gene in most of us. Bootleggers, whose historical identity reeks of rum-running and smells of speakeasies, perhaps epitomize this idea of the American self-made businessman: he's got a scheme where his soul should be, a hustle where his heart used to lie. And even though you don't need to brew your gin in a bathtub anymore, the bootlegging tradition has carried over to pretty much any avenue where profit is the end result. In the context of rap music, the bootlegger is an especially infamous character, able to screw over artist and album alike in a single bound. Specifically, the spectre of this street corner salesman has loomed large over much of Nas' own career, for instance, sabotaging what could have potentially been his most creative and ambitious project, I Am. But bootleggers, at least online, have taken advantage of Nas' music in another way as well, almost opposite in direction though: instead of stealing new music and selling it, now you can buy music of Nas' that is rather old and simply repackaged. That's a hustle indeed.

From EBAY to mixtape sites to other online locales of varying credibility, you might have seen advertisements for something known as the "Death of Escobar" bootleg. The most common tracklisting attributed to this project is as follows:

1.After Life (Intro)
2.Drunk By Myself
3.Blaze a 50
4.Gangsta Tears
5.Just Another Day in the Projects
6.U Gotta Luv It
7.I'm A Villain
8.In Too Deep
9.Poppa was a Player
10.Sometimes I Wonder
11.Stay Dreamin' Stay Schemin'
12.Tales from the Hood
13.Wanna Play (Rough)
14. Outro

Well, that's a lie. For starters, the Death of Escobar album, which Nas had reportedly planned to release after Nastradamus and before thoughts of Stillmatic ever crept in, never produced much more than a couple news blips and some DJ Clue screams. So whatever tracklistings are being passed around are pure fiction. Within this proposed lineup, you then have a handful of songs that were specifically from the I Am bootleg (2,3,9,10,11,13), several of which were already released via The Lost Tapes. (Wanna Play Rough, which always seems to get the "unreleased" tag, was officially put out on a 2000 Dame Grease compilation.) And although U Gotta Love It might not have been on the I Am bootleg, it too was part of those Lost Tapes. Next, I'm A Villain and Just Another Day In The Project would be better suited for a "Death of Nasty Nas" bootleg, since they're from even before Illmatic.

Additionally, the inclusion of In Too Deep and Gangsta Tears really underscores a gullible audience and a wily compiler. Both songs are released, never a part of any major bootlegs, and less than rare even. It's just that they're hiding on soundtracks to movies not many saw and less listened to. In Too Deep is from LL Cool J's movie of the same name, while DMX's Exit Wounds originally housed Gangsta Tears. In fact, Tales from the Hood remains the only legitimate DOE track listed here: still unreleased and from the general timeframe of 00-01. All in all, whether you're buying a Death of Escobar bootleg or simply buying into it, know what you're paying for and what you're getting played for.

However, if there is one plus to these backstreet shenanigans, it's that the number of people who would check for an "unreleased Nas album" is far greater than those holding tight onto their Exit Wounds OST. So, in this way, if we can all agree that the music is the bottom line, as many people hearing Gangsta Tears as possible is a good thing; it's one of Nas best featured songs, and one of his most atypical as well.

Gangsta Tears first debunks the theory that Nas only sounds good over basic boom bap Illmatic style beats. The production here, contributed by Budda, is rather interesting, composed primarily of slightly-stuttered percussion and background cries. It's not the steady New York thump we might expect from Nas, but he rides it expertly nonetheless: his tone mellow but delivery moving with a bit more step. Secondly, as Exit Wounds hit stores in early 2001, this reflects a period of Nas' career typically known for crossover club attempts and gaudy jewelry and rhymes. Contrasting this idea however, Gangsta Tears is more downtrodden, lonely, burned by women and left empty by legal tender:

I'm soul-searching, I'm so hurting
What happens when money don't make you happy?
I wish this on no person

The overwhelming source for the grief captured here happens to be revealed in Nas' second verse: the murder of his long-time friend Barkim. Going all the way back to Represent, you can hear Nas mention Barkim, and though there's not much written about him other than what's been relayed through the music, circa 2001, the references Nas made started becoming more of the mournful sort, "'Rest in peace, Barkim' is all I could whisper." Knowing this then, that the funeral scene described in Gangsta Tears is not merely a creation of Nas' pen but is a reflection of his own personal experience, only enhances his already intense words. It too exposes the other side of the hustle.

Nas: Gangsta Tears

Droppin' Medieval Science

2006-10-03T14:10:00.000-07:00

One of the high points of the recent Queensbridge mixtape, Welcome to 6 Blocks 96 Buildings, is Prodigy's My Priorities. Anchoring the tape and highlighting one of the most prestigious QB MC's, My Priorities also features a production display that includes a throwback guitar riff, several in-and-out vocal samples, and some playful keys. It's energetic, carries instant nod appeal, and transforms Prodigy's often abrasive lyrics into something irresistible. It's also produced by The Alchemist (and originally found on the producer / rapper's 2003 mixtape Insomnia). But My Priorities is not the first the time Al and P-Double have ever worked together, because, going all the way back to 1999's Thug Muzik, Alchemist has cemented himself as a staple not only with Mobb Deep, but within the whole of QB as well; all in all, it's pretty interesting place to be for an affluent white kid originally from Beverly Hills.

Coming up under the tutelage of DJ Muggs, Alchemist then embraced a New York State of Mind, and address, while attending NYU. And although his early days included heavy involvement with Dilated Peoples, Alchemist has become best known for working with a group of rappers who are much less mom-friendly. First introduced to the QB side of things by the Infamous Mobb, since that point, this Beatmaker on the Roof has collaborated with essentially everyone in that span of 6 blocks and 96 buildings. From underlings to overlords, Mr. Challish to the M-O-B-B, Nashawn to Nas, these projects have welcomed a steady supply of a different sort of white. And while the absolutely disgustingly gutter, blade-ready, rob-a-stranger Shook Ones might be the most identifiable Queensbridge sound, for the past seven or so years, Alchemist has injected soul into the scheme and left his own noticeable mark.

Often touting his ASR-10 keyboard, Alchemist's sample-heavy production style switches from the brooding horns of Mobb Niggaz (The Sequel) to the more upbeat tempo of Big Noyd's Bang Bang. On that latter track, Alchemist takes a portion of The Intruders' Cowboys to Girl, "I remember when I used to play shoot 'em up . . . bang bang", and turns it into an instantly catchy refrain. This is a similar trick he parlayed into a minor hit with 2004's Hold You Down. Elsewhere, you can find his work on Prodigy's Keep It Thoro, where an exhausted near-shriek comes in and out over a pounding piano; here the repeated vocal sample is more of a sound than an actual phrase, but still quite effective. (This quick "vocal sound" technique is used as well with Mr. Challish's Money.) Then, as with Keep It Thoro, the piano is another prime player on The Grimy Way, but it's a single-note strike this time around, matched with an array of horns. Feeling more sparse, there's Al doing his the-hood-meets-X-Files keyboard thing on Trag's Love Is Love, and on Lake's We Gon' Buck, he showcases a set of eerie strings. These tracks all epitomize the producer's proficiency with any number of sample sources, able to manipulate them into a style that's at times soulful, at times murky, but always QB.

While the rappers listed above range from all-time greats to mere weed carriers, perhaps the most legendary MC Alchemist has worked with is none other than Nas. The first time many people heard Nas over Al's production was on The Lost Tapes, where the breakbeat appeal of No Idea's Original and the piano-approach of My Way were both leftovers from the Stillmatic sessions. However, the first actual meeting between the two came courtesy of Lake's 2001 compilation, The 41st Side. That track, Let Em Hang, especially with its shoddy singing careening all over, was a relative disappointment from the beat's side of things. Fortunately, Nas' verse-and-a-half was good enough to make up for any R&B mistakes:

Foes decompose in their coffins
Hoes creeping with bosses
No sleep in my fortress
Break day thinking of losses

Next, the trio of Nas, Lake, and Alchemist teamed up for Revolutionary Warfare and then its unreleased sequel, One Never Knows. Again, the One Never Knows beat is a bit of a misstep. However, as with the case of Let Em Hang, this is a song more notable for its lyrical content--well, its concept, at least. Nas and Lake both pose a series of questions to themselves, addressing a laundry list of persistent rumors: everything from Nas having a run at a number of R&B females to Lake shooting at Capone. But, as stated above, although Alchemist's bassline is prominent enough, and there's some definite atmosphere, the beat never really becomes too much of anything. On the other hand, another Nas / Alchemist collaboration, Tick Tock, this time with Prodigy along, got the formula just right.

Tick Tock floated around no man's land for a while before finally settling down on the 1st Infantry album. Thankfully it did find a home, because its layered soul supplies the immediate feel of a sleek '76 Cadillac, the sonic equivalent of swagger. The groove runs so deep that you could probably play this through the cheapest of IPOD earbuds even and walk down the street feeling like Youngblood Priest with a case of Spanish Fly and a "Get Out of Jail Free" card. Nas and Prodigy come off strong too, but this is the Beverly Hill kid's shine all the way. He's doing Queensbridge right.

RTA: The Alchemist QB Collection

Includes: Alchemist f/ Illa Ghee, Nina Sky, Prodigy: Hold You Down; Big Noyd: Bang Bang; Big Noyd f/ Prodigy: The Grimy Way; Capone-N-Noreaga, Cormega & Lake: We Gon Buck; Infamous Mobb f/ Mobb Deep: Lake f/ Nas: Let Em Hang; Lake, Nas: One Never Knows; Mobb Niggaz (The Sequel); Mobb Deep f/ Chinky, Infamous Mobb: Thug Muzik; Mr. Challish: Money; Nas, Prodigy: Tick Tock; Nashawn: Write Your Name; Prodigy: Keep It Thoro; Prodigy: My Priorities; Tragedy f/ Jinx: Love Is Love

Kiss The Ring!

2006-10-01T14:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, on September 30th, while Nas was in the middle of helping out Jay-Z on his world tour, the QB MC stopped by to talk with BBC Radio 1 DJ Tim Westwood. Nas and Westwood go back to Illmatic days, so there was definitely a comfortable relationship that aided in producing a good interview. Here are some highlights:

Regarding his partnership with Jay-Z, Nas explained how the opportunity affords both rappers a level of leadership and maturity, two things needed more in Hip-Hop, "in the rap community, we gotta stand up and change the game every so often, if not, it's just gonna be over, it's gonna be dead."

Nas then touched on the idea of unity, "when you first get in the game, you're reckless, you're crazy, so that's excusable. But as time goes on, you see the bigger picture, and you realize there's strength in numbers. We're stronger together."

Concerning the current state of Hip-Hop, Nas remarked, "we just coasting, we just getting by, we having fun." As far as what's wrong with the big picture, he described the scene as all too one-sided, "everybody should get a shot, everybody should get a listen, a fair listen, a fair shot. And it's hard for that to happen, because there's so much money involved, and politics."

One of the most interesting points Nas made, and what appears to be an extension of the themes he stressed on Black Zombie and We Major, for example, is that rappers have "no real control, no real position of power. So until we reach that, we're never gonna know what the future of the rap game is. . . . All of us are underneath one roof; it's all conglomerates, all record companies, from Universal to Def Jam to Interscope, we're all under one roof, all of us rappers. And we're the ones breaking down the paper, after they get their cut first. We just gotta change the positions, and it's about to happen."

Specifically, Nas contrasted the heads of all these labels with the artists themselves, who often lack any noticeable control, "if we put our own records out . . . could you imagine what 50 Cent could be doing, what Nas, Jay, Eminem, if we were the Jimmy Iovine's? Could you imagine the power we'd have? And I think that's where we're headed."

Changing topics, as to whose album will be the home for the much-anticipated Jay-Z / Nas collaboration, Nas answered, "you know that's my album." When asked about its subject matter, "it's talking about power, and it's street."

Nas also admitted that with a title like "Hip-Hop Is Dead", he might have bit off more than he could chew. On the other hand, he stated that it's really been a good thing, because of all the conversation it's created and the energy that has swelled around it.

At this point, Nas mentioned Where Are They Now, a song produced by himself and slated for the upcoming HHID. Supposedly, it deals with a number of rappers that Nas personally grew up fond of, but that, today, young audiences don't even know. Aware of what direction this kind of "schooling" can sometimes go, Nas also stated that he was trying to avoid "the preachy, teach level; I wanted to keep it cool, not too heavy."

Keeping the idea of respecting old school artists in mind, Nas expressed an interest in doing a "Hip-Hop Is Alive" Foundation / Tour, where he would bring along a number of these older acts to make some money and make up for the bad breaks they might have caught early on. He acknowledged that because "the business is a demon", many of these veterans were ripped off and, as a result, are not really where they should be.

Nas even talked about how the Rolling Stones logo (the lips) serves as a merchandising brand and a big cash source for the band. Similarly, Nas was thinking what if you took the Fat Boys logo, put it on a shirt, nothing bootleg either, and helped ensure that the artists themselves would see most of the returns, "when you help them, you're helping yourself."

Another HHID track Nas brought up was Carry On Tradition. Apparently, it involves an attitude Nas himself has faced, where some of those same rappers from the 80's ended up being mad at Nas and his generation, for their own bad luck. Nas justified some of their anger though, "a lot of the new generation, mainly, really don't care about them." He added, "it's a discredit to [the listener] by not trying to figure out who these people are, because how are you gonna know where you're going if you don't know where they went? And how do you respect this if you don't respect them?"

