Controversy erupted last month when claims were made that Jay Electronica and dead prez ghostwrote portions of Nas’ 2008 album Untitled. After previously speaking out on the allegations, dead prez’s stic.man and M-1 revisited the claims during an interview with Shade 45’s “Sway in the Morning,” insisting that they did not ghostwrite for Esco but instead contributed ideas and production.
“Nah. Ghostwriting as far as someone saying ‘Come and write my verse for me?’ That didn’t happen,” said stic.man. “But we did get to work with Nas extensively on the Nigger album, the Untitled album, collaborated, co-writing hooks and doing a lot of production is what I did. That rumor just jumped out of somewhere, but it was bigger than us and it had nothing to do with what we did. We were just thankful for the opportunity.”
M-1 noted how rumors such as these can discredit an artist’s integrity, especially if the rumors aren’t factual. “It’s funny how something like this can discredit an artist, totally. Even just the rumor of this has this feel. I feel like it’s funny,” he said. “Nas is a phenomenal artist. He’s been the cornerstone for definitely a whole generation, and his movement is strong, he’s amazing, he’s as brilliant as he’s ever been. No matter what, whether he collaborated with somebody, Nas is who he is because he is alive and doing what he’s doing. That shouldn’t even be questioned at all. The issue at all is trivial. I feel like in the face of people who are doing real things and making real contributions, let’s look at that.
Watch the interview below, as well as a performance of “It’s Bigger Than Hip Hop” and a discussion on “Dirty White Girl.”
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