In this day and age of Hip-Hop, there are still artists from the "Golden Age" that continue to make hits, because they continue to stay relevant. Does these achievements give them the right to do whatever they want?
As we all have seen; the Hip-Hop of today isn't the same as it was in the past. Maybe it was because it was more about having fun, and pure competition rather than images. Days when you could pop in a tape and relate to whatever the artist is saying, whether it's hard times with your family, friends, at work or just the good times that makes you smile. Nas will be one of the few artists that will always be known for those things. From making you laugh at some of the party tracks, to making you think about life and the way you're living.
And with all of those good deeds, Nas has a responsibility to be as true as he can be to the game. But I often wonder why fans of the Queensbridge native never question the choices he's made. Hasn't he been doing what he's always spoke against for 14 years since Illmatic? Lets just go through some of the events that would have any other rapper's name dragged through the mud.
The Fashion
1. When he first came in the game, he made a name for himself in the normal NY attire. Nothing fancy or special; just a long sleeve shirt with a big jacket and some Tims on. Not saying that's how he should stay his whole career; there's nothing wrong with wearing a nice suit, which he also did. But he often spoke on being different. That's something that he's failing to do these days. We've all seen that people are suddenly in a "retro" fad. Dressing in clothes that resembles the late 80's and early 90's, whether it's Adidas track jackets, old sports shirts and hats, Reebok pumps and all types of bright colors. It seems that Nas had maybe put a foot on the bandwagon. Big rope chains from the 80's which were made popular from artists like RunDMC, LL Cool J, and Big Daddy Kane. Along with that, you can also see him with the big shades similar to the ones Kool Mo Dee wore at the same time as the others. Not saying that he conformed or anything, just that it's something he really isn't known for doing.
The Stories
Nas is confident in himself (Which he should be) when it comes to album sales. Stating that he doesn't needs controversy in order to get a buzz or sell a record. But with the last two name of his albums (Hip-Hop Is Dead; Nigger), that's exactly what he's doing. Along with interviews and statements made that fuels the hype before the album drops even more.
3. What verses were really true in the Jay-Z/Nas beef? One of the greatest beefs of all time had personal conflicts and stories all out in the open. Spilling out all information about his wife on the radio and through songs, saying that he's writing other people's lives in his stories and that he contridicts himself when he should to be conscious. Things of this nature would usually kill a person's career no matter how good or how well accepted the person is to the Hip-Hop community. Ja Rule took some of the same blow when 50 Cent came after him, and basically ended his career. Maybe Nas was just an exception.
The Switch Up
4. Just look up to number three.. You remember the beef. You know all the things that went down between the two. I'm not sure about any of y'all but if I had that many problems with one person, I wouldn't make up and be friends with him. Even if we were cool before all of that, it's just too much baggage. I would forgive him of course, but not show up on stage with him or be in videos chilling and toasting drinks. And to also be on the record label that your former rival is/was in charge of? Too many things could've happened with that. Jay could have his album pushed back until the artist just give up. (Kinda like what Joe Budden was dealing with) And to smile in the same man's face, is just surprising to me. I don't think another rapper would be accepted the same way. People screaming "You weak", "Sellout" or even worse would be expected.
5. When "Hip-Hop Is Dead" was waiting to be release, A lot of people (especially from the South) began to debate over the actual state of Hip-Hop's vitality. With that he became the unofficial poster boy, for the "Hip-Hop is Dead" movement. When asked about if the title of the album was directed to the South, he would always deny and say that it is to bring it back to the glory days of Hip-Hop. But when he is asked about the state of the game, he would talk about the younger artists that didn't show respect or think that they would just blow up over night. Which at the time, most of the music was coming from the South.
Now this may seem like I hate Nas, or that I'm dissing Nas. That's the total opposite of how I feel; I'm just pointing out things that caught me off guard, and had me looking at him in a different light. If you think that everything that he did is/was justified, you might be a Stan. But if you can look at it like me, and just see if it's right or anyway that you feel about it. Then you can just see it's all observations. The real question for me is still asked to this day.. Why didn't he catch heat from the fans?