Next, Nas confirmed his appearance on The Game's album. Elsewhere, that collaboration has been reported to be nine-minutes long.

Then, when questioned about recent Mobb Deep moves, as a business thought, Nas replied, "it's beautiful that other artists can get together and help each other out." However, he said the G-Unit partnering lacked artistic integrity or any overall excitement. Specifically about 50 Cent, Nas commented that "50 is too new, and he's too excited about who he is--with all respect--he's too excited too really know how to do a Mobb album. Because, really, he's not even Mobb Deep level yet, as far as a seasoned artist." Finally, more joking than not, he told Mobb Deep to "come sign to Nas, let's get this new album right."

One of the last subjects that Nas and Tim Westwood discussed was the classic line from Illmatic, "sleep is the cousin of death." Because Westwood wanted to understand Nas' particular message there, Nas explained it to be about how "the other side, where we go when we pass, is really just around the corner. You rest when you're dead. Also, when we say, 'sleep', we talk about not being focused, 'you sleeping!' And that's a form of death while you're alive. . . . If you're sleeping on yourself, you're killing yourself. Mainly, it's just to remind you how, in a blink of an eye, this life, the importance of it, the shortness of it, the length of it, is right around the corner, the other side, so get yours while you're here."

"Hip-Hop Is Dead . . . December"

Nas: Tim Westwood Interview 2006
BONUS: Nas: Classic Westwood Freestyle

Course of Nature

2006-09-29T14:00:00.000-07:00

There was news going around, a couple weeks back, at least on the rumor level, that the rapper Nature was shot several times in Paterson, New Jersey. While it was also reported that any injuries he suffered were not life-threatening, not much else was said, anywhere. Although Nature is not the first person ever to get shot in Paterson, that the story basically went bottoms up has to make one at least question the smoke and mirrors of fame. It's not that Nate was ever super-famous or anything, but if I was a known rapper, who did get shot, and, for example, a 50 Cent mixtape cover received ten times the amount of publicity, I'd likely to be bitter about a bit more than just bullet wounds.

Nature's been on platinum albums, was once partnered with one of the most legendary rappers, then squared off against that same rapper, and next caught some bad luck in New Jersey. Phrased this way, that's a rather disappointing bio. However, let's go back a minute, back to the mid 90's, when Nate was known for being on the right side of a mic and not the wrong side of something else entirely.

Although he was not featured on It Was Written or in the original Firm set-up, it was from the seat of this so-called super group that Nature would eventually make his name. Leading up to that point, he contributed to a series of Nas / DJ Clue freestyles, The Foulness parts 3 and 4, respectively. (Part 3 uses the Shootouts beats, while 4 opts for Watch Dem Niggas.) As both episodes demonstrate, and what often gets forgotten during this Escobar period of Nas' career, while the production might have been dressed up and the music videos might have been all gloss, lyrically, very often the mood was down, at times even as destitute as before the glitz came on the scene. For instance, on Part 3, you find Nature exposing the lose-lose layout of the streets, "This game's a death trap / I strive for deficits, bitches, and setbacks / Triple-6, camouflage and niggas rocking 'X' hats / Emotionally scarred from being left back." Likewise, Nas' verse captures a sense of claustrophobia, "Trapped in a cold world, naked and ashamed / Blunts flame, my niggas locked up under alias names." Unfortunately, this balance between bleak and boisterous, as was seen throughout It Was Written, would soon fall apart with Nas and Nature's next step, The Firm.

While IWW was full of bravado, it was also at times hesitant, untrusting, even paranoid. On the other hand, The Firm project proved bloated most of all. Lyrically, it became short-sighted and lazy, with the production often failing worse. And although Nas, Foxy, Dre, and even AZ were going to be cool no matter if the album flopped or not, Nature, acting as a replacement for Cormega, had a lot more riding on its success. Without an album yet to his credit, this was Nature's shot to steal some shine from the headliners. Unfortunately, while it does sound like Nature did most of the work and actually put some focus into his performance, because the overall group carried with them a very disarming stench, it'd be hard to say that performance was ever properly appreciated. And even in the group's big exposure moments, Nature was relegated to the work of an extra: not included on Firm Biz, in a walk-on role for Phone Tap, left to do a cheesy remake of a Whodini classic (Five Minutes to Flush). Even his picture on The Firm album cover is essentially only thumbnail size.

The following year, in 1998, according to Nature himself, his solo LP, For All Seasons, was supposed to drop. Unfortunately, a fracturing with The Trackmasters, a loss of control of the music, and general bad luck stalled the album.

Despite these problems, Nas kept Nature around, with the duo collaborating on nearly a dozen tracks. Two of the most notable from this set came in the form of a soundtrack contribution, In Too Deep, and one of the many unreleased relics of the lost I Am double album, Sometimes I Wonder. The latter was perhaps I Am's biggest loss, at least from Nature's perspective, because had it been released, it would have surely stood out. Here Nas' sobering flow meets the somber tone of the production appropriately, as he delivers two cautious verses, the second of which serves as an obituary column for his deceased friends, "Blessings be to the ones who left us / To transcend into spiritual essence / In Allah's arms, you resting." Yet, Nature's presence on the track cannot be ignored. As he recites a great series of double rhymes, he manages also to impress off of more than just his lyrical scheme. The how is satisfied with the pattern in his rhymes, complex over a series of lines, while the what is catered to in his explanation of the paper thin loyalty of street life, put so simply but effectively:

Crews advance - nothing new, just the rules of the land
You can't tell if they wolves or lamb
You could fight like a few, there's a few that ran
Or you could feed them and lose your hand

From this point however, with the audience for Sometimes I Wonder being limited to the bootleg crowd, Nature met up with a bad streak. In spite of whatever anticipation might have been there once, For All Seasons, two years past its intended target, received little notice. Even the top-billing collaborations that it might have once promised were undercut: Columbia didn't want to put up the proper coinage to secure Dr. Dre's Fist Full Of Dollars (a watered-down version was released entitled Talking That Shit), while Nas dropped by for just twenty-seconds, and not even for the video. As far as Nature's career was concerned, that was it, almost.

Maybe it's a bit of a cruel coincidence, but as Nas partnered with Nature and made him known, just as easily, when the pair's working relationship dissolved, Nature became the fallen tree in that forest no one ever visited. And then again, Nate' final flirtation with the mainstream came from Nas' exposure once more, this time on the receiving end of the Destroy & Rebuild diss. Nature responded with Nas Is Not, but as he was neither Jay-Z, Prodigy, nor Cormega, it amounted to not much more than a tangent of a battle that was already the undercard. Nature later put out 2002's Wild Gremliz, and has since worked mostly the hood circuit, guesting, for example, on a Ron Artest single and Welcome To 6 Blocks 96 Buildings, a recent Queensbridge mixtape. Although there's absolutely nothing wrong with a rapper who once had a couple worldwide years now being just a local cat, but you have to wonder if Nature wonders, "what if?"

Nas, Nature: Foulness 3
Nas, Nature: Foulness 4
Nas, Nature: In Too Deep
Nas f/ Nature: Sometimes I Wonder
Nature f/ Nas: The Ultimate High
BONUS: Nature: Nas Is Not
BONUS: Nature f/ Dr. Dre: Fist Full of Dollars
BONUS: Tragedy, Nature & Blaq Poet: Kings Of QB

Everything I Love

2006-09-26T21:44:00.000-07:00

When it leaks, it pours.

Tonight's new Nas comes in the form of a collaboration with Puff Daddy (see: Diddy), while Cee-Lo (see: Gnarls Barkley) does the hook, and Kanye West (see: George Bush Doesn't Care About Black People) supplies the horn-heavy production. Puff's verse carries a God complex and a mention of "ether", so we can safely assume Nas had something to do with it. As for what he says himself, Nas' go is an old-fashioned bragging turn, mostly built around two or three word long phrases. This one will probably have its fans and detractors equally, and while it does go on long, you have to at least chuckle at the Liz Taylor line. Swaggerific!

[NAS]
The Queens crypt keeper
Mets hat-rocker
Pretty bitch-slobber
Ex-robber, heister
My own life biographer
Pants-sagging
Bentley-whipping
Summer Jam-stopper
Timb, Chuck-wearing
Cranapple vodka
Then I spray choppers
A doctor
In the jungles
Of Haiti made me
Draped in Paisley
Bandana, suits
With Adams, Stacey
Cigar like Dick Tracy
It's dark, I get spacey
Alcohol and laced weed
That was part of my 80's
Them Cartier consiglieres
Beware of me
Canary amber cuts in my pinky yearly
Liz Taylor tried to jux me
'Cause I keep it green
Like the other side of Bill Bixby
When he gets mean
Think fast before I blast holes
Like Grassy Knoll
Went from scraggly ol' clothes
To the illest fashion and realest rapping
Pablo, back on the scene
Won't roll 'bacco with green
Strictly paper
Cruising through The Strip in Vegas
Two of New York's biggest
Niggas, y'all used to hate us
But now you love us
Nas and Diddy, power hustlers

Diddy f/ Cee-Lo, Nas: Everything I Love

Music For Life

2006-09-25T22:16:00.000-07:00

The feel good track of the year? Well, maybe . . .

From Hi-Tek's forthcoming Hi-Teknology 2, the Cincinnati producer and Nas celebrate the sounds they've each been a part of since early on. Doing his job both in front of the mic and behind the boards, Hi-Tek's trance-like, flute-laced beat offers a nostalgic nod factor, an appropriate setting for this trip back to past days.

[NAS]
It started with rhythms I heard listening to the wall
The bouncing of basketballs on playgrounds and all
The empty bottles that's hollow, wind blowing inside 'em
The flow and the rhyming got my alignment to a science
Mixing with my moms in the kitchen, them spoons rattling
Pots and pans, faucet water pouring, tunes managing
To come from all the fussing and rambling
What I noticed was -- pure music, untampered with
By things show biz does; older thugs showed us stuff
Like how to hold a plug, juice from the street light
It almost could have blowed us up
Crates of records, great sessions had the whole hood jamming
Large speakers, fresh made, smell the wood sanding
Father did his blues smooth, legendary jazz man
Saw his wife secondary to his true passion
Started with my crew rapping, new jacks in '82
Never looked back, now look what it changed me to . . . music

Hi-Tek f/ Nas: Music For Life

Life in 1998

2006-09-25T13:42:00.000-07:00

By the latter half of the 1990's, Hip-Hop had turned. In 1996, the FCC deregulated the media, allowing for the consolidation of radio outlets and virtual monopolies to flourish. At the end of '97, following the passage of this Telecommunications Act, as an example, Clear Channel more than tripled their ownership of radio stations, increasing from 43, in 1995, to 173. With the presence of any independent voice now significantly silenced, the idea of "programming" had really taken on this Huxleian design.

It should be no surprise then that in this climate, come 1997, with the Clear Channel empire on its steady march, and with Hip-Hop fracturing between what got play and what got ignored, two of the year's biggest LPs, one for the bread-winners, Biggie's Life After Death, and one for the underdogs, Company Flow's Funcrusher Plus, appeared almost at odds with each other: first, there was this multi, mammoth Frank White figure, on speed boats, flanked by girls singing nursery rhyme numbers versus the "independent as fuck" crowd, with production almost jarringly anti-pop, stoking the fire in which you burn. Lines were drawn, boundaries, however arbitrary, were established between "underground" and "mainstream", and Hip-Hop's identity crisis was well under way. As the radio dial grew more and more one-sided, programmers and rap stars alike attempted to mix and match whatever formulas would hit platinum quickest.

Because they bear a "late 90's" sticker so clearly, looking back now, with this context in mind, it becomes an adventure almost to listen to certain rap albums from the period. Take Jermaine Dupri for example. Previously known for boosting some backwards-clothes wearing kids to prominence, he brought his So So Def label to fame during the 1990's and, by 1998, had decided to test his hand in the solo market. The result was Life in 1472, in part, a disposable mix of whoever was winning at the time: California was catered to with Snoop and Warren G; R&B fans were feed their Mariah, Usher, and Keith Sweat; Nas and Jay-Z, along with the anthem-hot DMX, came for New York; the Midwest received their representation in the form of Bone Thugs (similar to LAD's Notorious Thugs); Trina, Lil Kim', and Mase were ready fodder for pop outlets; and JD of course called on his southern So So Def base. The thinking proved two-fold: 1) If you're not a very prolific rapper yourself, bring along some friends; 2) Hope that your friends bring along their fans. And as 1472 reached platinum inside of a minute, the thinking was quickly validated.

Elsewhere on the album, where borderline Miami Vice beats served up heavy doses of corn, the production too seemed inspired by shallow-thinking, e.g. the rather flaccid horns on Money Ain't A Thang or the club reject feel of All That's Got To Go. What's more, the subject matter didn't steer very far from the stereotypical, and the trite hooks (Get Your Shit Right) were rivaled only by JD's incessant background ad-libs. However, Life in 1472 stands as one of those artifacts of the jiggy era that can been too quickly pushed to the side simply because of its outward indulgences. In a weird way, even though it spawned multiple hits, because the LP's been so heavily ignored in recent years, shrugged off as just boring bling music, it's become almost slept-on.

