Nas is rap’s elder statesmen. Influential, charismatic, and fearless, he’s left a blueprint for how older artists can lead the youth.
Everything in life involves politics even when the field’s primary goal is to entertain. In the field of rap where the people cast their votes for whose on top of the polls and the rappers vye for power, it becomes more necessary for their to be someone who can keep the peace and inspire the players to keep creating. Nasir Jones, better known as Nas, has been that in rap for sometime. Whether it was him squashing his well publicized beef with Jay-Z in 2005, or collaborating with younger and older artists who publicly dissed him (Jeezy, 21 Savage, 50 Cent, MC Shan), he’s always embraced his role as rap’s most influential spokesman in an age where generational conflict grows by the day.
Yesterday, Nas released the last of a six album run, entitled Magic 3, on his 50th birthday, capping off a legendary creative spurt that fostered collaborations with artists like Lil Wayne, 50 Cent, Lauryn Hill, Eminem, EPMD, and the Firm. Inspired and focused, his work with producer HitBoy has garnered him critical acclaim including a Grammy award in 2021 for Best Rap Album. But in spite of all his commerical success, Nas’ strength lies in his ability to not only broker peace between fans of golden era rap and now, but also in his influence in inspiring older artists to be fearless with their catalogue.
Destroy and Rebuild
In the almost thirty years since Nas became a fixture in rap, he’s encoutnered his fair share of well publicized disputes with his peers, many of whom took issue with the attention he generated as well as other artistic issues including his subject matter. As a teenager who witnessed the beef between Nas and Jay-Z, I, like many others, saw how violent their situation got and worried if it could ever be resolved peacefully.
Even when the two moved past the situation and collaborated in 2005 on the song “Black Republican”, it wouldn’t be long before Nas found himself in the middle of more controversy with the release of his album, Hip Hop is Dead. In 2006, upcoming star Jeezy took issue with Nas’ statement and got on the radio to diss him, questioning his street authenticity as well as criticizing his thoughts. Rather than respond on wax though, Nas reached out to Jeezy and collaborated with him on the monster single, “My President is Black”.
“Its’s a lot of people in this game that I don’t have respect for, but the more conversations Nas and I had, he’s the big homie. He called me and walked through his thought process. I felt so crazy on that phone. That to me is what leading by leadership is about.”
Most recently, 21 Savage made the news when he expressed his thoughts on Nas and his popularity in the 2020s era. Nas once again approached the situation as a mature OG and reached out, creating a song “One Mic, One Gun”.
Unlike many of his peers, who never struggle to find a moment to criticize the youth or jump on songs to attack foes, he instead looks for any moment to work with his critics while working with the youth. A quick look at his collaborations show a whos who of New York artists from Fivio Foreign, ASAP Ferg, ASAP Rocky, and A Boogie with Da Hoodie. Last, Nas invited former foe, Cam’Ron, to perform at the Hip Hop 50 Live concert, which generated admiration and love from Killa who thanked him on his social media.
Made You Look
Whether you love or hate him, Nas has done an excellent job positioning himself on everyone’s rap radar especially as more of his peers play the background. Whether it came from business savvy (Crypto, Cigars, Venture Capital), his relationships with entertainers like Nicki Minaj and ex wife, Kelis, or his claims he popularized the fade, he’s become a part of not only the New York rap scene, but hip hop by and large. His output and visibility, and his popularity with fans makes him one of the most recognizable figures in the culture despite how much younger the genre seems to be.
Full Circle
Nas has also used his stature to encourage his fellow artists, many of whom find themselves on the latter part of their career, to release music and move past the perceived barriers and attitudes of the time.
In a recent interview with Billboard, Nas said,
“ I want more people to join me from my era. I want to hear how people feel. I want to hear the art, not the trends.”
Ultimately, Nas’ example is simple: Make impactful music, and then once you obntain a position in the culture, make music that impacts you. Never forget to help those underneath you, and look to make your enemies friends whenever possible. It’s not magic, but it’s something that only kings can do skillfully.
Wright World 