Last Friday, Nas released a new track titled “Surviving The Times” that closely echoes another track titled, “As the Art Fades Away,” by rapper Wordsmith, and produced by Strada. Word was reluctant to speak on the issue since he’s an admitted Nas fan and doesn’t want to jump to any conclusions. Humble in his approach, he had this to say in an interview:
“I wrote my track ‘As the Art Fades Away’ in 2006, as an unofficial version that I actually recently re-recorded for my debut album ‘The Next Level Experience’ on Saturday, October 6th until I heard about this. My in house producer Strada made this beat a year ago and I am here to just state the facts and not attack Nas, so I just ask that everyone judges this fairly. No producer is going start a track the exact same way and no producer is going use the same sounds, loops, rhythems, etc. to create a track. My version starts off with a sample of my own voice saying ‘The pop rap charts make the art fade away’ followed by “That’s the whole tragic point my friend.” Now, whoever produced Nas’s version, and I heard its Chris Webber, which sounds rather odd to me, would not start there track off with the same sample unless they heard it somewhere else first. To me they strung the sample out from there, so it would sound different, but the piano, horn, and baseline are exactly the same way my producer laid his.”
“Two, my producer used “What Would I do” as the hook part of my song and I Chose to fill it in by saying Imagine if certain rappers never did what they did, how would the game be. Nas’s version uses the same concept, but the producer uses a different section of the song where its says,”What Would I do,” from the Wiz and just looped the hook. I have never officially released this track and it can only be heard on my myspace page. I put it out last year because I felt the game really needed it, but I like I said I have re-recorded it with no samples and a female singing on the hook, so it is radio ready to be dropped as my first official single on December 1st. I still filed it with ASCAP last year and anybody can look up my name at ascap.com to see I registered it last year along with the BDS.”
Wordsmith continued to elaborate and said, “Furthermore, Nas has the same concept as me and I just want to say this again, no two rappers are going write about the same thing when they hear a beat and no two producers are going to produce a beat the same exact way. With that said, that’s what makes music unique; the fact that any musician has the creative freedom to create something special from scratch, that’s what keeps music fresh. I don’t really know what else to say, but that I am disappointed in one of our greats, but at the same time, I do not know Nas or Chris Webber for that matter, so I can’t really say what happened. I do know the Wiz movie has been out there since Nas and I were kids and millions of producers could of sampled it, but my Producer Strada had the idea first, so that tells me something, but until the facts come out I am just speculating.”
Nas has yet to comment on the issue.
We hear at Defsounds will let YOU be the judge…
Wordsmith: As The Art Fades Away
Nas: Surviving The Times
COMMENTS
Both tracks are hot. I think they should just ride with it. Hip Hop. That's what it is
obviously like duh!! NaS is so stuck for ideas (NOT) that he jacked wordsworths track (who cares) made it way fresher, (tighter lyrics, better produced and way more soulful) and will get away with it too, me'sa thinkin wordsworth needs to get lyricists lounge back up n running if he to make any bread rather than sturrin some shizit!!
cwebb fault all day
keep Nas outta that, talk to the producer.
who are you anyway ?
Man Aint Nobody Take Nothin From You Make A New Song
if u look at it 4rm his perspective he tryna get n an he see a nigga use da same shyt he do? id b wonderin sum shyt 2 but he handlin it da rite way doe aint no need 4 uneeded beef with a livin legend dis aint really dat bigga deal sumin dat can b handled behind da scenes ya dig
I C What You Sayin But You Can't Say Nothin About The Way Nas Rapped On It Or Involve Nas At All For That Matter Because He Not The One Who Make The Beats...N He Been Rappin Wit The Same Style Since How Long
NIGGAS WILL DO ANYTHING FOR PUBLICITY. FAGGOT ASS BMORE BITCHES. MURDA CAPITAL BABYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hell Yea... B-More Represent... Bodymore, Murderland
fuck an oriole
lol bodymore murderland, lmao would u knock it the fuck off, this is the internet not some corner.