First, JD understood how to put tracks together, taking the emphasis off himself and placing it on to his readied lineup of posse cut players -- regardless of how pandering the guest list might have been. Next you have a historical angle, where Kanye was given his first behind-the-boards break (Turn It Out), and Jay-Z's rep was further solidified. Beyond all these new jacks, old school legends, like Too Short and Slick Rick, were as well allowed to shine, each playing into their respective strengths. Meanwhile, DJ's Premier and Quik were also forwarded some deserving paychecks. Then, listening to the project itself, you'll even find one of Nas' best guest appearances, on the aforementioned Turn It Out. Here Nas utilizes repetition wonderfully, as the word "spit" is effectively recited nine times in just about as many seconds. Following this, the Wild Style nod of a hook, and a manageable JD verse, the track moves into story time, another Nas specialty:

Too much Thug Passion and smoking
Made it outside, mouth wide, vomiting, gagging and choking
From behind, niggas plotting and scoping
Everything was blurry at first, now shit is moving in slow motion

Furthermore, 1472 remains notable for the pre-Neptunes grown and sexy style of Jazzy Hoes, the double-time Krazie Bone bout on Don't Hate On Me, and the energetic Primo rush of Protectors of 1472, where JD demonstrates a comfort over any producer's beats. All in all, while we shouldn't begin to revise history and call the album a classic, just because something was part of a much-maligned and rather plastic time in rap music, we also shouldn't be so quick to shrug it off. Yes, Hip-Hop grew more and more one-sided after 1996, but narrow-mindedness isn't supposed to be a trait any side supports.

Jermaine Dupri f/ Nas: Turn It Out
BONUS: Jermaine Dupri f/ Da Brat & Krayzie Bone: Don't Hate Me
BONUS: Jermaine Dupri f/ Eightball, Too $hort & Mister Black: Jazzy Hoes
BONUS: Jermaine Dupri f/ Snoop Dogg, ROC & Warren G: Protectors of 1472

Reachin' A Ki

2006-09-23T10:03:00.000-07:00

Beyond whatever differences in lyrical style exist between Illmatic and It Was Written, perhaps the biggest change came from the production. In '96, beat heroes Pete Rock and Large Professor were both gone, replaced by the radio-friendly likes of The Trackmasters. Pop samples took over jazz loops, and old-school classics were jacked at large. Overall, this meant two things:

1) Illmatic-only fans confused the glossy or shallow production with Nas losing his stride as well;

2) When the acapellas hit stores, people rushed to remix 'em like it was an distress call from sea.

It Was Written's second single, Street Dreams, epitomized this scene:

1) With its pop melody, and a dance sample already used in 1996 (2Pac's All Eyez On Me), listeners might have lost sight of a classic Nas turn in the song's third verse:

Young, early 80's, throwing rocks at the crazy lady
Worshipping every word them rope-rocking niggas gave me
The street raised me up, giving a fuck
I thought Jordan's and a gold chain was living it up;

2) When the acapella did hit stores, you ended up with something like the K-Def remix, which brought in drums that actually moved, moody keys, and horn stabs; the final result proved much more "head friendly."

But the K-Def concoction wasn't to be the only notable refashioning of Street Dreams, because while the official remix, produced still by The Trackmasters, was more buttery than bubbling--matter fact downright R&B, with an Isley Brothers sample and R. Kelly on the hook, Nas' One Love narrator was center stage once more, "Black clouds over the hood, I'm on the corner with the thugs / Late night, under the moon, as they assume I'm slanging drugs." Back on the block, Vegas nightlife pushed aside for a minute, here the apple was rotten again, the tales more haunting than heroic, hubris supplanted by vulnerability. In one particular section, Nas' Street Dreams became literal nightmares:

I saw my life flash in front of my eyes, he wore a disguise
Put a gun to me, hungry, he went on to chastise . . .

Nas: Street Dreams
Nas: Street Dreams (K-Def remix)
Nas f/ R. Kelly: Street Dreams (Trackmasters remix)

Guess What?

2006-09-20T18:10:00.000-07:00

Usually when I post multiple songs, I try and connect them all with a theme: a shared producer, rapper, subject matter, etc. Well, for today's entry, the following three songs likewise are all connected, though not so obviously. But in order to try and inspire replies, and mostly because it's the middle of the week and I'm just about braindead, I'll let you figure out what they all share.

First we'll look at How Ya Livin', released on AZ's 1998 sophomore album, Pieces of a Man. As the track reunites the nearly flawless duo of Anthony Cruz and Nasir Jones, LES's production finds just the right match for their debonair but gangsta tone. Better than pretty much anything the two had quite recently done with The Firm, save for Phone Tap, their chemistry is even noticeable in the closing ad-libs. All in all, with its R&B-ish beat and complimentary rhyming, How Ya Livin' is a respectable precursor to the later Grammy-nominated The Essence.

Next, Real Niggas, from the again-I'll-repeat-it overlooked QB's Finest LP, finds Nas joining up this time with a rapper further off the map, Ruc. (No, not the Heltah Skeltah MC.) While Blitz's duet with Nas on the same album, coupled with his Stillmatic appearance, did make him more of a name, in the years since Real Niggas, Ruc has remained a relative one-shot, though not due to lack of effort. For Nas' part, his verse is a salute to a New York lifetime ranging from Bumpy Johnson's style to Malcolm X's speeches. Then he ends with a well-executed extra-long list of shoutouts.

Finally, there's High. And although High is unreleased going back some years, it really would make sense coming from Nas' pen now. He begins by commenting, "it's good to be back", and later notes a new position of stature, "I elevated up, since snakes in my circumference." Then, in the face of other rappers clamoring to get their name in a lead story position, Nas retains his calm routine, "Niggas rushing to the top not knowing what it takes to be / King of the industry, the wise move patiently." Yet, because his every move garners attention and often anticipation, he knows scrutiny too is only step away:

Y'all niggas hating me, won't be happy till I'm back witcha
Selling crack witcha, half and half on a pack witcha
My pen and pad paint a black picture

That's three tracks, different styles, times, and tempos, but with a connection.

~~Here's a hint: "____ ________"~~
Here's the answer: "Wild Gremlins"

Nas: High
AZ f/ Nas: How Ya Livin'
Nas & Ruc: Real Niggas

Wake Up Show

2006-09-17T11:12:00.000-07:00

Chances are you've been frustrated by your local radio programming more than once. From the fact that outlets are owned in monopoly-like fashion by large-scale conglomerates to the playlists that insist on repeating the same five songs every six-song set, "turn off the radio" has become even more of an anthemic call since the days when O'Shea first did his best Howard Beale impersonation. On the other hand, if you're lucky, maybe you have a good college station nearby, KDAY on your dial, a satellite subscription, or just a really high tolerance for crap.

Speaking of KDAY, as L.A.'s original all Hip-Hop home, while it was Southern California's saving grace, for other Golden Staters, KMEL then would be the similar-minded, though very fallible, brethren up north. In fact, KMEL was even the launching ground for one of the longest-running and most consistent Hip-Hop programs, Sway and King Tech's Wake Up Show.

As The Bay's own haven for heads, the Wake Up Show afforded fans the opportunity to not only hear what other stations might not touch, but also to expose these artists often in a unique way, live and on air. Beginning Friday nights at 10PM (June 1991, where Live at the Barbeque was the opener), the WUS's popularity eventually expanded across the state, the country, and then the globe, truly earning the title of "world famous." Part of this popularity was due to the ever exclusive-like access listeners had to their favorite underground acts, especially highlighted by the show's many "anthems." These anthems, where some of the game's best MC's combined together in posse cut form, featured rappers ranging from Planet Asia to Masta Ace, all paying their lyrical respect to the Wake Up Show and its idea that beats and rhymes could exist on the radio dial and remain undiluted. But perhaps the most famous of these tracks grouped Nas and Organized Konfusion with the likes of Saafir and Ras Kass, with Lauryn Hill on the hook for good measure. Aside from its all-time great lineup, Nas, in the leadoff spot, showcased the early stages of his ultra-dexterous Escobar flow:

Tune it up, it's the corrupt novelist, Nas
Involved in this liveness radio waves
Slaves thrive inside of this
Wake Up Show flow, Hip-Hop's alarm clock, the bomb spot
Mellow with ganja, that makes my eyes turn yellow

However, Sway and Tech were equally known for putting MC's on the spot in studio to flex their freestyle muscle, or "feel the wrath" of the Wake Up Show. Because of this, in a small attempt to capture the program's place in Hip-Hop history, I've collected a series of some of most notable freestyle appearances. Many of these tracks accommodate the original definition of the word, where "freestyle" can be pre-written, although Black Thought and Common, for example, also cater to new-schoolers who'd argue "off the top" is the only way. Highlights include: a Crooked I verse that once put the fear of God into Chino XL; Ghostface doing Nutmeg live and talking about his inspiration for writing; Juice and Supernatural, just one day removed their hotly-contested battle, going back and forth still; Masta Ace reciting, "a gangsta wears black 'cause the shit he talks is dead"; Eminem, after inking his Interscope deal, returning to the spot that first broke his name; Biggie eerily spitting Long Kiss Goodnight after saying how he felt Pac's death especially; Nas blessing the beat to Large Pro's Gotta Get Over remix once more; Xzibit bogarting the mic from Ras Kass; and some vintage Reasonable Doubt Jay-Z.

Rebel To America: Wake Up Show collection
Includes: Big L, Chino XL, Doug E. Fresh, AZ, Masta Ace - The Anthem; Black Spooks, Planet Asia, Ras Kass, & Crooked I - The Anthem; Canibus freestyle; Common freestyle; Crooked I freestyle; Eminem freestyle; Ghostface freestyle; Jay-Z freestyle; Juice & Supernatural freestyle; Kurupt & Ahmad freestyle; Lauryn Hill, Nas, O.K., Ras Kass, Dred Scott, Shyheim, Jock, & Saafir: Wake Up Show 94; Masta Ace freestyle; Nas freestyle; Notorious BIG freestyle; Ras Kass & Xzibit freestyle; The Roots freestyle

Born Day

2006-09-14T00:51:00.000-07:00

Stormy night, September '73
Would you believe what my mom received from heaven was me?

Harlem World f/ Nas: You Made Me

Seeds of Heaven

2006-09-13T10:36:00.000-07:00

Nas as a political rapper is sketchy at times. Well, first you have to go back and define "political rap", which can be trouble of course, but, for the sake of right now, let's say that Nas' forays into the sub-genre include such songs as I Want to Talk to You, Rule, and American Way. These are attempts at activist anthems, often explicitly, aimed at the ears of elected officials. However, said attempts have also fallen flat, for Nas seems to lack the substantive qualifications to address many of these subjects with the acuteness they require, nor does he quite have the wherewithal, in this arena at least, to precisely articulate the position of those he's set himself up to represent. Conversely, a rapper like Boots Riley, of The Coup, has shown to not only have the ability to see the faults of the government but to address them on more than just a surface level. Then you take an Ice Cube, who, for a period in the late 80's and early 90's, spoke for a portion of society with all the intensity and brutal sincerity their story called for. In the process, both rappers demonstrated focus and poignancy, their raps resonating more efficiently. Now this is not to say that Nas' entire career is based on broad accusations and ambiguity, but it's when his sight moves from the QB block to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue that his commentary can become taxing.

For an example of this difficulty, look at Blackness, recorded back in 1999, and known as well as Seeds of Heaven. (It also was redone last year as We March As Millions.) Here Nas, again, begins by urging "senators, government officials" to "sit at the conference and listen." He then proceeds to travel to the steps of Capitol Hill, referencing Hitler, and mentioning the man who first invented the gun. However, the manner in which Capitol Hill is brought up says, "this rap is concerned with national politics, but only so far only so far as naming an obvious landmark goes", the Hitler reference then is just as shallow as any jiggy rap that scrolls through a laundry list of designer wears, and of, "the cat that invented the gun", that line is left as vague as possible. Ultimately, Nas' message proves more convoluted than cunning, more impotent than all else.

Fortunately, elsewhere in Blackness, the song as well plays into Nas strengths: his knack for often haunting lyrics, his narrator perch, his poetic language, his vocabulary, and his signature complex rhyme schemes. Because of this, what we're left with lyrically is a song that treads in murky waters but still maintains a heartbeat. When the specific C-SPAN agenda is pushed aside, and the track is allowed to evolve without political pretenses, honest and unassuming, Nas' words win.

The rejection of what's right could mean you're in denial
It either breaks you or makes you become hostile
I swallowed many lies before tasting the truth
In the beginning, there was darkness, beautiful you

Nas: Blackness
Nas: We March As Millions

Buggin' Out II

2006-09-10T19:56:00.000-07:00

You've already heard my rant on R&B rap remixes, so no need to ramble again.

Here are five of the best non-remix singer-rapper collaborations featuring Nas.

Allure f/ Nas: Head Over Heels
Produced by his buddies The Trackmasters, Nas guested on Allure's gold-selling Head Over Heels as a favor for a favor. But then, if you remember what the women from Allure looked like at the time, Nas probably appeared for more than just that one reason. His two verses, his specialty on this brand of song, travel from brag to baby love, with even a chuckle-worthy description in there, "the scent of weed getting all in your weave / I put out the trees / And crack the moon roof, only for you to breathe." (Nas' über-cowboy hat in the video is the real laugh though.)

Jon B f/ Nas: Finer Things
Although he apparently hates the label of "white boy soulster", it's a title that often comes up in any discussion of Jon B. However, to Jon B's credit, his music is less likely to be found on TRL than it is on a Sunday night "Between The Sheets" mix. What's more, as least in the case of his duet with Nas, 2001's Finer Things, he ensured that the song wouldn't meet the same formulaic fate as others in the genre. It's dynamic, organic, more than just studio tricks, and soulful. That organic feeling is especially essential, because while Nas' verses and Jon B's vocals make the song worthwhile, the interplay between the two performers, particularly with ad-libs, adds another element.