COMMENTS
Interesting...im not really sure how i feel bout this one
The only reason He can never loose me as a fan is because of what he brought to the table...Nas is The One no one else is equivalent to him and that's that nothing else. He might toast a drink with Jay-Z so what? that isn't a valid point for any arguiment to me. Nas has already established himself you should agree there are absolutely nothing at this point in hiphop that he doesnt have the right to point out...Hell even new rappers can do what they want but nevertheless He Would never loose his 16 years loyal fans like me, It just how it is just to answer your question.
Nas a real nigga ..far as i know
Nas a real nigga ..far as i know
nas is an o.g. now period and the dude likes what he likes now, lay off
I honestly believe that Nas didnt get any heat because hes the fu*kin man. one of the best rappers ever jus because of what he has done. By nas appearing in Hovs video and signin onto his label jus tells us that Nas just wants to start makin some dam money. Rappers cant live forever wit the money they made b4. Anyone is Nas position would have done the same.
good read.... you wrote a nice piece. i can agree with some, and others i don't. Nas has shown growth and maturation in a lot of the shit he has done in his actions.
Also, he's doing fashion. He has always done him, but he can go with a fad at times. Nothing wrong with that. He wants to do shit thats hip right now just like the next Joe down the street.
I liked the article. Great topic and alot of the same things had me confused about Nas. I see some things in a different perspective but overall, I enjoyed the read. Do another one.
As far as #1, I sort of agree and disagree... as you can see, as time changes, people change, and it's rare you find someone who'll fully remain how they are, as a person, personality, etc. but I don't think the fashion step is too drastic a step.
#2 could be a planned strategy... who knows? I don't feel so, because Nas has always caught me to be the type of artist to love making music for the sake of it, and probably would always do so as long as there are some loyal listeners, and Hip-Hop won't get tired of him. So I guess it's one I'd let slip
#3... not sure... #4... I agree lol, that's kinda odd, but at the same time, some people just grow up, and don't see reason to hold onto a grudge... personally, me, I don't know if I'd become best friends with an ex-enemy, although I might have a truce in the future with them.
#5... I think it's just coincidence, because if you characterize the entire South, that's talking about artists like Ludacris and although there are a lot of snap music type artists down there, there's a couple few who respect is still given to, because everyone knows their real... Ludacris is the easiest one for me to think of.
Exactly When He Was Young He Was Fresh Out The Flashy World Of Life And He Made Whatever Was Hot For The Money. As Years Go By You Become Wiser And All He Doin Is Schoolin Kats On What He Know And How He Feel...As Far As Jay Is Concerned Nobody Really Know How Their Friendship B4 Rap Was So We Cant Really Judge That
DAmn...finall a topic worth really getting into. Instead of me just doing the norm and blurting out my basic shit... I'm gonan take my time with this one... mainly because I'm a NAS fan and he deserves it....
Get back at chall in a lil while....
I'm about to go to bed...
~Be Eazy!
yup... i thought about this b4, and he has caught heat from other artists like 50 cent for these things. he definitely looks weak in some of these scenarios...
but i think at the end of the day, the way nas has conducted his career is the only reason he is respected to this day...
he doesnt go after the fickle type of fans that would turn on him at the drop of a hat, or should i say blog. he didnt scheme anybody into liking his shit like these here today gone tonight rappers. he earned respect from audiences thru his MUSIC alone
i bought every nas album ever released, not because i like him as a man or the choices he makes in his business dealings, i copped em cuz the nigga is a very dope artist and makes quality music.
thats all that should matter, and thats what makes him classic...
AND I REPEAT CANT WAIT TO BUY N****R AT WALMART!!!!
My money's on Wal Mart not even stocking it. They only sell clean, right?
Topic 1: Nas is takin it back to the old school wit fashion. It's not so much of "what's in" right now. Because right now that rockstar shit is in and I don't see Nas wit Skull and Bone hoodies and tight jeans.
