Nas discusses the making of his 2006 album, Hip Hop Is Dead, as well as the advice he’d give to his younger self in an excerpt from LL COOL J Presents The Streets Win: 50 Years of Hip-Hop Greatness. Rock The Bells posted the piece from the iconic New York rapper on Friday.
“I never wanted to give it up. There were times when I felt there was nothing else to say musically,” he admitted. “In my twenties, I felt like the business was boring and too cutthroat. And I felt I was the best at what I did. I watched fellow artists succumb to violence. I saw the art form dominated by people who didn’t love the art form. Instead of quitting, I got reenergized and gave people what I felt with my album Hip Hop Is Dead. I forced people to think about that and prove me wrong—at least, I got them talking.”
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Later, Nas shared the advice he’d give his younger self. “If I could give my younger self advice, it would be, ‘You have it all together. Keep doing what you’re doing and focus. People hear you. Say more. Do more. Keep helping people around you. And make sure you know it’s great for you to enjoy it all. And take more vacations,’” he shared. “I realize being a Black man is being a part of an incredibly hidden lineage. There is so much more of myself to give to the world.”
The except arrives just months after Nas completed his Magic and King’s Disease trilogies with Hit-Boy. The two dropped their sixth and final collaboration back on September 14. It also comes as Nas gears up for the release of his own book, I Am… The Autobiography. That will be dropping on November 24, 2023. Be on the lookout for further updates on the book on HotNewHipHop in the coming weeks.
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