Jully Black f/ Nas: Material Things
God's Son's Heaven showcased some music business cynicism, "put a famous bitch on the hook, there you go with a platinum CD." Interestingly enough, on that track's hook there actually was a female singer, but her involvement came off as more artistically-inclined than for publicity's sake. Jully Black was the singer, and, for blessing him with her vocals, Nas reciprocated on Material Things. As one might expect from the song's title, Material Things deals with attraction in the midst of materialism; however, because of how both artists manage to avoid being overly trite, the cliché is, at worst, listenable, "was you every truly attracted? / Shaking your gluteus maximus - after / Any rapper with the flashiest chain."

Mary J. Blige f/ DMX, Nas: Sincerity
On certain editions of Mary J. Blige's Mary, the two-headed rapper saga Sincerity, featuring both DMX and Nas, found a home. Greatly contrasting the smooth sound of something like Finer Things, Sincerity is much more boom-bap, even being based around the all-time great Bob James Nautilus break. Lyrically, though Nas and Blige were once a couple, there's really nothing on Sincerity to suggest an extra special bond between rapper and singer. However, you do get a vintage Esco turn, with his dark rhymes matching the dank feel of the beat.

Ms. Dynamite f/ Nas: Afraid 2 Fly
The version of Afraid 2 Fly that appeared 2003's A Little Deeper featured a solo Ms. Dynamite over the track's aggressive string-laced production. While Nas had previously laid down his vocals, there was a problem working out clearance issues, and he was ultimately left out. Nevertheless, the original persists. Here the UK singer reflects on the hurt that death immediately stirs, but also how she's grown to see the process more as a release. On cue, taking some from his Eye For An Eye Freestyle, Nas raps, "I'm never gonna die, I've never heard of death / Energy can never be destroyed, only the flesh."

Allure f/ Nas: Head Over Heels
Jon B f/ Nas: Finer Things
Jully Black f/ Nas: Material Things
Mary J. Blige f/ DMX, Nas: Sincerity
Ms. Dynamite f/ Nas: Afraid 2 Fly

She Don't (remix)

2006-09-09T09:28:00.000-07:00

Nas is on his R&B sh*t again, this time with LeToya.

Here's what I know about LeToya:

1. She used to be in Destiny's Child.
2. She once had legal beef with Beyonce and them.
3. Nas is on the remix to her second single She Don't.

Here's what I know about the song:

1. The production at least has strings and horns, which gives it a "classic" feel compared to most contemporary R&B.
2. LeToya is talking about getting a man from another woman. Nas is talking about females needing to be wary of their own girlfriends.
3. Except for two lines that sound awkward, Nas' verse is an above-decent one-verse R&B turn. Starts off a little cliché, but the latter half is more evolved.

[NAS]
Some girls lie a lot
They could be fly or not
Actresses cry a lot
Their girlfriends spy a lot
They could shake your hand, girl
Then they take your man, girl
The hood not knowing
We had something good going
Now these shorties after me
'Cause they saw us happy
And that you bagged me
Now they wishing that they had me
So watch who you hang with
And who you clang with
You know these bitches ain't shit
They hoping to bank chips
With a baller - and after she done laid in his bed
He never call her - he gamed her, then he left her for dead
Birds of a feather flock together
But chickens don't fly, they eat their own shit and die
Don't be affiliated, the relationship we had, I tried to imitate it
With somebody new, 'cause our love just disintegrated
I paid for ice to spoil
So I know best it's gonna take a good man to wife LeToya

LeToya f/ Nas: She Don't (remix)

Hate Me Now

2006-09-08T13:31:00.000-07:00

If you troll around enough online, message boards to blogs, discussion tends to take on this awful Groundhog Day quality: the same bait posts, the same threads headed with "less than" and "greater than" signs, the same gossip, links, bad information, and bad spelling. Ultimately, the impetus for most of this activity appears to be simple attention-seeking, like it's a room full of rambunctious tots trying to see who can yell, "fire", the loudest. A generation masking their own identity crisis one dial-up connection at a time, the Nelson Muntz's of the game. Am I being cynical? Okay, but if you hang around Punxsutawney for a while, you're sure to find my cynicism validated. It's a ~~world~~ ward where arguing over the purported curvature of a pop singer's ass is a pastime, calling "The Game" "The Ghey" is worthy of a National Merit Scholarship, and street cred apparently comes with a username and a post count. However, particularly on the more Hip-Hop based sites, the subject on every instigator's keyboard seems to be Nas: Nas is broke, old, married to a whore, washed up, and, least importantly, his music sucks. Really, their summation of Nas' career is quite entertaining.

In 1973, Nas was born to a coward. Over his youth, he spent time developing his own cowardice and knack for hiding indoors while all the real street dudes were outside. In 1994, he got jerked by a record company and dropped an overrated album full of lies and big words that put together didn't mean anything. He remained broke until he pretended to be a heavy drug dealer and sold his soul for some Street Dreams. Then The Firm flopped, his girl ran to another rapper, he made a bunch of uncomfortable club songs, was about to have his career read its last rites, until Jay-Z resurrected his relevance and pen. Jay-Z still killed him anyway. Nas' kufi got smacked off, he wifed industry leftovers, dropped a double album no one bought, became an employee of his enemy, and is going to release an album, if Def Jam / Jay ever let him, that will be another commercial disaster full of contradictions, corn, and lies. Plus, he's uneducated, a snake, and his own crew doesn't even respect him.

Add in a couple catchphrases, some tough guy talk about Nas' daughter, and you've basically been caught up on the last half a decade of message board postings. The reason I bring this all up is to say it's easy to tell when someone's hating for hating's sake and when bias runs deep. However, if I had to pick one period in that span of Nas' career where the description above most closely mirrors popular opinion, it'd be the moment where Nas was making awkward club songs and suddenly was saved by battling the rapper Jay-Z. This seems to be a pretty common conception, and an errant one as well. As I have written previously, if people were only to give the QB's Finest album the time and credit it was due, they would see that, an entire year before beef ever hit airwaves, Nas had mostly left the You Owe Me mind state aside in favor of a return to the stoop poetry of Illmatic.

Released after Nastradamus and before Stillmatic, QB's Finest features one of Nas' most fierce verses (Da Bridge 2001), one of his most honest (Self Conscience), and then a detailed episode of childhood, one of his most winningly reminiscent, Kids In Da PJ's. Over a beat that has this slight Godfather-Nino Rota tinge, like where a young Vito Corleone returns to his native Italy, and with a somewhat sped up delivery, as if memories are charging to the surface, Nas takes it back to elementary age. At once, you see a kid eating Bon Ton Cheese Popcorn and earning gold stars in grade school juxtaposed with, "hearing shots rang out." So you get the All-American portrait contrasted by a side of things only a part of America really knows. But Nas' point isn't to be melodramatic or preachy necessarily, because, from the music on the dial to the activity on the court, it's all just a very clear picture of adolescence he's describing, the innocence and inspiration, third grade in forty-five seconds. (Kids In Da PJ's may also be familiar to some as the opening verse on the mix song, The Second Coming, itself a compilation of three QB's Finest verses over a French Hip-Hop instrumental.)

Another one of the QB's Finest highlights is Find Ya Wealth, a solo Nas outing. Nas begins by tracing his career path, "shit did change course since ripping it with Main Source." The song then repeatedly hits on the theme that even in a situation where you're coming from a lot of grime, there's a way and a reason to persevere. Perhaps the best example of this is found in the second verse, as a young Nas browses a jewelry store and is laughed aside by the owner and a customer, "I said, 'I'll be just like you soon, motherfucker what?!'" As opposed to other raps Nas spit at the time where diamonds and chains are a central figure, with that excess occasionally weighing down the lyrics, here Nas represents something truthful and expresses it with all the intention and determination of the out-to-hustle kid we knew from '94. All in all, Find Ya Wealth and Kids In Da PJ's both underscore the point that even during Nas' most maligned artistic periods, there's enough good material out there, but only if you focus on the music and not just the rhetoric.

Nas: Find Ya Wealth
Nas f/ The Bravehearts: Kids In the PJ's
BONUS: Nas: The Second Coming

The Storm

2006-09-05T22:17:00.000-07:00

Although the current climate of Hip-Hop has been described as resembling the theatrics of professional wrestling, where battles are mere stunts to drum up publicity, there remain a couple unresolved confrontations in the world of rap that don't have their origins necessarily based in a marketing scheme, 50 Cent versus Nas, for example. Yes, more recently there has been an exchange of rather questionable taunts between the two, mixtape skits to mixtape covers, but whatever feud is there has a history at least, more than what the Kevin Nash's and Goldberg's of the game can claim.

Back before any friction started, these fellow Queens residents were actually friendly. In fact, Nas brought 50 Cent, and Tony Yayo, along for his 1999 Nastradamus tour. Part of the reason then for Nas' encouragement stemmed from the buzz over the now-infamous How To Rob, 50's slash and burn classic. There, while just about every name in the industry is called out and strung up, Nas isn't mentioned, further proof of the respect shared between the two artists at the time. (On the song Life's On The Line, the Southside Queens rapper also says, "now here's a list of MC's that can kill you in eight bars: / 50, umm, Jay-Z and Nas.") The duo even collaborated twice, once on the murky Who U Rep With and again with the nod-ready Projects Too Hot. However, as we all know, a thug changes, and love changes, and best friends become rivals. And that rivalry, to some degree, seems to have started with a rather worthless Jennifer Lopez remix.

Landing in the ten spot on the Billboard Top 100 charts, Lopez's I'm Gonna Be Alright remix equaled another smash for the faux R&B singer and some crossover, though questionable, success for Nas. However, the 50 Cent fallout would take place off the dial . Apparently pushed out by behind-the-scenes maneuverings from Irv Gotti, 50, who had put down his vocals to the remix before Nas was ever greenlit, felt obviously slighted. Add that to the fact that Irv Gotti / Murder Inc had been involved and that Nas would soon partner with the label, and it becomes clear why the friendship began to fracture.

In hindsight, maybe blowing up on a Jennifer Lopez remix wouldn't have quite been the blessing 50 initially took it to be. He still dropped Wanksta, still hit platinum pay dirt with Get Rich Or Die Tryin, and still has remained more commercially viable than most other dudes out there now. He's faced criticism from heads and housewives, dealt with the labels of sellout and snitch, and persevered past it all. (Jungle, Nas' younger brother, even called out "CJ" for working with the cops, on the track Bravehearted.) But, in part, this growing 50 Cent backlash springs from him having beef with more rappers than most Christian groups do. So as the likes of Jadakiss, Ja Rule, Fat Joe, The Game, Nas, Joe Budden, Dipset, AZ, Shyne, Puff Daddy, Lil' Kim . . . get added to the tally, the once underdog MC turns into the bully rapper and loses support. However, again, unlike all those, Nas and 50's tension appears more long-running and might have really taken off from something Nas actually said.

In the summer of 2004, with Curtis Jackson mania just about at its peak, Nas took to New York's Central Park for a free concert. The rapper, all trumped up from the crowd's strong reception and his return to Hip-Hop after a two year absence, decided to give the frenzy of fans a bit extra, "this is that real New York shit, not that fake 50 Cent shit!" While Nas claims that snipes were exchanged on the low previously, this was ultimately the grenade pin dropping that took the feud public. In turn, 50 Cent responded with a mixtape jab, Y'All Niggas Starvin', and, finally, Piggy Bank, off of 2005's The Massacre. Piggy Bank's main tactic was to attack Nas' relationship with Kelis, "you a sucka for love", and, over time, the shots have continued; 50 has further lampooned everything from Nas' baby mother to his business with Jay-Z and recent poor album sales. For his part, on record at least, Nas has maintained a consistent no-comment approach. However, that approach did open up a little in the middle of 2005.

Don't Body Yaself, also known as MC Burial, was a return of fire, an open letter to the "'Fuck Nas' Coalition." In the song's first verse, though unnamed, Cormega and Lake, former QB partners of Nas', are the focus, "when y'all was trying to rap, y'all was making me proud, man / now you fucked up, down on your luck, running your mouth, man." The second verse then proves to be more an intermission of sorts, essentially a lead up to the main event, "they say Jada defeated him / Joe too street for him / what's next? I guess it's for Nas to Ether him." Overall though, Don't Body Yaself warrants its "warning shot" reputation, because, while Nas does check the "sucka for love" depiction ("you a sucka for death"), 50 Cent is never explicitly mentioned, and, curiously, half the third verse is concerned with giving a definition of "ethereal." Yet, in a very sly manner, at the end, Nas does manage to sneak in a cold shot to make the diss worthwhile, "will it be Gilmore or Crowes? / nigga, act like you know." This final line is a reference to two funeral homes, Gilmore and Crowe's, in 50 Cent's native Jamaica, Queens.

50 Cent f/ Nas, Nature: Projects Too Hot
50 Cent f/ Nas, The Bravehearts: Who U Rep With
Nas: Don't Body Yaself
Bonus: 50 Cent: Piggy Bank
Bonus: The Bravehearts f/ Nas: Bravehearted

Roundup PT V

2006-09-03T11:56:00.000-07:00

Nas-related news:

It's September, finally, and there's a chance, a couple months ago, you would have been anticipating a new Nas album to drop in just a couple weeks from now. Well, with no radio single or video to speak of, you've probably guessed that the release date has been reset. It has, and the latest word from Def Jam says that Hip-Hop Is Dead will most likely find its way to stores in November. November 7th? (Props to Suspect for the picture.)

