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Interview
by SashaS
21-2-2003
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| Nas is ready to take world's wrongs on |
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Wordy warrior
Nas on rhymes, fame and life in rap’s fast-lane
Nas has been missing from the Euro-side of the world for six years and the simple reason is that he doesn’t like flying. But, he’s made it across despite of the brink-of-war period in the world, to play a couple of shows and do some promotion for his current album, ‘God’s Son’. There is nothing but friendly, courteous and informed chat with one of the rap’s leading figures.
Although Nas, who is dating Kelis (a guest on the current disc’s ‘Hey Nas’), is well known for his flamboyant style of rapping, it is far from the usual verbal fare of ‘bitches’ and ‘hos’ although it remains full of street-vibes, truths and ‘real’ feelings.
“I just deal with reality and I can’t lie on record,” Nas claims, “saying life is peaches and cream and roses, ‘cause it’s not. The things that I’m around, the people that I’m around, the life that I’m around, it comes out in my music. Rap music speaks on violence, not because rap is violent but because the world is violent. Rap music isn’t a story book, it’s life.”
“I think it’s best that rappers,” he offers an all-purpose advice, don’t listen to anyone except our own community ‘cause that’s the people we’re making the music for, we’re painting a picture of our community so that our elders see what’s happening with the youth.”
Suggestion that rap (in general) has turned into just an entertainment is energetically denied by Nas who likened the mood in current Hip-Hop to a return to the radical polemics of the bygone days.
“These were some days, with Public Enemy and KRS-One,” he sighs before adding, “I saw it disappear, that era of Public Enemy had so much to say. They were ‘real’ and really spoke up for real things and not just about themselves. So I wanted to bring that back in Hip-hop and I think that’s coming back in the music now. After ‘Stillmatic’ (2001) rap music was kinda lost because it wasn’t prepared for a ‘street’ album to be so successful... I definitely wanted to put a real stamp on it with ‘God’s Son’.”
Book of rhymes
Nasir Jones was born on 14 September 1973 in Long Island, New York. From the tough Queensbridge housing projects, he started rapping at the age of nine, influenced by his jazz-playing father. In 1991 Nas was part of a chorus line on ‘Live At The Barbeque’ for ‘Breaking Atoms’ collection. Though he was widely applauded for his contribution he failed to build on the impact, drifting through life (of crime) and becoming disillusioned by the death of his best friend Will, and the shooting of his brother.
He may well have stayed on the outside of the Hip-hop game had not MC Serch (Nas had guested on his ‘Back To The Grill’) hired him to provide a solo track for the soundtrack to 1992’s ‘Zebrahead’. ‘Half Time’ was the result and a debut album followed rapidly. Nas, who had by now dropped his ‘Nasty’ prefix, was once described as, “Pound for pound, note for note, word for word, the best MC.”
Despite his protestation that the days of protest-rhymes are not gone, it appears to be replaced by ‘war-of-words’ via media (that some have taken to the fatal extremes), such as Nas’ ruck with Jay-Z last year. Right now we have a dispute-cum-dissing match between The Source magazine co-owner/rapper Benzino and Eminem, who the former referred to as “the rap Hitler”.
“It’s in the air that Hip-hop is changing and everybody wants to be a part of it including The Source and if that means that they’re gonna make controversy off of dissing Eminem, then they’re gonna do it,” Nas reasoned. “It’s really stupid though because, we have someone like Elvis who stole black music... it’s a crime. But here you have Eminem who is signed to Aftermath, a black record label, who puts on other blacks and is not ashamed of who he is but he’s educating blacks and whites on how to communicate with each other...”
“We’re learning about his life, that’s major right there, so how could you really come down on him? He’s a great artist, he’s educating us. We learn a lot through Eminem’s rhymes. It’s a shame but I’ve been through a lot of bullshit, and Eminem will have to go through it too.”
Life in two halves
Alongside his albums Nas worked on many other projects: in 1997, he collaborated with Foxy Brown, AZ and Nature on the ‘supergroup’ project, the Firm. He also worked on a number of soundtracks – ‘Street Fighter’ (1994), ‘The Promised Land’ (1995), ‘Men In Black’ (1997, ‘Ride’ (1998) and ‘8 Mile’ (2002), as well as being part of a fair amount of compilations. Nas launched his Ill Will Records imprint in autumn 2000 with the debut release by his rap supergroup QB Finest, that enjoyed a national hit single with the salacious ‘Oochie Wally’. The label’s first signing, Bravehearts, were featured on ‘Zone Out’ from the ‘God’s Son’.
But, there is all this talk about his retirement. Nas refuted the suggestion that he was headed for an early ‘easy living’ but admitted that he had given the idea some thought during his well-publicised ‘battle’ with Jay-Z and whilst his mother, who recently died, was fighting cancer.
“I was thinking of retirement before but not now,” he explained. “I feel like I got some responsibilities now and it does become a burden, it does become kinda hard. It makes you kinda just wanna chill out because of all the s**t that comes with it, people expect so much out of you and even hate you... A lot of rappers are walking around with guns. But, that’s not my style.”
“There comes a time when you just want to relax and stay home with your family but I manage to do it, I don’t live my life fulltime as a rapper. I have responsibilities and you can’t do it all the time… I don’t go to sleep with a Rolls Royce in my bed, I don’t talk to my daughter like ‘yo, whassup?’ That’s not me, I don’t do that in my private life.”
“I’m a human being and I do this because I have a passion for it - you just have to learn how to separate the two.”
He appears to know the demarcation line.
*
Tour dates:
22 February – Forum, London
24 February – Astoria, London
SashaS
21-2-2003
Nas’ album ‘God’s Son’ is available now on Ill Will/Columbia
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