DA BEST MC & RAPPER ALIVE NAS

DA BEST MC & RAPPER ALIVE
Nasir 'Nas' JonesSeptember 14, 1973-Present
BIOGRAPHY Nasir Jones is one of the finest lyricists in all of hip-hop music. Known commonly as Nas, Jones has released six major albums since 1994. His first release, Illmatic, was a highly popular debut in which he painted brilliant lyrical depictions of the inner-city and everyday life in the ghetto. Hailing from the Queensbridge neighborhood of New York City, Jones was influenced heavily by his father who is a jazz musician. Illmatic was a smash success. Despite containing only nine tracks and just over 40 minutes of playing time, his debut album was hailed as one of the greatest hip-hop albums ever created. The heavily themed urban anthems accurately portrayed his life as a street hustler and the struggle to survive in the violent surrounding of New York's concrete jungle. Nevertheless, Illmatic signified the beginning of a long career in rap and hip-hop for Nas. In 1996, Nas released his second album, It Was Written, which became a multi-platinum success. While heavily panned among critics for its Mafia depictions, Nas continued his lyrical exploits as an experienced 22 year old. Nas' second album was also overshadowed by the burgeoning East-West rivalry personified through the gangsta rap of Death Row Records artists Snoop Dogg and 2Pac and Bad Boy Records artist Notorious B.I.G. In 1999, Nas released two more albums, I am... and Nastradamus. I am... fell victim to massive bootlegging on street corners and many of Nas' finest tracks had to be cut from the final edition. Nastradamus which followed I am..., focused on the upcoming Millenium as well as his personal predictions for the future. Following a verbal altercation with one of hip-hop's most well known figures, rapper Jay-Z, Nas released the album Stillmatic. In the past three years, Nas released God's Son, as well as a handful of mixtapes and remix albums of his early works. Many of these albums were popular in the East Coast club scene and still find heavy rotation across the nation on radio stations. Nas has always been hailed for his lyrical mastery. On nearly every album Nas advocates a change in the current social climate. One of his most recent successes, "I Can" off the God's Son album exemplifies this trend. "I Can," "Ghetto Prisoners," "New York State of Mind" (Pt. I and II), "Affirmative Action," and "If I Ruled The World," among others, idealize his demand for a change in the lifestyle of the hip-hop culture. Most notably, Nas promotes youth education, drug awareness, and comprehension of cultural identity. His songs eloquently surmise his passionate views but serve also as a social commentary for today's current events. Nas routinely illustrates multiple perspectives in his songs. For instance, his songs "I Gave You Power," and "Rewind" are each uniquely dictated. In "I Gave You Power," from the It Was Written album, Nas rhymes from the perspective of a gun. Similarly, he uses this style in multiple works. In "Rewind" on the Stillmatic album, Nas again reveals his one of a kind talent. The entire song is rhymed in reverse. His ability to vary the style and perspective of rap he uses in each song puts Nas in a class by himself.
LYRICSOnce hailed as "one of the most important writers of the century" by the Village Voice, Nas reputation as a brilliant wordsmith is renowned. As a fan of Nas, his ability to tell complex stories through rhyme is what attracted me to his music. Some of my favorite Nas lyrics are listed below:
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As the night close down on the Earth like gray dark rings Light of cities in the nights, destination for Kings with big dreams, like Castro, overthrew Bautista from Cuba, and pointed nukes toward the U.S. About to shoot us for revolution; that's how you gotta move A lot of rules, some locked in solitude Curse the day of they birth confused, who's to be praised? The mighty dollar -- or almighty AllahI'm like the farmer, plantin words, people are seedsMy truth is the soil; help you grow like treesMay the children come in all colors, change like leavesbut hold before you, one of those, prophetic MC'swith blunted flows, seven hundred souls in meEach channelin, from past to present times, heaven shineslight on those, innocent to how the world growsSome men become murderers, and some girls become hoesAnd you accounted for, everything that you heard Do not speak to fools; they scorn the wisdom of your words My heart is wise, bloodshot eyes, the saga never dies "Ghetto Prisoners" -It Was Written
Be, be, 'fore we came to this country We were kings and queens, never porch monkeys It was empires in Africa called Kush Timbuktu, where every race came to get books To learn from black teachers who taught Greeks and Romans Asian Arabs and gave them gold when Gold was converted to money it all changed Money then became empowerment for Europeans The Persian military invaded They learned about the gold, the teachings and everything sacred Africa was almost robbed naked Slavery was money, so they began making slave ships Egypt was the place that Alexander the Great went He was so shocked at the mountains with black faces Shot up they nose to impose what basically Still goes on today, you see? If the truth is told, the youth can grow They learn to survive until they gain control Nobody says you have to be gangstas, hoes Read more learn more, change the globe "I Can" -God's Son..>
The Entire Collection of Nas Lyrics Can Be Accessed At The Original Hip-Hop
DISCOGRAPHY
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Illmatic: An absolute classic (1994)
It Was Written: Unheralded Success (1996)
I Am...: Return to lyrical genius (Apr.'99)
Nastradamus: Prophesizes the Millenium (Nov.'99)
Stillmatic: Cleans house with battle tracks (2001)
God's Son: Advo..>
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NAS ALBUM (Nigger) Current mood: angry Category: Music
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NEW YORK — Nas says you shouldn't believe anything you've heard about Def Jam putting the kibosh on his next studio album. In fact, he insists he hasn't come across any resistance from the label. The name of the LP has changed slightly, though. He's going all the way there: It's now called Nigger, and it is set to hit stores December 11.