Topic 2-4: With the stoires. You (T.Good) said that the stuff Jay said about Nas' personal life would of destroyed any other rapper. And you used Ja Rule as an example. Well Nas is far from Ja Rule. Also Jay couldn't destroy Nas because people that actually followed both Jay and Nas' career knew that Jay looked up to Nas ever since his reasonable Doubt days. NAs' influence was all over Jay's work (just listen to RD and Vol.1) It was almost like Antonio Traver coming at Roy Jones. Traver studied Roy's whole boxing career and looked up to him and when the time was right he finally challenged Roy. But unlike in boxing where Tarver won, Nas clearly prevailed because Jay woke up a sleeping giant. Also Jay's one line of "you ain't live it you witnessed it from your folks pad, You scribbled in your notepad and created your life" was a very good line but it proves nothing. Did Jay grow up wit Nas since childhood? NO. He said that clearly to discredit Nas' street cred. How would Jay know what Nas did and didn't do from ages 1-16? Also T-Good you said if it were you, you couldn't of squashed a beef that was so personal. Guess what fam, Nas ain't you. LOL He put that shit to the side because he got over it. Nas' former girl Carmen was a smut. She just happened to have Nas' child. She also slept wit AI and Puff. Jay would of had her child too but she had a miscarriage (Jay said it himself on "This Can't be Life"). It happens to all of us fam, we all at least once in our lives mess wit a girl that turns out to be a hoe. Shit Happens.
Topic 5: Jay signing Nas was a good look. It was no "Jay won the war" shit, because at the end of the day it's about rap music not business moves. Jay signing Nas was a business move not a diss record so how could Jay win the war with that? Musically, Nas destroyed Jay. Also HHID being a better album than Kingdom Come was just icing on the cake for Nas. LOL. He had a better album than the Prez. If I'm not mistaken it debuted at #1 and is now platinum too.
One more thing I think you got things confused fam. Nas saying the younger artists not showing respect was aimed at 50 Cent and Dipset who were saying disrespectful shit about both Jay and Nas. It wasn't aimed at the South. It anything it was aimed at NY rappers. Insecure southern artists that caught feelings got offended b/c they thought it was directed at them, if they made good music, they wouldn't have to worry about what Nas said, there would be no insecurity.
Ps: Good topic fam, it made me think. We need more thought provoking topics.
DaGod,
I'm startin' to enjoy your comments more and more, and not for favoritism, but because you use common sense. I tried to focus on the article but duke was givin' me a headache with his hypotheticals, bad spelling and punctuation, and incomplete sentence fragments and clauses.
But on the real, you put duke, T.Good, in his place; saved me from my frustrations!
yea no use in writing out my two pages on this article...
fam (DA GOD) spoke on it jus about as gd as its go get...
great article tho havent seen many of these kind on here...
deeee-troit
This Guy Should Get A Job At A Magazine Or Something.
He's Good.
YO YOUR SHIT WAS VERY THOUGHT PROVOKING. BIG SHOTOUT TO DAGOD! KEEP UP THE WRITING NIGGA!
Yo I co-sign on everything you just said my dude...
THAT WAS REAL....U CALL IT JUST ON TIME.....U SHOULD COME TO THE FORMS...THEY WILL LOVE THAT SHIT U SPIT....TELL DEM I SENT U...
part 1. Everybody styles change up from how they dress. i mean look at jay z when he first started it was more hood clothes now all you relly see him in is that im gettin money look.
part 2. i think in todays market everbody needs controversy to sell. i mean look at 50 cent. every album he picks a beef to hype up his albums
part 3. i think in every real mans life you just get tired of bullshit and goin back n forth with another grown ass man over nothing.
part 4. i think people took it from nas cause he has never tried to be a THUG. with nas it was always about story telling and delivering from a different perspective
part 5. i think this part could be directed at all regions of hiphop not just the south. because nowadays why do cats relly wanna be rappers. for the females and money for the most part.
yo i thought this wuz a good ass article, finally something worth reading
part 5.
The way i see it is that he stopped having to prove himself to his fans a long time ago. Nas's status was always big starting from Illmatic. People paid more attention to his music rather than the media attention/hype and controversy surrounding him (with the exception of Nas vs. Jigga.)Only from HIPHOP IS DEAD to now has it been the media trying to crucify him. And really thats the only attention that hasnt hovered over him in his career until now. this proves that he no longer needs to prove himself to the hiphop community. And as for the south, dont believe the hype cuz its only the so called southern rappers who take offense to hiphop is dead. I live in New Orleans and my people have mad respect for NASTY Nas.
U from the south right? Wasn't "Hip Hop is Dead" banned or boycotted in a lot of southern states?
On top of that, Nas still managed to go plat. Nigga's a beast.