Kelis, in doing rounds of promotion for her own album, Kelis Was Here, also left a couple words on the subject, during a recent interview with Wendy Williams, "[Nas] is not done with his album. He's working. And him being the artist that he is, he takes the time that he needs to take, and he doesn't really care about deadlines. And when time for him comes to do it, he will do it. . . . Def Jam is actually doing really good for Nas right now."

Becoming more official with each new update, MTV is reporting that Will.I.Am. has contributed four songs to Nas' new album. Speculating, if those numbers stay consistent, that means that the punctuated-one probably will be responsible for at least a quarter of the project's entire production. Okay.

Another producer, Swizz Beatz, told MTV he submitted four tracks himself to the LP, "I didn't even try to get no singles, I just went hard-body." While most will shriek at the possibility of a Braveheat Party II, recall that Swizz is also responsible for one of Nas' catchiest unreleased songs, the up-tempo and unorthodox Two Seater.

From the mixed up files of Calvin C. Broadus, Snoop Dogg and Nas have apparently exchanged plans to make a movie together. Yes, a movie. Good money says that some illegal substance was also present during this meeting.

A collaboration that's more imminent than intoxicated, singer Joe has on a couple rap dudes, including Nas, for his upcoming album, Joe Who. The Nas song, Get To Know Me, actually was leaked last October. It's basically an R&B send-up of You're The Man and is as just as negligible as you would imagine. Trust me.

UK DJ Semtex posted on a BBC Radio 1 message board--so believe what you will--a recap of several Game songs he previewed from the Doctor's Advocate release. According to him, the Nas-Game track also features Marsha from Floetry and is produced by Just Blaze. However, if you'll remember the news from last time's Roundup, Cool and Dre were supposed to be behind the duet. Then, if you add in Nas' comments to MTV, it gets more curious.

Friend to RTA, Bounce has added a 1999 Chris Rock show performance of Come Get Me to his growing Youtube collection. It's worth a look if only to validate the point that, in a live setting, Nas' breath control hasn't always been suspect. Then again, maybe his coat gives him superpowers.

Because of last week's MTV Video Music Awards, the industry's biggest names convened on New York for a chance to party and pat backs. Beyond hosting his own little get together for Complex Magazine, Nas also joined Ludacris on stage elsewhere in the city. The two now-labelmates performed the unfortunate Virgo and the memorable Made You Look remix. (Additionally, in anticipation of the show's return to the Rotten Apple, Nas spoke a bit about his hometown, "I used to write rhymes on the train.")

Another labelmate of Nas', Fabolous, put out the song Monkey Business a couple months back. As the song begins its fade out, you can hear the BK rapper run down a list of soon-to-be Def Jam releases, "Luda in September, my nigga Jeezy in October, Hov and Nas in November", and then his own Loso's Way in December. Monkey Business was on the mixtape circuit before official word on Nas' November move ever came down from the powers that be, so maybe Fab is in charge of scheduling or something. Also, if you're wondering what a song between the two might sound like, 2004's Breathe Freestyle is your best bet.

Dirty Harry, who blessed 2005 with the Living Legends mixtape, has just dropped his Unforgiven entry. On the tape, Nas' voice pops up several times, most notably on the Public Enemy mix of Where Y'All At. The Queens DJ puts a spin on Nas' recent solo foray by combining it with Night Of The Living Baseheads, Welcome To The Terrordome, as well as other classic PE beats.

Finally, thanks to catchdubs.com for the strictly platonic plug last week.

Nas: Breathe Freestyle
Nas: Two Seater
Nas: Where Y'All At (Dirty Harry mix)

Nas f/ Jadakiss, Ludacris: Made you Look (remix)
BONUS: Fabolous: Monkey Business
BONUS: Kelis: Wendy Williams Interview

Project Windows

2006-09-01T13:49:00.000-07:00

In telling the story of Nas, to start at the Queensbridge Projects is obvious. That's the spot which birthed the hopelessness of Illmatic, police raids and pushers, gunshots to gravesites. But it was also coming from such a desperate place, the largest housing development in the U.S., as Nas would say on Da Bridge 2001, that inspired the drive to stretch past these traps and tell the tale of the otherwise ignored. From seeing his best friend killed to fiends lined up like it was free lunch a vial a serving, Queensbridge is the center of the Illmatic narrative and the heartbeat of Nas' words. More specifically though, the actual window in the bedroom of his QB apartment, which Nas has documented as his front row seat for all the drama outside, is most important in understanding how the music of Nas came to be what it's now famous for; his observations, the stark details applied to his rhymes, and the imagery in his writing all were born out of the vision he adapted looking out of project windows. It is therefore fitting that one of Nas' most personal songs took on this very title, Project Windows.

Released on the almost-otherwise-horrible Nastradamus album, however awkward or sloppy the rest of the LP sounds, Project Windows, for five minutes at least, manages to remind audiences of the poetry that catapulted Nas to 5 Mics. Capturing grime from the gutter up, Nas' initial verse witnesses the human wreckage first hand, "crippled dope fiends in wheelchairs stare, vision blurry, 'cause buried deep in their minds are hidden stories." Here he constructs their physical profile and then takes you inside their very condition, life bled dry by addiction. Next, by preaching personal efficacy and education, the following verse is more a plea to change up from this cycle of self-destruction. Finally, finishing up the track, Nas combines the approach of the previous two verses: where the first described project life, and the second tried to school on ways to escape its limitations, the concluding chapter brings us inside Nas' home, inside those projects windows, to describe his own upbringing and the model passed down to him from his mother and father. At times, the story is bleak, detailing not only the darkness out there but how alluring that path can appear. Yet, Nas attempts to balance the degradation with his own success as a guide.

The production on Project Windows also manages to convey a distinct emotional texture: nostalgic but melancholy. The sad strike of piano notes and the singing of Ron Isley particularly succeed in accomplishing this mood. However, the original version of the song, entitled The Game Lives On and attended for the I Am double album, offers a different take. There Ron Isley is completely absent and the backdrop is much more bare bones. Because of this difference, fans of Nas have debated back and forth over which edition of Project Windows is the most successful. Criticisms of the remake primarily stem from it being over-produced, with the singing being a significant offense. The OG song, they argue, more accurately captures the raw feeling of Nas' rap. While it is a little unfair to do a direct side-by-side comparison, because The Game Lives On is missing about half a verse and isn't studio mastered, in its defense, the Nastradamus cut at least utilizes Ron Isley well, weaving him in throughout the entire song and not just on the hook. Moreover, its polished sound shouldn't be confused with a mundane one, for it is full of feeling just as well. Ultimately, the production sounds more complete, rich, and, in this way, it resonates with the quality of Nas' voice and words especially.

He's finished for the rest of his life, till he fades out
The liquor store workers miss him, but then it plays out
So many ways out the hood, but no signs say out

Nas: Project Windows
Nas: The Game Lives On

Race Matters

2006-08-29T21:20:00.000-07:00

The following four verses by Nas are all a part of unreleased songs. They also, in varying ways and to different degrees of depth, approach the subject that Cornell West told you mattered and that Hip-Hop has been influenced by, one way or another, since the South Bronx: race.

Eat These Bullets
Not that the Bravehearts album was one song away from classic status, but, with its old-school beat, above-decent turns by Jungle and Wiz, and Nas' ultra-comfy flow, Eat These Bullets would have surely helped the cause. However, it just might have been what Nas is saying on the track that ultimately got it cut. His declaration that he's turned from sniping the like-skinned, "niggas", to the light-skinned, "crackers", probably got the label's attention. It's a sad kind of funny if this was indeed the case, because, for as many songs as Nas has made where "niggas" are his intended targets, to call out the opposite side once and finally catch heat from the record company, let's you know where their priorities lie.

I don't kill niggas no more, now I kill crackers / Strong as Warren Sapp is, long as a giraffe is / F-150's and F-250's / Governor, order me about two Bentleys / From Rip Kaplan, I don't fuck with Aspens / Too black for that, too tough for Hamptons / Rock Hermes, turn heads / Puff with Rasta hoes and skeet sperm in their dreads / Body whoever leak words to the Feds / My camaraderie from the streets will murder you dead / Flee NYC when it's freezing / To MIA, get this shit / My diamonds come with GIA certificates / Y'all stones is clones, I'm full grown / Hoes call my name on bullhorns / In the middle of a NBA playoff / Whatever nigga, we can face off / Wet a nigga with the AK or-- / Oops, I mean kill a cracker / The truth, I'm the realest rapper / Bravehearts running this shit / Godson, Governor, LES, Jungle and Wiz

Enemy Tomorrow
Most have never heard of Money Ray, Sharp, or ~~the movie~~ the magazine Felon, but somehow Nas got involved with 'em all for the song Enemy Tomorrow. With the mic booth as his pulpit, Nas begins a sermon that quickly becomes shrouded in post 9/11 anxiety. Although he does point out President Bush's particular treatment of Arabs (read: US-Middle Eastern politics), his verse is less race-specific elsewhere. It's the entire world, Nas says, that's frustrated, not necessarily contrasting white versus black, for example. However, given the line about "devils" and the characterization of anthrax as almost a ploy of the executive branch, as well as the fact that the name "Nasir Bin Olu Dara Jones" has probably come up on an airport checklist or two, there is, at least, some racial subtext.

The greatest lesson ever learnt is burnt in my skin / Every man is God's child, so God's Son'll begin / The sermon's concerning life, love, misery, death / Death's the freedom, life's the test, God bless / Gripping my cig, dusting my chrome / Thinking that they use this anthrax air to bust in my home / Fucking devils, see, your power's temporary / The last shall be first, the first shall be last / Cops wanna murder me fast / They burning your flag / The world is frustrated, 'fuck waiting's the motto / Niggas tryna be caking in Pradas / When you cake it, then you leave the hood, just feed the wolves / The bigger the man the bigger his mistake, it's all good / Learn and grow, nothing is promised up in the projects / Snakes, snitches hoping you fall / It takes will to progress and open the door / Too many wakes and bodies, hope it's no more / See, everybody got a sad song / Bush did them A-rabs wrong / Look what it's come to / The Art of War by Sun Tzu's needed / I dream about actresses, singers, and models / Waterbed fantasies, nipples and lips then the scene flips / Demonic pictures of niggas with Sigmas, infrared beams and shit / There you have it: life, love, misery, death / In rhyme, 'cause in reality, I ain't finished yet / My enemy's make me swifter / There's more ways to kill than guns / And those ways, yo, I can't reveal / That's top secret, who the fuck got beef, you ain't my size / Forever I'm a Braveheart felon, you touched by Nas

Imagine
Compared to the relatively aggressive points of view on the previous two tracks, Imagine finds Nas in a "we are the world" type mood. In fact, generally reflecting the message of the John Lennon original, Nas asks for "humans of all colors [to] stand up as one race." Though a bit more developed, it's similar to his take on the All-Star Tribute version of What's Going On. Also, with Imagine being recorded post 9/11, there's an anthrax reference once again. The second verse is then delivered by Pitbull.

Imagine we could all get along / Won't be long till that day comes / Mothers stop cooking, take off your aprons / Fathers stop looking at every sports station / Take a second and think of every poor nation / Making weapons, they can't afford a plate, no proper healthcare / Over here it's Section 8, a lot on welfare / Yo, the wealthy laugh, the market crash, economy's bad / How do we change it? Newsflash about a powder that's dangerous / How do we escape these brainless acts of terror? / I'll tell you how, if Jesus ever comes, I'm not no better / Put our hearts in the right place, humans of all colors will stand up as one race / I promise you one day . . . Imagine that

Never Too Late
Because of its point about the Amadou Diallo verdict, where NYC police officers were found not guilty for the killing of an unarmed Guinean immigrant, Never Too Late was most likely recorded mid-to-late 2000. The Diallo case, the "racist white judge" Nas describes, and an apparent conspiracy "to kill black boys" are especially interesting next to Nas' final lines. Although he's talking specifically about skyscrapers and how everything that's come to be was sparked by a mere thought in someone's head, in describing a system where the odds are so seemingly stacked against blacks, in a way, he's illustrating that white supremacy itself began as just a crude idea centuries ago. An earlier mention of slavery further solidifies this point.

I sip the blood of Christ from a gold cup / I love this life / My soldiers smoke you, no price / Dead men in graves roll over / I'm part Apache slave master African, who asked me / Fans tear my clothes, bitches try to trap me / 30,000 seats rise to their feet to hear me flow / Got two mansions on the East Coast / Models deep throat / I heard about them kidnap dudes, had dinner with some / Shake hands with killers just to see who really was one / Study his moves, how he look fake - but that's the trick to it / Now we turn you to bait / The street shit I stick to it / Rappers hate me, bitches saying, "how did he start?" / They go to psychics asking 'em for my astrology chart / I'm the righteous thug, fight for Mumia / Racist white judge - made Diallo's murderers free / See, they don't like us / And what about conspiracies to kill black boys / But y'all ain't hearing me, worship the planet like asteroids / Look around and everything you see was once an idea / From somebody's thoughts who turned into reality clear / Look at the tallest sky scrapers, it just didn't appear / Somebody thought it up and built it up and put it right there

Nas, Pitbull: Imagine
Nas f/ The Bravehearts: Eat These Bullets
Nas f/ The Bravehearts: Never Too Late
Nas f/ Money Ray, Sharp: Enemy Tomorrow
Bonus: All-Star Tribute: What's Going On

Washed Up or Boxed In?