"I don't know where that [report] came from and neither does Def Jam," Nas said early Thursday morning (October 18) in a Manhattan recording studio when asked about a Fox News article published earlier this week. The story quoted a "source close to" label head L.A. Reid, who scoffed at the thought of the company supporting an album with such a title, and also claimed the album was not on the label's release schedule. "None of us knows where that came from." The MC said he's just two weeks from completing the LP and has done most of the work with his friend and constant collaborator, Salaam Remi. Diddy, Jermaine Dupri and DJ Toomp are also expected to get in the lab with Nas before he closes out production. "Salaam — me and him have some real chemistry," Nas explained. "He can go from Amy Winehouse to Spragga Benz to come f--- with Nas. The other cats, some of us have somewhat of chemistry, some of us don't. ... [People] shouldn't trip off the [album's] title; the songs are crazier than the title." Nigger has caused some strong reaction from civil-rights activists since news of the name hit the masses. The Fox News Web site quoted Reverend Jesse Jackson and representatives from the NAACP, who admonished Nas for using the N-word as his LP's name. "I'm a street disciple," Nas responded, quoting one of his earlier album titles. "I'm talking to the streets. Stay out of our business. You ain't got no business worrying about what the word 'nigger' is or acting like you know what my album is about without talking to me. Whether you in the NAACP or you Jesse Jackson. I respect all of them ... I just want them to know: Never fall victim to Fox. Never fall victim to the sh-- they do. What they do is try to hurry up and get you on the phone and try to get you to talk about something you might not know about yet. "If Cornell West was making an album called Nigger, they would know he's got something intellectual to say," Nas continued. "To think I'm gonna say something that's not intellectual is calling me a nigger, and to be called a nigger by Jesse Jackson and the NAACP is counterproductive, counter-revolutionary." Nas said he hasn't talked to anyone outside his camp about the title, so he was upset to see that people are up in arms without knowing the story behind him choosing the name. "I wanna make the word easy on mutha----as' ears," he explained. "You see how white boys ain't mad at 'cracker' 'cause it don't have the same [sting] as 'nigger'? I want 'nigger' to have less meaning [than] 'cracker.' With all the bullsh-- that's going on in the world, racism is at its peak. I wanna do the sh-- that's not being done. I wanna be the artist who ain't out. I wanna make the music I wanna hear. "We're taking power from the word," he added. "No disrespect to none of them who were part of the civil-rights movement, but some of my n---as in the streets don't know who [civil-rights activist] Medgar Evers was. I love Medgar Evers, but some of the n---as in the streets don't know Medgar Evers, they know who Nas is. And to my older people who don't now who Nas is and who don't know what a street disciple is, stay outta this mutha----in' conversation. We'll talk to you when we're ready. Right now, we're on a whole new movement. We're taking power from that word." Earlier this year, Nas told MTV News that he wanted to "have fun with the radio" while making his next LP. That was before he settled on the title, though. The album includes ideas and feelings he wanted to express for years that aren't exactly meant to make you dance or sing along in the club. "Every time I get in the studio, I feel like I wanna have some fun," he said. "My fun is not doing the easy work. My fun is doing what's me. [Radio-friendly songs], that's easy work. My daughter could do that. My daughter could do the sh-- that's out. I wanna do me and hopefully some mutha----as would like it. At this point, I'm looking at the whole world differently. I'm looking at how politics could really be effective for people today, how me as an artist could be more effective. ... I listen to the radio sometime and I like the vibe of that. I go to a club, and my favorite sh-- is Soulja Boy ['Crank That']. I wanna get down with them joints, but ... [my records] do not come out like that." On November 6, Nas releases his Greatest Hits LP and plans to put out Nigger's first single a day or two after that. Despite the absence of a strong marketing push for the upcoming album (you can partially explain that because he's been working on his own and under the radar), Nas isn't stressing. He said he can't wait for some big plans to sell the album. He just wants to get it out there. "If you feel like doing a record," he started to say about the freedom he has in his career right now, "you can't wait till everybody is ready. I used to wait. Now I have that sh-- in me — where it is, what it is, buy it or don't buy it, it's cool. Whoever likes it, cool. Whoever don't like it, cool — but it's gotta come out now. "Everybody is caught up on that first-week thing," he continued. "That was cool. In the beginning, you want n---as to know what time it is on the beginning of your sh--. I'm past that. I had humongous first weeks before, gold in the first week, that's not important with me. When you have a record that's out there, people are going to gravitate towards it at some point in time if they like that type of music. My albums will move units, but it ain't based on what type of units they move. I'm thankful I sell records, but it's not about that. "This Nigger album is bigger than an album. This is for my daughter, when she looks back and sees all the chump n---as in the game, she'll say, 'My pops was a man.' When I have more kids, they'll see, 'He was a man.' That will inspire them to be real in their life. Some people say I'm conscious, some say I'm a gangsta rapper — it's just me doing me. I'm stomping in my own lane. I'm doing what I do."