bmore
yea they are the same but nas is nas you cant hate on him suk a dick wordsmith
Na but on the real tho... they did str8 up jack Wordsmith shit... I mean he cant say shit to Nas cuz Nas just goin with the flow but imagine if you were a rapper tryin to make it and you got a hot track and then a rapper that has already been way past making it steals it and releases it before you... think bout that
Word yo...that is real weird in my opinion...but it happens once in awhile. What, he gonna wage war vs Nas and get carved up? Back to the drawing board patna
Cris webber produced Nas' joint. Its not like he bite the baltimore bamma. Ayo B More hands up, aight, hands down money tucked
Its just coincidence with the soul sample, Either way this nigga Wordsmith is
Seeking nonsence as for recognition.
Though he probly aint neva gonna sell shit..Maybe 2.000
But thats it i dont think he have a chance of even getting billboard status.
Keep it 100
I LIKE how it is in Jamaica... All the artists use the SAME riddims (or beats) to see who can make the hottest tracks... Nobody gets labeled a "biter"... Either you make a hotter or a weaker cut on that riddim.
Yea they used the same sample but the drums and everything sound completely different to me. Aint no reasons to jump to conclusions though.
you gotta pin that one on C. Webb, Nas spit his own shit he prolly aint know bout dude song
yea thats what i mean...i dont think nas would take someone elses track and im not sayin this dudes makin this up...thats all on the producers...even so people get the same ideas all the time
guess Nas aint so creative after all... HAH
what era are you from?
how can u say Nas aint creative? Go listen to Illmatic plus all Nas albums. Or will u then say that Nas copied Worsmith on Illmatic? lol...
Ur an idiot-
Its not like Nas stole dudes lyrics- C-Webb just jacked his beat- lmao
Yall are funny. Nas steals a track and yall tell wordsmith to suck it up, but if it was any other rap nigga stealing a track he would be flamed to hell.
if it wasnt for big nas would be the goat, ive never even heard of turdsmith, if you had something that hot wouldnt you want to release it?
i would imagine both their producers heard the track from an old movie or something and they just made the same track...it happens all the time i dont see what the big deal is...nas got to it first and released it first...the guy wasnt being an asshole about it he was just saying that they had the same track
WORDSMITH VERSION IS BETTER THAN NAS'S ITS MORE UP BEAT
Dey reel close except nas version is quicker i hope its jus a coincidenceO(spellin is a muthafucka
so yea chris webber jackn beats lol
but yo i just listened to kid, yo he sound nice, real rap, but the nas track is a lil better, more up to date vocals
Wayne jack other people beats and put it his mixtapes people love it. Its not he bit lyrics he probably heard the song liked and decided rap on it from a legends perception and Wordsmith should be happy this is the most publicity he ever got.
Listen to Wayne n Juelz new song did Lil mama just not use the same sample
I have a song with the exact sample but the beats totally different!!!
Producer's ALWAYS SELL shit they without telling the artist.
Shit the boys that did the "Same Girl" song had their shit sold to R.Kelly and Usher and didn't even know about it.
The game is grimey!
~Be Eazy!
producers, producers, producers.... yeah thats crazy. but nas's is definitely better. wordsmiths isnt garbage but its not touchin nas's. and its not just because hes nas. its because the lyrical content just flows better. the other dude sound like hes just talkin...
Exactly! I couldnt have said it any better.
Both versions are dope. But Nas' version is better. I say that because its harder, and more gritty. I like that hard, gritty shit. Plus, u can really feel it from Nas. Its like he puttin everything into it. Not saying Words aint, but Nas' version is rougher and harder. By the way, neither one of them producers used that sample first. I heard that beat years ago, like back in the late 90's, early millenium years. If I aint mistaken, I believe YaggFu Front, DITC(Diggin In The Crates, for u niggas that dont know), Brand Nubian, Trendz of Culture, DJ Spinna, Kool Keith and Ultramagnetic, Jurassic 5, The Alkaholics, or somebody like that used that before. Anyway, its one of them groups, though. They did that beat before. And that sample is so ill. Thats Nipsy Russell singin in that sample. They ripped that straight out the movie! Nipsy was playin the tin man and thats when they was on their way to see the wiz! Thats a little history lesson for yall! Go get that movie! Its classic! And I agree with Charismattic. Its all about who made the song the hottest! Thats Y appreciate Reggae artists. They dont call it biting, they just do their thing! We need to embrace that. Thats the same thing as these niggas doin mixtapes. Some of them make a better song out of the track then the original artist! Overall, great minds think alike, and neither one of those producers used that beat first. They both sampled the main loop of the beat from the movie, as well as the singin of the movie. Do your history.