2006-08-27T12:27:00.000-07:00

Last November's Scratch Magazine cover, featuring Nas and DJ Premier together again, raised the pulse and hopes of a nation full of Hip-Hop heads. Although the duo hasn't worked since 2001's Stillmatic, a mere photo shoot and hint of collaborative plans was enough to gather momentum once more. But then you still have your cynics who would say, "stop trying to recreate Illmatic, Nas needs to work with new producers, that Primo sound is stale in 2006." To those trying out that argument, I give you the following piece written by Dr. Claw (of M.A.D.).

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The here-today-gone-tomorrow, fad-driven world of rap music is often unkind to artists whose careers span decades, so for DJ Premier to still be recognized for quality Hip-Hop music, seventeen years after his first recordings with Gang Starr and Lord Finesse, is quite a feat. However, lately it looks to many, even his long time-fans, that the Grim Reaper of Hip-Hop is looming large over the super-producer / DJ and priming Premier to give up the ghost.

Compared to Premier's most prolific, yet sonically static period (1999-2001), recently, the amount of work he's put out has been rather minimal, reduced to familial jobs and underground singles, with some of his once-recurrent clients (Jay-Z, Nas) passing him over entirely on their latest projects. To top it all off, the last album he cut as one-half of Gang Starr, The Ownerz, went ignored in the midst of 50-Mania and received mixed reviews, many of which derailed Premier's production as uninspired. People said his sound was too throwback, too stagnant, that he hadn't changed for the times. Well, yes, DJ Premier has a standard, a sonic imprint that has appeared in his production going back to the times when he was first learning the art of studio engineering from Schlomo Sonnenfeld and beatmaking from Lord Finesse at Wild Pitch. Yet, while that Primo sound may hearken back to the age when a Jeru The Damaja could actually get some play, it is still in tune with some of the trends of the 00's. In this way, we can find evidence that DJ Premier's music has evolved.

To start, Premier's more conventional drum patterns seem to be inspired by the likes of Jeff Porcaro, Danny Seraphine, Bernard Purdie, and a number of other session drummers that played on the records he's gone to for samples. In fact, Premier's swing, and habit to go from a bass drum immediately into a snare, seem directly lifted from their grooves. This is especially evident on a song like Conscience Be Free, where Primo uses the triplet hi-hat Porcaro (and sometimes Steve Gadd) used as a fill-in between measures. Over time, Premier's drum grooves have become rather "hip hoppy", doubling up on the bass drum rather quickly. Now, in the '00s, he's eschewed hi-hats almost all together, completely silencing them, except at key points in the track to maintain a groove. This trend, largely popularized by the Neptunes from '98-'00 (actually, the Neptunes don't even use hi-hats at all) is one of the best signs of Premier updating his formula.

Additionally, although he is almost entirely a sample-based producer, as of late, Premier has taken to layering his own keyboard work, for texture, over the groove. (This is perhaps best exemplified on Nice Girl, Wrong Place from The Ownerz.) Then, regarding basslines, whereas they have been key in the recent sound of Hip-Hop, for Pemier, prior to 1996, they were rather non-existent (he largely relied on the source material for the "bass", rarely did you hear him apply one); however, since that point, they've become more prevalent. He doesn't play his bass across the whole measure because that's someone else's style. He doesn't do bass-stabs ala Dilla because that's someone else's style as well. Premier's own style is to place a bass tone (or tones) where it is sorely needed to drive the tempo of the song, e.g. O.C.'s Win The G.

Overall, what really has happened in Hip-Hop is that tastes are in the process of changing all over again. The rise of the South has moved toward a sound that has more in common with the 808-era, though with an even more dissonant, unfunky tinge to it than its '80s progenitors. Hi-hats are high in the mix, and often played in the sixteenths rather than the quarters. Premier doesn't make that sound and isn't looking to compromise his own standard for a buck, as many artists with a pedigree often refuse to do. And since he's being passed over because of this, people haven't had a chance to hear what he really has in store. This makes it all the more surprising that pop star Christina Aguilera took the risk and called him up not only to produce her lead single, but four other tracks on her big-leap double album. There, on Back To Basics, the sound is vintage Premier, but with a twist. He seems to be inching toward something more melodic, more upbeat than most of what he has done in recent years. Still, that aforementioned Primo sonic imprint remains: his drum pattern style and tailor-made scratch montages. Unfortunately, Hip-Hop fans may not get the chance to hear most of it.

Maybe now that DJ Premier has little to prove, he can use his time out of the limelight to show that he isn't all about the same old-same old. Because for every so-called cookie-cutter, "mercenary" piece, he'll come out with a 2nd Childhood (Nas), a Guilty (Heather B), a Skillz (Gang Starr), an Evening News (Cee-Lo), or a Doobie Ashtray (Devin The Dude) to throw his detractors off track and show you where he's really coming from. So the question isn't whether Premier has fallen off, but when he will eventually convince listeners that he really has progressed his sound while still maintaining that classic Primo feel?

Christina Auguilera: Still Dirrty
Cee-Lo: Evening News
Devin the Dude: Doobie Ashtray
Gang Starr: Conscience Be Free
Gang Starr: Nice Girl, Wrong Place
Gang Starr: Skillz
Heather B: Guilty
Nas: 2nd Childhood
O.C. f/ Freddie Foxx: Win The G

In The Vaults

2006-08-24T16:35:00.000-07:00

As this blog has attempted to demonstrate, rivaled only by Mobb Deep and Ghostface, in terms of quantity and quality of unreleased songs, Nas has enough Lost Tapes for more than just one album. Everything from pre-Illmatic to post-Street's Disciple could probably even fill a respectable box set. And this is simply going off of what mixtapes have leaked and what file folders now hold. Who can imagine what's still locked behind closed doors? Today's entry reflects an attempt to gather a list of vaulted Nas tracks, more rumored than radio-rotated but hopefully on the horizon.

According to Nas' long-time producer, LES, he and Nas, during the It Was Written sessions, were working on a song which utilized the same drum sample (Brethren's Inside Love) immortalized by A Tribe Called Quest on Electric Relaxation. And it seems this one could have been similarly classic, based on its title alone, "It Was A Lady Cop Sucking A Thug’s Dick, It Was Some Thug Shit, Some Bug Shit." That should be rather self-explanatory.

During a 2005 interview with DJ Low Key, the legendary Large Professor, patron saint of all things Illmatic, disclosed that, over the years, he has done about a dozen songs with Nas that never have left the studio, almost enough for an album, he said. One track named in particular was Fahrenheit.

Discussed in the XXL Making of Cuban Linx special, Nas went through several verses before finally deciding on Verbal Intercourse's instant-quotable rhyme. However, he was not the only person in the studio that night with more than one option, "RZA had a couple of beats ready. He played them for me. I got on both of them. The other one never came out." Who knows if Nas delivered the same rap over each beat, but, either way, since Wu-Tang is known for their own lengthy unreleased collection, that a collaboration between the two resulted in another addition to that collection shouldn't be much of a surprise.

XXL was also the birthplace of another Nas rumored track. In their issue listing the most anticipated albums of 2006, Nas revealed, "I'm almost done [working] on a Queens anthem with another big Queens dude." Because Queens has had such a prolific run in rap music, there's more than a couple possibilities to mull over. Rev Run? G Rap? Q-Tip? Marley Marl? LL?

Around the time of Stillmatic, Nas was asked about his process for writing Ether. Out of these questions came the revelation that reportedly Nas had penned an even more extreme version of the already out-there diss track. Maybe that's just Nas trying to be like, "I killed him, even when I scaled it back", y'know, some good hype. But, from another source, I have read that one of the axed-lines might have dealt with the beef Jay-Z once had with Big Pun, concerning the rumor of a certain bottle to Hov's head. However, if such a version of Ether ever did exist, there's a decent chance it stayed strictly on paper.

The Curse remains one of the most infamous unreleased Nas songs. As it was distributed in snippet form on an I Am sampler, we at least have audio of the first verse and hook; however, ever since then, people have been looking for the full length. That Nas respit the leaked verse on a recent Killah Priest mixtape suggests that the current condition of The Curse will not be upgraded, but we can still be dreamers. (Nas actually has another song with KP that's still in the chamber. Because, for as long as The Offering has been on hold, so has Rivers of Blood. People have been talking about the album, and the song specifically, since last summer, but neither have yet to materialize.)

Another time Nas teased with promo tapes didn't even have a snippet to offer. To announce the coming of It Was Written, the rapper recorded Escobar Season Begins and distributed it to media outlets and mixtapes. Then, on that same sampler, advertisements also announced that IWW would feature appearances from Method Man and D'Angelo. At that point, with D'Angelo yet to run from the spotlight, Meth not needing to remind people he was still around, and Nas trying to bolster sales, the collaborations made sense, but we don't even know if they all actually made it to the studio.

I'm sure everyone loved the Get Down opening on God's Son, but, on alternate tracklistings for the 2002 LP, it's nowhere to be found. In its place, and in the place of several other songs, we find Crabs In The Barrel, My Will, Fuck Hot, Grimey Ways, and Ridin' Broke. To show that this is not simply some bogus Internet creation, we do know that at least the first verse of My Will has since leaked. Ridin' Broke is also a real song, a mixtape joint with The Bravehearts. Additionally, in an interview with Nas, Murder Dog confirmed Crabs In The Barrel. Then Fuck Hot may never come out at all, because its rumored subject matter, Nas pulling the entire industry's card, would likely burn more bridges than just QB. Finally, Grimey Ways was to feature Nashawn.

From the same website with the God's Son alternate listing linked above, several featured producers are also named. Two of the four, Salaam Remi and The Alchemist, did make it to the official copy, but the site goes on to list Large Professor and "Psycho L.E.S." To tackle the latter issue, that's Psycho Les of the severely overlooked Beatnuts crew. However, especially because of the capitalization of "L.E.S.", it's most likely some kind of editorial error, confusing the Beatnuts dude with the Life's A Bitch dude. As for Large Professor, although we can't say with any certainty which song(s) of his got cut, his name in the mix once more should remind fans of Star Wars, which was released in 2004, on the Illmatic 10th Anniversary album, but, because of its continued Jay-Z taunts and the fact that it featured the same beat from Hip-Hop, off Ex-P's 2002 1st Class, was most likely recorded during the time of God's Son as well.

Street's Disciple didn't escape unscathed either. Anybody Test, Good Morning, Talk of New York, Serious, and the Stiletto-take of Disciple all failed to make the final call, for a number of reasons, but others not made available for public consumption too were left behind. According to 2004 reports from MTV, Puffy and Nas were to link back up again, for the retro I Am Somebody. (Over at Youtube, Bounce managed to track down a video clip of some of the I Am Somebody session.) That MTV report also details the hustler's song, Play on Playa, which Blender magazine even quoted, "throw carnations at my tombstone." Moreover, alternate tracklistings go on to mention a Get Up and a Titillating, both of which have failed to appear anywhere else.

Lastly, back before Def Jam became a reality and when NASDAQ Dow Jones was the questionable album title of the moment, Nas talked about doing several follow-ups to tracks from Street's Disciple, including These Are Our Heroes PT II and an Unauthorized Biography of KRS-One. The originals of both songs were examples of an idea being better than its execution, so, if these ones ever did or do get finished, hopefully Nas will practice a bit more finesse, and then, of course, have them released.

Nas: Disciple (original)
Nas: Star Wars
Nas f/ The Bravehearts: Riding Broke

BONUS: Large Professor: Hip Hop

Homemade Fishing Rods

2006-08-22T17:02:00.000-07:00

Imagine this scenario for a second:

You're one of the most famous rappers of your generation. Your debut garners god-like praise and incredible comparisons. Your sophomore album then draws in the millions of fans that had slept past the first one. At this point, basically every opportunity you could want you're able to secure. You do a movie, start a super group, work all-star collaborations, and stand next to legends of the game and Billboard's most touted. Then, after doing the rounds, you decide to scale it back, switch up the profile, and lend your voice to an album that only few from your fanbase will ever even hear of. The album probably won't go gold or get MTV rotation, but, for you, it's not even a second thought. After all, you've been Nas, the rapper, since '91, but you've been Nasir Jones, the son of Olu Dara, since '73; you're side-by-side with your dad now.

When Olu Dara released his 1998 LP In The World: From Natchez To New York, though most only knew his son, as an accomplished jazz musician for thirty years, Dara ensured that his music would be recognized for more than just a guest appearance. Nas might have been a selling point, but the strong blues and soul that In The World also featured would be its most convincing.

Before Mrs. Butterworth became a kitchen staple, and back when legend told that molasses could double as a medical cure, you would have been likely to find a container full of Alaga Syrup around. It was tradition: thick, rich, and flavorful. This is important to note, because that texture, that tradition, is the perfect way to describe the very shape and sound of blues, the music you'll often hear from Olu Dara. (Only difference is that too much of this won't turn your kidneys to raisins.) At its best, blues is the rough soundin', guitar-pluckin', backporch-wailin' styled music that, in an instant, can transport you to a time when your grandfather told stories, the two of you lake-side, fishing, poles all made out of a branch and some spare line. You know, that kind of heart and soul that comes only so often but stays with you for forever. And that's percisely the world of In The World, rich like syrup and as soul satisfying as a childhood fishing trip.