Montega,
Good comment. I appreciate common sense comments like that regarding Nas, especially from someone hailing from NOLA.
yea u rite montega...gd shit up there media trying now aint thy......
the comment u said bout ppl paid more attention to his music pretty much sums it up that was the focal of ah NAS cd we paied attention to his words....
They didn't ban Nas G-O-D, the South just ain't ridin' with many cats from up top anymore, and alot of people did take offense to the album title. It did seem like a shot at the South, but like you said, that was aimed directly at Dipset and 50, anyone who listen to the musik and doesen't just hear the songs could tell that. If you go to Atlanta, you won't here any up north artists on the radio, maybe Jim Jones every once in awhile or 50(rarely). They have their own culture and since it is so popular right now, aren't really into the rest of what's poppin'(for the most part, they're are heads who don't do the regional bias thing all over.). I remember when I lived in Jersey and they didn't play any West Coast during the whole East vs. West Bullshit. You can go to any record store and see that album in the South, it's just no one wants it.
i aint got no problems wit people use that word unless yo ass aint black. its just a word though. i am really not offended by it anyhow cause the very definition of the word does not apply to me.
i think most up north people/rappers agree with that hip hop is dead shit just because it's not the type of hip hop we grew up on up north.
new york cats need to start acting like they from new york. i mean if i want to listen to down south hip hop i want to hear it from someone that is actually from the south. the whole movement started in new york, therefore ny's mc's need to step their collective game up. i love ny hip hop, just not when them niggas act like they from alabama,mississippi, or georgia.
yea, everybody changes their style.. nobody should be dressing the same for 17 years.. as far as using controversy to sell, im not sure what was in his mind when he put out hhid, he may have just been trying to make waves, or maybe thats just how he felt.. possibly both.. i was feeling the hip hop is dead thing though cuz i get what hes saying, and we r in the era of ring tone rappers... as for nigger, yea thats most likely just to start some shit.. but for his true fans it doesnt really matter what his album title is, im still gonna by it no matter what.. for #3, nas is the best person named in this section so that explains itself.. #4, some ppl just dont hold on to stuff like that, i mean what happened happened, and lets move on... and #5 which is my favorite because i agree with him here, he says that he doesnt blame the south for killing hip hop, he blames the ring-tone rappers... just because most of em are from the south doesnt mean anything.. i hate all those 1 hit wonder bullshit rappers, but i dont hate the south.. if he said it was the souths fault that would bring in ugk, outkast, and scarface to name a few.. besides there are some of em that aint from the south (mims)
Raiseup,
Just to add to that comment, Nas has some NASTY COLLABOS with people FROM THE SOUTH, including: Scarface, Ludacris, Jagged Edge, J.D., Lil' Jon, Missy, and Timbaland, to name a few.
One more thing T. Good, did you take this topic from a XXL or Source mag? I could of sworn I read some shit like this before in one of those mags.
I could care less if you did, I was just wondering. It's still a good topic regardless.
Nah, Jokesta wanted this topic...
But I respect y'all opinion and everything..
These are just my views and all of y'all are entitled to y'all own.
I'm a young dude, so it's always cool to see some
constructive feedback and hopefully learn a little something more.
Y'all keep doing what ya doing.. I'm Out..
T.Good,
I ain't mad @ that... Jokesta set u up to sink or swim, lol, hahahaha... THAT'S MESSED UP JOKESTA!! He gave you one of the most POWERFUL ARTISTS (and not just hip-hop, either) to get ya ears wet with. Since you don't mind constructive criticism, here's some:
1) Spell check your articles PRIOR to posting them.
2) Revise your articles PRIOR to posting them.
3) Have someone else edit or proofread your articles PRIOR to posting them.
4) REALLY think about what you want to and what you're going to say BEFORE you say/write it.
5) I applaud you for doing something positive and commend your effort. I SIMPLY WANT you to get better so don't be offended; just GET BETTER. FEEL ME?
Yea I'll work on it some more..
I knew I was gonna get a lot of heat for it,
But I rather get it all now. I'm just starting so
I thank you for the advice..
