Next year will mark hip-hop’s 50th anniversary. For nearly half a century, the genre has evolved consistently, introducing a plethora of artists who have fought to create a space for themselves in the industry. Because of this noteworthy celebration, one of the game’s finest rappers, Nas, teamed up with the media company, Mass Appeal, to produce Hip Hop 50.
The first volume of the EP dropped on Friday, July 15, and it has gotten an influx of praise from hip-hop fans and supporters. One of the most popular songs on the project is “The Root of All.” Produced by DJ Premier, the two-minute record featured the icons Lil Wayne and Slick Rick. The track talked about money being connected to evil, and each rapper gave their perspectives in their verses.
During an interview with The Fader, Premier revealed that the beat was initially for the Grammy-nominated rapper, Logic. “I made the beat and [Logic] was like, ‘Yo this reminds me of a friend of mine who died over a bad drug deal,'” he told the media outlet. Following their conversation, Logic wrote a verse about money that fit the track perfectly.
However, it took a while for them to execute it, and by then, Wayne had already written a verse. Like Premier, Logic loved Wayne’s bars. Fast forward, Premier hit up Slick, who attested to being picky about who he rhymed with, but loved Wayne’s lyrics, and the rest was history.
Stream the record on Apple Music now.
Quotable Lyrics
Money versus everybody, money isn’t everything
That’s cap, and I put that on everything
I don’t look back, I never blink
I’m at the bank, I’m thinkin’ bout the fact how I don’t have to think