Starting at the dinner table, with vegetables fresh from the corn man's yard, Olu Dara then journeys through a rain shower, straight to a shopping trip in Natchez, Mississippi. Providing an appropriate backdrop to his cornet, trumpet, and vocal explorations, Dara is joined along the way by some of the best musicians in the industry. Even his eldest son, Nas, comes along for the spoken-word, steady-nod Jungle Jay:

The world's so big yet so small, it's one block
Many die mentally before they reach what they wanted
I choose to get blunted / and cruise to One Hundred
Twenty-Fifth street / music loud as hell in my jeep

However, perhaps ITW's true peak comes in more ballad form, such as on Harlem Country Girl. The slow, vintage roll of cymbals and a snare, the horn that expresses as much longing as it does melody, the guitar picking that seems to just pull memories off the shelf, and Dara's rough but warming vocals all prove the power of song to reach into your soul and massage away whatever pains you're facing. This is the type of music that's just waiting for you to reel in.

Olu Dara: Harlem Country Girl
Olu Dara: Natchez Shopping Blues
Olu Dara f/ Nas: Jungle Jay

*NOTE: This entry was primarily written by one Rakeem Cedric Twatt.--Fletch

My List

2006-08-18T15:23:00.000-07:00

When My Will came out in 2005, there was hope that a Lost Tapes II would soon follow. The song, although leaked last year and with ad-libs from Nas regarding his marriage and honeymoon, is really an unreleased track from the time of God's Son. To note this, just look at the nod to Ja Rule and them and remember that, for a moment back in 2002, Nas was rumored to be in the business with the Gotti brothers, "how could Murder Inc. not wanna fuck with the top hustler, Roc crusher." Also, as further proof, some media outlets were shipped early versions of that aforementioned '02 LP, and, accordingly, within these publications, there was indeed reference to My Will. Concerning the line where Nas demands, "never put me in the top 10", one such publication, Murder Dog, even asked Nas specifically about it. Clarifying himself, Nas responded, "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." Despite how, at that particular moment, Nas might have argued himself on a top ten list, many would still insist otherwise.

It's almost become cliché, especially on the Internet, to construct a top ten list of the greatest rappers of all-time. And the arguments that follow are usually just as typical. However, I'm a fan of a good cliché, but we will switch it up a little for today. The following is a list of ten rappers who are, and have been over a significant stretch of years, my favorite ten. This is not an attempt to come up with a universal all-time roster, something that everyone can agree upon. It reflects my biases, my age, my location, what I've heard, when I heard it, personal connections with the music, and is no way meant as a proposal to say, "point blank period, these are the ten greatest, no others accepted." Also, just as another copout, I've decided to list them alphabetically. And, sorry, Nas, you made it. (If you all have similar lists of your own, g'head.)

READ ON ...

The Rebel To America Oh-So-Subjective Ten Favorite Rappers Of All-Time List

Boots Riley (Fat Cats, Bigga Fish)
If you first recognize the name, Boots Riley, of The Coup, you're likely to picture a political rapper. And while it's true that Boots is activist-minded, don't think of him as shallow as some guy yelling at CNN or yelling simply because it's trendy. There's a real depth to his lyrics, a challenge, a militancy even, to the mission he's been on for over a decade now. What's more, with a distinct voice he can mold any number of ways, from downtrodden to funky, Boots draws the listener in on both a substance and style tip. As a writer, he's known to inject humor into his politics, intricate details into his stories, and, more so recently, some grown man steez into his growl.

"The street light reflects off the piss on the ground / Which reflects off the hamburger sign that turns round / Which reflects off the chrome of the BMW / Which reflects off the fact that I'm broke / Now what the fuck is new?"

Devin the Dude (Do What You Wanna Do)
For a guy whose material often revolves around weed and girls, Devin the Dude's music is some of the most level-headed Hip-Hop out there. And although his long-term relationship with Rap-A-Lot has stifled his popularity and he came up before Houston really achieved its mainstream exposure, Devin's everyman persona, almost conversational voice and delivery, and open, often self-effacing lyrics have won him lifelong fans over the years. Then, because what he says is often rooted in a Just Tryin' Ta Live, honest, blue collar reality, every line becomes even more identifiable, especially memorable.

"The dollar you earn is the dollar you spend / Go get something for ya kids or buy a bottle of gin / Is it a sin? I don't know / We're X and O's in this game / Tryin' ta survive"

Ghostface Killah (Cobra Clutch)
Though his opening verse on Bring Da Ruckus was impressive, if you had told people back in '93 that, in 2006, Ghostface would be the one member of Wu-Tang to have maintained a consistent catalog and fan base, you would have been looked at strangely. However, with his patented surreal style now holding it down over a span of five solo albums, that's the case. Ghost's world is a frenetic cross between blaxploitation and comic adventure, where a hype verse or a heartfelt number both resonate just as well. He has the creativity for not only abstract imagery, but also enough to put him arguably amongst the top five storytellers of all-time.

"We dazzle off this, bloody version of Glaciers / Slang shot threw a gem in his mouth, swallowed his razor / Say no more, my back be parked against the wall / Trooper square holding, 'Face don't give a fuck about the law"

Ice Cube (We Had to Tear This Motherfucka Up)
With his mic replacing the sickle, for a time, Ice Cube was almost like Hip-Hop's own version of the grim reaper, plucking off anyone who marginalized his brand of blackness or rap music in general. Political and often brash, Cube articulated the anger of an entire city that grew to symbolize a generation. Responsible for at least three non-argument classic LPs, a flow that could switch between casual or intense with nothing lost, one of the most infamous diss records (No Vaseline), and one of the great guest verses of all-time (Grand Finale), Ice Cube changed the way people rapped, in a way only rivaled by Rakim.

"I told you it would happen and you heard it, read it / But all you can call me was anti-Semitic / Regret it? Nope, said it? Yep / Listen to my big black boots as I step"

Jay-Z (This Life Forever)
Jay-Z's greatest strength is his ability to sound at home in multiple arenas. Whether in a straightforward flow or doing double time, on stage or in the corporate board room, on a club-friendly track or bubbling over some dark Primo keys, he's found success again and again. As the modern archetype for a rap career, unfortunately those who have followed in Jay's path most often don't possess half his energy, an ounce of his wordplay, or a hint of the smarts that took him to hall of fame status. He's slayed MCs in a single line, elevated the status of producers, and maintained a work ethic that ensured that a deep catalog would be the best kind of self-promotion.

"I blind with the bezel / I'm in line with the ghetto /What y'all niggas afraid of: my mind or the metal?"

Kool G Rap (Men at Work)
Sometimes with older MCs you may get caught up on what they used to be able to do, but Kool G Rap is perhaps the one old school rapper who can still do it today just as yesterday and put fear into any up-and-comer with a new mixtape. And while back in the day he did set standards for thug stories and sex raps, literally etching out the blueprint of a dozen important 90's rappers, that he's been able to outlast any number of trends is truly evidence of his gift. G Rap's rapid delivery, unique voice, dark belly of the beast scenes, and unapologetic and unrelentless approach to lyrics have seen him brutalize tracks for two decades now, and he's not done yet.

"I'm alone but my tone is a sharp tune / Developing pictures in your brain like a darkroom / Rappers are captured and tortured with rapture / In 3-D, it's a G coming at'cha"

Kurupt (New York, New York)
An important piece of both The Chronic and Doggystyle, although it took Kurupt until 1998 to officially release his solo debut, the ballsy, bi-costal double album Kuruption! proved to be one of the few 2xLP to really justify its extra-long length. As the consummate gangster scholar, behind Kurupt's eye glasses and skinny frame lurk a glaring charisma and a flow that was even neighboring Snoop's for a second. The Philadelphia-born MC combines an East Coast style with a West Coast sensibility, equally able to attack a song and do it laid back just as easily. Moreover, his work on the first Dogg Pound album best showcases the smooth, sniper-like lyrical focus he brings to the mic.

"I'm all ready to put work in / Take ten steps then turn to shoot the first nigga smirkin' / Give a fuck what's your name, what you claim / Or why you came, motherfucker, don't explain"

Nas (My Will)
While Illmatic is religion to some, that Nas flipped the script and flow with two classics out the gate served notice that he was not a one-album rapper. In the mid-90's, he advanced the use of polysyllabic rhymes and added a very visual sense to lyrics that captured details with clarity. As Nas' career progressed, although his ability to produce cohesive albums became less certain, his unreleased material became especially noteworthy. Additionally, distinct periods of musical growth have demonstrated a maturation in sound, showing that Hip-Hop can grow successfully into its third decade. Overall, Nas' catalog remains one of the most extensive in terms of range of subject matter.

"Similar to anybody you know / Oh, I created, cremated, bodied that flow / Anyone you thinks fucking with me better be vets"

Pharoahe Monch (Thirteen)
As one half of the severely slept-on Organized Konfusion duo, though his partner was no slouch by any means, that Pharoahe Monch routinely overshadowed Prince Poetry is testament to Pharoahe's otherworldly ability. His soulful, pulpit-authoritative voice seems to simply bend over tracks, finding not only new rhymes but inventing new rhythms along the way. Monch can make a club song with verbal flips, a love song a tongue-twister, and his delivery come off like it's possessed. In this way, he's one of the most conceptually challenging MCs, not only regarding what he says but how he makes it sound.

"You can't steer it / Face the bass; crumb you run when you hear it / It's the most incredible rap individual style / Piles up - like drug cases in Queens Country Criminal Court"

Rakim (In The Ghetto)
To trace Rakim's influence is really to look at all of Hip-Hop after he first came on the scene. With a great four-album stretch, from the 80's until the early 90's, primarily, Ra was the blueprint of flow, responsible for the most important lyrical shift in rap music, literally making legends go back to the lab. Bringing an almost scientific complexity to his rhymes, he became the quintessential poetic rapper, forcing listeners to get involved with lyrics. Next, his aggressive, I Ain't No Joke persona established a new mold for the game. A strong vocal presence, effortless delivery, and verses that are as long as they are quotable give further reason why many refer to Rakim simply as The God MC.

"I learn to relax in my room and escape from New York / And return through the womb of the world as a thought / Thinking how hard it was to be born / Me being cream with no physical form"

Nas: My Will
Rebel To America: Two Through Ten

Street Scriptures

2006-08-15T22:39:00.000-07:00

Ask your average literary type who the greatest storyteller of all-time is, and you might hear responses ranging from William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, Jack London, John Steinbeck, Mark Twain, and the like. But ask your average Hip-Hop head who the greatest storyteller of all-time is, and you're likely to hear just one response: Slick Rick. Constructing his narratives with convincing attention to detail and a cartoon-like swagger, MC Ricky D's Great Adventures essentially pioneered, innovated, and set the standard for how a story on wax would go. Then, as far as the harder-edged episodes, Kool G Rap chronicled a gritty, often violent, drug and crime-based reality. With these influences from his youth, when Nas, who's more than worthy to be in anyone's top three, came on the scene, his story style proved the perfect mix of G Rap, Uncle Ricky, and something all his own.

As a keen observer and a naturally gifted narrator, ensuring that his stories are always effectively laid out, Nas maintains a level of clarity, interest, and even suspense throughout his rhymes. Then his use of imagery often succeeds in illustrating the story's details, both emotional and action-based. Finally, his vocabulary and poetic approach to words allows what he's seen and thought to connect with the audience in full. Never one to shy away from these gifts, whether in brief episodes, like the sagas on 2nd Childhood, Get Down, The Message, NY State of Mind, or in a more epic shape, such as with Blaze a 50, Fetus, Rewind, One Love, Shootouts, Undying Love, Nas has surely cemented his place in the all-time annals of the Hip-Hop storyteller. And while the songs above have all received their fair share of acclaim, Nas' catalog is so deep that you may overlook others, e.g., Hardest Thing To Do Is Stay Alive, Pussy Killz, Sekou Story, The Set-Up, Small World, etc.). Even then, you still haven't covered them all.

Wanna Play Rough is a fast-paced, multiple-point-of-view tale originally intended to be a part of the I Am 2LP but ultimately relegated to a Dame Grease compilation. While most story raps are relayed from the first-person or a third-person omniscient perspective, Wanna Play Rough plays with the formula some. All three verses are told from the first-person, however, there are two different "I's" to focus on. For example, the first verse is relayed from the eyes of a set of killers waiting for their mark, "I heard he call himself Esco, drive a Lexo, rocks his hat sideways, showing off his waves with a chipped tooth." After this, the second verse introduces that aforementioned chipped-tooth one, Nas, but this time the story is told from his point of view, as he sneaks up on those very same killers, "I carefully creep / take off my shoes, barefoot, nigga, popping my heat." Wanna Play's third act is relayed once more from Nas' POV, but offers a couple plot twists and a bit of the gruesome for good measure. Beyond the story's innovation, Nas' way with words elevates his characters' dialogue from the obvious and mundane to the creative and even alluring, "the Lord is my shepherd, the sword is my weapon / reward is a blessing - that comes from the struggle." In this way, like Jules from Pulp Fiction, if you will, or some great Shakespearean figure, Nas gives his assassins not only a killer's touch but also a poet's tongue.