But as for some of the people saying
"Ahh He stupid" or "They just letting anybody"
That's really not bothering me, so continue to give me replies.
wow this is a really good article. nice to get a break from all the wayne hate too.
i gotta say, im not very sure on how to feel about it tho. im a big Nas fan but i have questioned some of the things he did. not to the point where i lose respect for him tho.
the way i see it, no body is perfect. people may contradict themselves sometimes and make some mistakes. that jay z thing is kinda messed up tho.
i dunno, mayb im a stan...
greatness1031,
Why would you trash yourself based on someone else's opinions? Would you punch yourself in a street fight? You have the right to feel how you feel and express your own opinions and you don't have to clown yourself when doing so.
lol, i dont even kno what a stan is and i could care less. i dont consider it a serious insult
Nas gets a pass on his switchups because he has earned the right to. In true hip hop circles Nas is considered just as much a pioneer of hip-hop as Run DMC and Kool. The man dropped Illmatic 15 years ago and its still banging harder than 70% of the music on F.Y.E.'s shelves. And remember, Nas traded jabs with Tupac and ran the streets with Biggie. How many rappers, with a revelant carrer today, can say that? Nas will forever be a legend of hip hop so if he wants to step out of his usual boundaries then that's ok by me.
As far as the hip hop is dead talk, personaly, I think the lyrics are. But the beats and production is at an all time high. It seems in today's world of hip hop, all you need is a catchy hook mixed with a little bottle poppin, dope boy bragging, and excessive gun talk to have a successful record. But then again maybe we the consumers are to blame. In one breath we will say down south rappers like lil wayne are killing hip hop but we will have his ringtone on our razor. We will blast in on the internet blogs but yet we check datpiff for a his new mixtape. Hate or love it people hip hop may be dead and we are the one's who killed it. If we stop buying in to the very things that we claim kill hip hop, then maybe the true revival can begin.
I agree for the most part
stop downloading music and hip hop wont die. internet=the death of hip hop not these fluke ass artisti cant even call half of them rappers let alone artist.they put the real shit on the shelves just like the fake shit pimpin get ya mind right.
to quote on the article good speculation or som shit like that im smacked and about to sleep 7 0 tre all day
NAS IS RAW UNPREDICTABLE.
I respect your point of view man but I didnt see anything really that would make me be like damn! nas is so fake! the nigga should be able to wear anything he wants without me giving a fuck. As far as the thing about him signing with jay I think I speak for alot of people when i say that we were fucking HAPPY to find out we were going to get a collabo out of them niggaz. You prove a point when you say that he seems to be using publicity as his marketing scheme- however- this IS nas- he may just have a very good message to send behind naming his album nigger. for instance- the name hip hop is dead woke alot of niggas up- it wasnt just publicity- the nigga always got something to say. and here is an answer to the REAL QUESTION for you- he didnt catch heat because when you listen to a nas record- you feel that shit. thats his job. he does it well. the world is yours. end quote.
Gethip313,
STRONG comment, my good man. All I can say is, "Well done!"
cosign lol he still the best alive fuck it
co sign, nas still the best
"Ja Rule took some of the same blow when 50 Cent came after him, and basically ended his career. Maybe Nas was just an exception."
Maybe Nas is actually a skilled MC...in the current climate it doesnt matter if your real, fake or a mix of them both with hip-pop selling to the kids and taking over the radio I'd rather listen to a "real" rapper anyday that actually has some pride in his lyrical skill and wordplay.
Co-Sign on that whole controversy thing but I honestly beleive he wants to make a difference within the hip hop game with these statments and not just sell records...
H
"Maybe Nas is actually a [SUPREMELY] skilled emcee."
Whew, I HAD to prop that JUST for that sentence... Good job, hardcorehal.
No matter how any of yall look at it Jay z won the war. The man ended up being his damn boss. Actions speak way louder than words people...
yo i disagree. like jay and nas said with an artist of nas's callober it's more lilke a partnership.
him signing nas was, yet again another example of the tremendous amount of respect and admiration he feels toward nas. props to jay for humbling himself and signing nas. since you dont seem to remember 2001/2002- nas won, he even created a new term- "DAMN!!! HE ETHERED HIM SUN!!!"
jay is a top MC, a rich nigga and a smart business man. jay lost the war to nas.
and since you were sticking up for webbie and booty in the last article you spoke on- what the fuck do you really know about hip hop anyway nephew?
To : GetHip13
nas definitely didnt win that war, that's all jay. Nas put the rest of his career in Jay's hands, how did nas win that war????
from gethip313:
Nas put jay-z whole carreer on hold for a hot minute after ether. He had jay head in a vise after that shit. THAT is the war im speaking of.
