By: Amanda Anderson-Niles
Nas is without a doubt one of the greatest MCs to ever pick up a mic. He’s a certified lyricist in an age when rappers are more flashy than they are substantial. Despite his beef with Jay-Z, he and Jay have managed to have careers that have lasted longer than most. Nas’ last album Life Is Good topped the charts, and it’s clear that he has the kind of fan base that’s loyal and willing to support him whenever he drops new music. Since Nas does have longevity in the industry that’s so respectable, when he speaks on the current culture of Hip Hop, people listen. And Nas has always had a way of speaking his mind without being arrogant or offensive like most of his peers who are currently enjoying success and mainstream relevance.
Nas admitted in a recent interview that’s he is a bit tired of newer rappers coming into the game and attempting to be the new Tupac Shakur so fast. Nas tells 92Y:
“I started to dislike the fact that people were making money, more than liking the state of music. I started to appreciate that maybe ‘that guy’ may not be great, maybe he can feed his family now. I started to feeling like that. … I feel like the young guys really want to make a difference, they really want to make careers for themselves and really care about the culture. Not all of them but there’s a good group of guys out there that really care about it. … There’s a lot of confusion in the game because they want to go from just starting to be on a Tupac level. And there’s a lot of ground to cover before they get to that and they don’t hear that and if they would take the time to appreciate that path to go — you don’t want to miss the dash. That’s a good time. That’s a good time right there. It might be a little scary, it might be a little nervous at times but at the end of the day, once you make it to the point of being around for a while, you’ll appreciate the struggle.”
Most recently, rapper Lil Wayne crowned himself as “The New Tupac” during his recent rant against the Miami Heat organization. And then of course 2 Chainz claimed he is “Tupac without a nose ring.” One can only assume Nas isn’t convinced that either is on Tupac’s level.
Watch the interview below:
Love me some Nas. As always, he speaks the truth.
School these rappers Nas on some real.
I wish Weezy and 2 Chainz would STFU. They will NEVER be Tupac. Tupac cared about the black community while Weezy mocks it! He still hasn’t apologized for those Emmett Till lyrics either!
Yes Nas! Nas, Kendrick Lamar, and Common are the reasons I haven’t given up on Hip Hop yet.
Sigh…I love this dude.
I respect him and all but he made me look at his differently with the whole n-gger thing. IJS.
He dropped some wisdom in this interview. I wish these younger rappers could see Tupac for the WHOLE person he was. He was much more than in your face. He was intelligent, heavily involved in the black community, and a real threat to the establishment. These youngins aren’t threats, they are puppets. Their music is doing the work of the white racists and killing our communities. Especially Lil Wayne.
THIS!!!!!
They don’t need to even let Tupac come out of their mouths! Especially Lil Wayne’s ole coonin a-s.
Love Nas!