The ill-fated Death of Escobar album, circa 2001, was to, after the Nastradamus disaster, once more solidify Nas' position in the game, much in the same way Stillmatic eventually did. Obviously, it never came to be. Moreover, whatever tracklisting has been distributed online is fake. However, we can peg a couple unreleased songs recorded from the time as having been meant for that lost album; Tales from the Hood being one. From its suspenseful beat to its menacing hook, and three verses of pure macabre, Tales from the Hood is essential Nas. Having been broken into different chapters, each its own separate story, chapter one first showcases Nas' attention to detail, as everything from haircuts to the dress of the hood's canines are effectively described. Chapter two then demonstrates Nas gift for an intricate rhyme structure, as he weaves the story's plot along a series of double and internal rhymes:

I'm gonna help you nigga, 'cause I see evil's calling you
Sick thoughts make you wanna take ki's from other balling crews
Top of the world's all he views
A puff of weed, nothing but greed
Don't live by the rules

Saving the best for last, the song's third verse epitomizes Nas ability to tap into the dark recesses of his imagination. Experimenting with a kind of expressionism, the ominous moral story Nas unfolds concerns a man haunted by his own fatal actions, "[he] escapes the scene, but he couldn't escape the dreams of how the kid fell when bullets made it too late to scream." Not only can we picture the physical death detailed here, but, as Nas continues, we see, like some ghost stalking in the woods, or a spirit looming overhead, the emotional mind state of the character, so gripped by his past, put on vivid display. Nas then ends this scene on the edge of sanity as only he can.

Nas: Tales From The Hood
Nas: Wanna Play (Rough)

Deja Vu

2006-08-13T09:51:00.000-07:00

Plans for a Cuban Linx 2 have been on the table for some time now. Subsequently, that people have again taken interest in a new Raekwon album, after Immobilarity and The Lex Diamond Story both sunk like the heaviest stones in a sea of indifference, is really proof of the power of the name Cuban Linx. In many ways, it seems like whatever attention has grown out of talks of a sequel really stem from the 90's New York Hip-Hop crowd wanting a return to the RZA-led, sample-heavy coke lyricism that inspired heads over a decade ago, back when Wu was in their prime, the city was still winning, and Ghost, Nas, and Rae had the best product on the block. While all three MC's are still around, that line from Verbal Intercourse especially represents a time when they were each a reputable force, more than just a mere presence in the game. Appropriately enough, with all the talks of a CL 2, question / hopes of a Verbal Intercourse 2 have followed close by. Beyond RZA turning The Emotions If You Think into a genius moment of "how the hell did he . . ." and the chemistry shared between the trio, a return to his Escobar style would give many a reminder of the vintage Nas that propelled "through the lights, cameras, and action, glamour, glitters, and gold" to all-time quotable territory.

Receiving specific honor in The Source and establishing itself as one of the greatest verses ever put down on record, Nas' go on Verbal Intercourse remains a high mark in Hip-Hop lyricism. The verse, in a scant forty-five seconds, manages to encapsulate a lifetime of observation. It's Nas back in stoop philosopher form, capturing the mind state of the street soldier, these prisoners of a multi-faceted war, and the beast right behind them all. Nas' reference to this character of "the beast" harkens back to Memory Lane and Illmatic's Rotten Apple depictions of the city, once more shrouding the scene in a mythic-like cover. But beyond the keen narration or structure of his rhymes, Nas shines simply in the unique way he's able to phrase his thoughts, "the beast'll rise like yeast . . . trick my Wisdom with the system that imprisoned my son . . . things I do is real, it never haunts me . . . props is a true thug's wife . . . from the womb to the tomb, presume the unpredictable -- guns salute life, rapidly, that's the ritual." Fitted with a highly poeticized speech, Verbal Intercourse exemplifies Nas' gift as a storyteller with a maturation to his words often reaching beyond his years.

However, as timeless as this verse has become, according to Raekwon, in XXL's Making of Cuban Linx special, it was not the only one Nas tried out in the studio, "he had already went through three or four rhymes, and he couldn't really see which one he wanted it to be. But I heard it. Once it came out his mouth, I was like, 'that's it.'" While it has never been specifically confirmed, we can safely assume that those other rhymes Nas was going through would show up on the unreleased Deja Vu. Deja Vu, a lost tape fans have replayed over and over despite poor quality or J-Love drops, begins, with only slight modifications, just as Verbal Intercourse did, "through the lights, cameras, and action." However, it's all uncharted land after that first verse. (On the similarly-lost Goodfellas, Nas again reused a portion of this unreleased rap.) From its depressed piano-led beat to its simple but memorable hook, Deja Vu has established itself as arguably the greatest unreleased Nas song. Two verses of near or equal stature to Verbal Intercourse don't hurt either.

Blunts, thugs, and alcohol, what a mixture
Just picture your life as a whole, judged in court they convict ya
They telling you your state of mind like you worthless
So he curses, his mom saying Bible verses
That's all she works with
But miracles never leave the churches
Instead it hits the pockets of the preacher just to purchase
A house with a swimming pool, labels me a sinning fool
I'm just a nigga who inherited a winning jewel
To be a trendsetter when ever subject to
Respect this is and all respect due is the essential
The street life hustle in the struggle broke ghettos
Boiling coke settles slow inside a glass kettle
Darren Levy on my TV, lifestyles of living easy
Got my crew tense plotting the gyps to get whips with BB's
Pushing cakes, new NRX's with temp. plates
Celebrating elevation in the seeds that we make

Escobar life, gems and raw Tims
Gators for pretty boy haters in Vegas
With chicks tricking fortunes
I'm glistening, housing cops whistling
Still I'm drifting in the high, blunts is like insulin
'95-I, I drive, high, zoning
Stash box zone in my trunk, I flash knots, teeth golden
Look at me now, ma, blowing
But how far? Cars, cash and bitches got me out
Wanting things you never dreamed I could have vouch for
Snake niggas slither on their A-Alikes
I ain't a Christian but I find that we're praying like
Never the one to ask all the time to a saint
A mask and a nine I think will make my problems sink
Down a canal similar to how we drink
Distinct diamond-flooded Sphinx shines on my linx
Drug money, snorting bitches in the end of time
Got my mind till I flat line nigga gimme mine

Nas: Deja Vu
Raekwon f/ Ghostface Killah, Nas: Verbal Intercourse
BONUS: Cormega f/ Nas: Goodfellas

Blindfold Me

2006-08-10T18:20:00.000-07:00

Mr. & Mrs. Jones cordially invite you to a mistake . . . Blindfold Me.

Kelis is doing her yelling type quasi-singing thing again that seems to have recently been picked up by the likes of Beyonce, Gwen Stefani, a 2006 Nelly Furtado, and London Bridge's Fergie.

The beat is a cheap Timbaland rip-off. You could argue it will sound good enough in a club setting to be sweat-inducing, but that's a plea copped at any decibel level.

Subject-wise, with its sexual fetishism, Blindfold Me is a bastard child of N.E.R.D.'s Truth Or Dare, featuring Kelis, and a twin to the last Nas and Kelis collaboration, In Public.

Nas, on key, is back with an assured delivery and some freaky tales. He spits a decent double, a few internal rhymes, and a couple good pieces of verbal imagery, but pay attention to his last lines, "gonna surprise you like Hugh Grant in 8 1/2 Weeks." Uh, Hugh Grant was in a movie called Nine Months, and one called Two Weeks Notice. Mickey Rourke was in a movie called 9 1/2 Weeks, and I think that's the intended reference. However, neither actor, to my knowledge nor to imdb.com's, have ever been in a movie known as 8 1/2 weeks. Maybe the blindfold was still on at Blockbuster.

[NAS]
The last thing you get
Is a blindfold and a cigarette
You willing to bet
Like an ocean cruise, mommy
I'm so addictive
How long I've been stroking you
Gives you motion sickness
Grant your wishes
I leave you four senses:
Smelling, feeling, tasting, and hearing
One minute I'm gone - next, I'm reappearing
The bed is the Bentley, I'm doing the steering
I got your eyes in a veil
Let your hands fall over my tattoos
Like you're reading in Braille
Like my wine with a spicy aftertaste
Though you're fine, I like to cover up half your face
And you're blind and can't see, what I'm 'bout to do
Suspense so intense, won't allow you to move
Gonna surprise you like Hugh Grant in 8 1/2 Weeks
Kelis and Nasty

Kelis f/ Nas: Blindfold Me

Five-Finger Discount

2006-08-08T20:52:00.000-07:00

The world of sampling is like a pentagon.

Side 1 - The Outside
The combatants over here believe it belittling to call sampling a skill or an art, let alone music. They'll primarily deride rap for being based off of someone else's notes and say it's reducing another's passion and musicianship to a few simplistic, unoriginal loops. It's riding a real artist's craft, requires essentially no talent but to pick records off a shelf, and relies on stealing in minutes a sound that might have taken years to perfect.

Side 2 - The Inside
The pro-sampling squad would call that previous group myopic and even ignorant. To take what otherwise might have been confined to dusty crates and dilapidated basements and reanimate those records is the greatest favor a modern genre can do to yesterday's flavors. Furthermore, to manipulate, through the use of digital instruments, and reinterpret those sounds into a contemporary context is to satisfy fundamental requisites for musical expression.

Side 3 - The Judicial Side
The reason Ready To Die cannot be purchased from official retailers anymore, the reason The Turtles and De La Soul will be forever linked, and the reason Biz Markie had to insist All Samples Cleared are the same: copyright laws. For a culture that came from siphoning street electricity to fuel the night, for a genre based on the break, with judges stepping in and proving briefcases will always dominate over beatsmiths, Hip-Hop has been crippled, but also strengthened, by the courtroom. In many ways, The Judicial Side reinforces The Outsider's thievery argument, while also making The Insiders push their art, through varying techniques, to another, more creative level.

Side 4 - The Dre Side
Does Daz supplying the melody for Ain't No Fun make you rethink the "Produced by Dr. Dre" Doggystyle credits? Does Warren G bringing in Donny Hathaway's Little Ghetto Boy make you question a legend's legacy? In debating the specific practice of sampling for a record, this is basically the Outside v. Inside debate but amongst Hip-Hop heads: can you separately define a producer, a beatmaker, and a digger? Can you create lasting music simply by finding a song to sample? Is Dre a bully or a genius? As I see it, Hip-Hop has always been based on the how more so than the what, i.e., it's not merely what records you're holding, but how you flip the sample that makes the song. Would Ain't No Fun have ended up as an anthem, would The Chronic have ended up a classic without Dre's touch, without him creating the how? As Snoop astutely put its, "if you brought in the beat, that's all you did, was brought in the beat. You didn't produce this record. This song says 'produced by' not 'brought in the beat by'." Others would disagree still.

Side 5 - The Primo Side
To many heads, "stop snitching" may have more to do with sampling than the streets. Ask DJ Premier, and you'll hear that revealing sample sources is near treasonous. Primo, and his ilk, have tended to come to this conclusion based on two factors: 1) The Judicial Side; with sampling laws enforced more and more, and producers already having to buck their original blueprints, if a record is scrambled to get past the lawyers, revealing it may jeopardize that song's future and that producer's livelihood. 2) It used to be tradition for diggers to make a flee market trek and end up scouring through bins to discover scant seconds of gold. Nowadays, you can just google a sample, right click a song, and, in a matter of minutes, have ended with the same sound a digger might have searched forever for. As in all these examples, the digital age has influenced, for good and bad, the nature of sampling in Hip-Hop music, and where you stand is simply a matter of what side you choose to take.

With all that being said, each point is relevant to today's entry. I have collected, through various sources, twenty-five samples that have all been used on Nas songs. In going over this package, Side 1 will ask if taking the opening notes from a popular Bette Midler song is really to exercise skill. Side 2 will argue that sampling a section of an out-of-print Persuaders album brings attention to a group that could easily be forgotten otherwise. Side 3 will show that with copyrights and royalties now built into the process of getting a record out, a George Michael sample might have ultimately sabotaged a great song from ever being released. Side 4 will have you evaluate a sample used by Dr. Dre and gauge what, if anything, a song is beyond its mere source material. Side 5 will simply scream that disclosing these sources, especially in such an open way as online, is wrong from the start. But that's all for you to decide.

This collection is a combination of samples that either appeared on I Am, Nastradamus, God's Son or Street's Disciple. Because a number of other collections have already been committed to Nas' first two LPs, and then Stillmatic, I wanted to avoid too much redundancy. Also, Firm and QB's Finest-related tracks, along with several songs Nas guested on, have been included. And then unreleased ones are here too. Additionally, I have provided a text file within the rar package which reveals what sample was used for what song, but I want to avoid posting that list here just yet.

[SAMPLES]
Bette Midler - Superstar
Brian Bennet - Solstice
Chris Barber's Jazz Band - Petite Fleur
Donna Summer - Once Upon A Time
Earth, Wind, & Fire - Fantasy
Eddie Holman - I Love You
Eddie Kendricks - The Newness Is Gone
Edna Wright - Spend The Night With Me
Ella Fitzgerald - Russian Lullaby
The Emotions - If You Think
Francis Lai - Stronger Than Us
Fred Wesley & The Horny Horns - Peace Fugue
George Michael - Careless Whisper
Jimmy Smith - I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More, Baby
Kenny Loggins - This Is It
Larry Page Orchestra - Just A Little Bit
Lightin' Rod - Sport
Lyn Collins - Take Me Just As I Am
Mandrill - Love Song
Mary Jane Girls - Musical Love
Norman Connors - Valentine Love
The Persuaders - We're Just Trying To Make It
Southside Movement - I've Been Watching You
Tommy Tate - For The Dollar Bill
Wasis Diop - Dune

Rebel To America: Sample Collection

*NOTE: Very much thanks to the good people at the-breaks.com and my favorite Frenchman, Bounce, for their help in making this compilation.--Fletch