As for jay signing nas to def jam how is that war? my nigga thats called peace. He was far from having any control over nas carrer. It would be different if jay had creative control over nas music but he didnt. as president of def jam all jay could have done to hurt nas is not release nas records. Which a president would not do. trust me that nas wouldnt have signed that deal if it wasnt a safe move for him.
I repeat- nas won that war. dont get it twisted- ether was that death blow.
I think where you're mistaken at is when you confuse def jams business status with music. jay could be the president, A&R, marketing guru, manager and accountant of nas but it still wouldnt change the music they made in the war we were speaking of.
NAS IS ONE OF THE BEST OUT. BUT WHEN I FOUND OUT THU NUGGA LINKED UP WITH JAY-Z. I COULD HAVE PUNCHED NAS IN HIS FUCKING MOUTH. I THINK HE SHOULD HAVE KEPT HIS QUENNSBRIDGE FINEST SHIT GOING.
aight i disagree with this i mean remember he said hip hop is dead he wants to try and bring hip hop back so he might wearing all those big chains like back in the day to show his love for the old rap and to show that he still loves the old rap and hes not changing his mind about it and we all know nas won the war but oh well they are friends again it takes a man to say yo lets finish this and thats what jay and nas did and again with the albums hip hop is dead and nigger hes just trying to get peoples attention even without controversy you would listen to nas right? in my opinion people didnt say anything about it cause he has to much respect for anyone to just hate on him for that you know im not hating on this article its interesting but im just putting in my opinions
this was really poorly written. also, i don't get the point of this blog.smh. really i'm trying. anyway, Nas transgressed all the fads of hip hop until this point. ur also looking at the Jay and Nas thing from the wrong perspective. they made a mutual decision to resolve their issue. that is a good thing. lots of bad things were said and lets not forget, that Jay lost that battle. Ether is arguably the greatest battle rap/diss song ever. and by arguably, i mean only HIT EM UP OR NO VASELINE can be mentionned. so, jay-z ( im a big fan 2) is probably the one who put the most pride apart(not a bad thing. What ever your attempt was mr blogger, you missed the rim, overthrew the receiver or thrw a pitch into the bacstop. this was terrible and with no purpose. write it over.
Jay,
"this was really poorly written. also, i don't get the point of this blog.smh. really i'm trying."
Lol, I see you and I are on the same page. But rather than just being negative and a downer, I gave duke some constructive criticism in response to DaGod calling him out up above. I mean, the kid DID put out the effort, but there was no "follow through", you know?
1) "Not saying that he conformed or anything, just that it's something he really isn't known for doing."
- What??? I swear Jokesta's starting to let ANYONE write editorials. First of all, Nas had the big ass QB chain since '95-96... Second of all, this article is filled with CLAUSES and incomplete sentences; it's as if NO ONE EDITED IT. But hey, maybe it's just me...
2) "But with the last two name of his albums (Hip-Hop Is Dead; Nigger), that's exactly what he's doing."
- What??? Just because he named his albums those titles and a media frenzy erupted, it doesn't mean that's what he intentionally set out to do. It just simply shows how RELEVANT Nas actually is, when merely his "album TITLES" create pandemonium.
3) "Spilling out all information about his wife on the radio and through songs, saying that he's writing other people's lives in his stories and that he contridicts himself when he should to be conscious."
- What??? This is not even a sentence. I would call it a run-on but it doesn't even qualify as that. What is this guy, T.Good talking about?? C'mon dude, if you're gonna do a HYPOTHETICAL EDITORIAL about the GREATEST EMCEE OF ALL TIME, COME CORRECT.
I choose to not go on; I have a headache. I'll respond to other's comments. This guy T.Good needs work... I'm NOT an english teacher, but if someone needs practice/experience writing editorials, why not have him start out with someone boring like Weezy, 50, Soulja Boy, or Jeezy, and NOT Nas, damn it?
Yeah, boring like weezy. Dont get me wrong bcuz I like Nas but if this article was about Wayne you would bash the shit out of him, but I wont get into that.