nas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!wordsmith cool but he didnt freak it like nas. words subjects were all about the past hoot hoot.
lyrically Wordsmith's track aint closer to Nas as for the beat he gotta go face Chris Webber if not so its a publicty
THE TWO SONG CONCEPTS ARE NOTHING ALIKE! NAS IS TALKING ABOUT SURVIVING THE GAME PERSONALLY(YOU KNOW HIS EXPERIENCES COMING UP)WORDSMITH IS TALKING ABOUT THE GAME AS IT IS(YOU KNOW COMPLAINING).I THINK NAS VERSION IS BETTER AND AT THE SAME TIME WORDSMITH IS TRIPPIN CUS NAS TALKS ABT SOMETHIN TOTALY DIFFERENT AND IF ANYBODY SHOULD BE CALLED OUT FOR STEALING ITS CHRIS WEBBER BUT AT THE SAME IT ISNT WORDSMITH SAMPLE SO SHIT HAPPENS SO WORDSMITH GOTTA CHECK HIMSELF BEFORE HEARIN SOME OF THIS
Whenever he wants a debate, I'll go through it. I know Wordsmith test scores.I know what he did, what he's trying to be ... I'm a psycho. I'm an American psycho. "Come to Queensbridge, out there. Come to Jamaica, Queens .Do a show in Red Hook ." ... I ain't got no time to talk to a uncivilized savage. his dude will go through all kinds of extremes for publicity.I will tell him I'm an American psycho,I'm his worst nightmare. "They Shootin' " is just the beginning.
I don't downplay nothing, that's who I am.When he wants to come holla at me, be ready for Hannibal Lecter.He don't deserve an intelligent explanation.I'll bite his nose off! He wants to talk to me like a animal? I will be — but only to him. With everybody else I'll be a gentleman, including his wife. That's right — I'm crazy. That's how we should be to him. He isn't here to help us, and we don't need his help. hahahahahah
Now u know that was about Bill O'Reilly, not Wordsmith. Check that out before u post that.
Sewamouf actin like he a smart dude,everybody know it was abt Bill Oreilly but Nas gonna turn it on that dude
i think yaw takin dis 2 personal it aint nuthin but a nigga tryna get n da game an a fukin mix-up between producers nas prolly dnt even no dude he jus does the lyrics so chris webber or whoeva did the dam beat is responsible but again it aint dat serious
co-sign you birdman
IS THAT U IN THE PICTURE?
thirsty ass nigga lol
dig this, Wordsmith has already released an apology statement to nas, claiming it was a misunderstanding, so this should be percieved as old news
MY POINT EXACTLY
You Dudes Are Clowns. Of Course the Track Was Jacked, By Salaam Remi Or Whoever Did Nas Tracks. He Doesnt Have Telekinesis, It Happens All the time, Producers Keep Their Ear To The Street And Find The Next Hot Concept. I'm Not Saying It Was Nas Idea, Or The Producers Idea, However It Was Bitten. And Who Is WordsWorth? Whats Wrong With You Dude? Words Is A Ill Lyricist, Who Has Integrity, And Ill Concepts, With Some Of The Dopest Lyrics, That The Mainstream Has Never Heard. Just Because You're Not On Top, Doesnt Mean You're Irrelevant. This Is HipHop, And As A Fan, I Dont Have A Problem With Somebody Letting People Know Whats Good. Both Tracks Are Hot, I Like How Words Put His Together And Gave Props To The Pioneers, By Asking Blatant Questions. Nas Was A Little More Lyrical, With More Energy, But His Story Telling Is Becoming 2 Redundant.
Wordsmith was rather biting hip hop is dead dont get me wrong