Dude made some valid points in the article, but some of it was confusing. But look at it like this Charismatic. What's wrong with doing the article on Nas? If it wasn't done then none of these things would've been questioned, or even noticed right? The purpose of the article was to be thought provoking, and it was wasn't it? If it was done on Wayne then it wouldnt matter since yall criticize him all the time, but the almighty Nas. Who would've thought someone would do the unthinkable?
You just have to look at it from the perspective as someone who is not offended by any negative pointed at Nas and be a little open minded about it.
Overall good editorial, and it was thought provoking which means it achieved its purpose.
HMMMMMMMMMMMMMM...........I dont know bout this one some of the things make me wonder bout Nas....I def scratched my head when i turned to B E T and saw them (jay-z) hugging an kissing buh.....u wuld make up with sum1 too if u was gettin multi millions for it......buh...iont know nas is straight.....so i dont know who i wanna cuss out for this one.....Ill wait for some mo comments........lol
good read but it sounded like he was nit picking wit the fashion shit come on he can wear what he want! everything else was pretty much on point he brought his opinion across well nas still the best rapper alive
This was the most bullshit article ever. Poor "journalism" even by the standards of this website. What "TGood" refuses to acknowledge is that people change, mature, and grow as they age. I mean, I'm only 20. I got out of the streets, am currently going to college, and by no means am I even close to the person that I was three years ago as a senior in philly.
What keeps the black community down is that we refuse to grow. And we chastise our "heroes" (I consider Nas a hero) for not being exactly like the people they were when we were first introduced to them. Take Ice Cube. The realest hardest rapper ever. He grew up, let go of some of his animosity, and is now bettering his life and the lives of others both white and black.
Y'all need to get your education game up, and quit this bullshit.
DangerLAsoul,
I ain't know you were from Philly!? Anyhow, yep, I'm from the inner city, too... the grimiest of all hoods, right next to yours, growing up between Camden AND Philly, were most of my fam is from. I went to Camden, ahem Iraq High School, and then to Camden County College and then Temple University and graduated in '04 with a B.S. in Computer Science. I now work in Air Traffic Control, testing the equipment used in all FAA regulated airports in America. So yes, we all change and our "hoods" DO help MOLD us but don't have to HOLD us, so to speak.
I LOVE Nas and will defend him to the death. On the other hand, I LOVE MUSIC, in general... With that being said, as I promised last week, here's my FINALIZED list of albums I purchased in 2007 and my rankings, IN ORDER of MY personal satisfaction and OPINIONS.
Don't count:
[1.] The Score - The Fugees; '96
[2.] The Great Adventures of Slick Rick - Slick Rick; '88
01. Back To Black - Amy Winehouse
02. Frank - Amy Winehouse
03. The Big Doe Rehab - Ghostface Killah
04. The Dutchess - Fergie
05. Corinne Bailey Rae - Corinne Bailey Rae
06. As I Am - Alicia Keys
07. I Am - Chrisette Michelle
08. Rap-Murr-Phobia: The Fear of Real Hip-Hop - Keith Murray
09. Red Gone Wild - Redman
10. Free At Last - Freeway
11. B.A.R.S. The Barry Adrian Reese Story - Cassidy
12. T.I. Vs. T.I.P. - T.I.
13. The Cool - Lupe Fiasco
14. The Solution - Beanie Sigel
15. Growing Pains - Mary J. Blige
16. American Gangster - Jay-Z
17. The Makings Of A Man - Jaheim
18. M.A.D.E. - Scarface
19. Extraordinary Gentleman (Super Gangster) - Styles P
20. 8 Diagrams - Wu-Tang Clan
21. Finding Forever - Common
22. Just Like You - Keyshia Cole
23. Eardrum - Talib Kweli
24. The Real Thing: Words and Sounds, Vol. 3 - Jill Scott
25. From Nothin' to Somethin' - Fabolous
NOBODY CAN SAY I DIDN'T SUPPORT IN '07... I BOUGHT all these cds.
P.S. Albums I bought as gifts for others: B'day (Deluxe Edition) - Beyonce; Special Occasion - Bobby Valentino, Street Love - Lloyd; Face Off - Bow Wow & Omarion; Good Girl Gone Bad - Rihanna; Amy Winehouse's DVD
cosign thats a good point
I grew up in camden and moved to west philly when i was 9, so I know where you stand. I peeped ya list, some interesting choices, but one veto. Lupe's the cool is