Nas, who is celebrating the 20-year anniversary of his debut album, Illmatic, with Time Is Illmatic, a film based on the critically acclaimed project, says the documentary inspired him.
“This documentary sparked too much,” he says in an interview with MTV’s Rob Markman. “It sparked me up in a major way.”
The inspiration helped Nas see where he fits in the game, where he can make his own lane, he says.
“It’s a younger man’s game today in a lot of ways, so I felt more happy to put out music now than I ever have before because my lane is a great place to be at,” he says. “It took a lot of time striking the iron, breaking down walls to be where I am. What better place and time than to put out something new when the world is watching?”
Nas says he doesn’t mind new rappers coming into the game and thriving in the genre, either.
“I like that,” he says. “I enjoy that. I need that. It makes me happy. Now, I’m in a greater place when it comes to putting out records because you won’t mix us up.”
Despite this, some have mixed Nas up with a younger rapper. Earlier this year, Your Old Droog released a project that some, including rapper Apathy, believed was a secret Nas EP with the voice altered. This became a theory that many debated on social media platforms. However, Nas says he didn’t catch wind of any of this.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he says regarding Your Old Droog. “I don’t even know what [a secret EP] is. I don’t want a secret EP. I want you to know it’s me when I drop.”
RELATED: Nas Reportedly Not Your Old Droog
Nas is the best rapper alive
jeah he really stepped up his game with that droog gig
your old droog can rap circles around this clown,lmfao
droog is that you? Keep idolizing lol
You got that under 18 year old flag waivin high, I see.
Thirsty for attention ass boy!
YOUR OLD DROOG IS WHITE UNLESS IT WAS A BLACK MAN IN A WHITE MAN’S COSTUME WHEN HE PERFORMED. END OF STORY.
the “droog” that performed has confirmed to be a hired actor.
lol everybody with common sense knows droog is nas, this is played out we know your little skeme nas.
this!
This washed up old man is an expert in using publicity stunts to stay relevant.
Nas never heard this story? Dude has no manager, agent, business partner, label, publicist, GOOGLE?? yeah right!! i means, NAH RIGHT…
A rapper like Your Old Droog doesn’t have a future in this game. Imposters are a hype for a brief momement but don’t have longlasting careers.
This is the reason why Action Bronson hasn’t really blow up yet.
no the reason Action Bronson hasnt blown up is because he makes real quality hip-hop, theres not too much of that blowing up these days but if you put on a dress and call your friends your babes and hubbies you might become the hottest thing in the game
^^^ That.
When nas was on the cover of XXL he talked about how sweet it was that GFK would never let fans see his face in the beginning of the Wu. Look it up
I love Nas man, he needs to put out some music. I’m tired of Kendrick Lamar and all these gay new rappers.
so go listen to Nas instead of the gay new rappers old man LOL
I’m actually younger than most of the new homos you idolize pussy boy! Fuck you teenage faggots!
who said anything about idolizing homos? i simply stated that if you dont like something, listen to something else instead of whining bout it to people who dont care
you tried the age pass and got clapped don’t try to spin it
this is not the first time nas pulled something like this, remember when he had this high pitched female alter ego
the fuck are you talking about?
he used the name Scarlett to record female sounding vocals same as hes using the droog alterego now.
nas lost
BUT…
HES THE G.O.A.T….
GO AGAINST ME NINJA,HES THE G.O.A.T
Nas is used to taking L’s
they even made a book about nas losing
NaS Lost: A Tribute to the Little Homey [Kindle Edition]
NaS Lost is the Nas book only Byron Crawford could write, and not just due to literacy issues in the hip-hop community. Billed as a tribute to the little homey, it is in fact a tribute, but not in the way that an article in XXL magazine is a tribute to a rapper. NaS Lost considers the artist’s career in its totality, from its amazing highs to its crushing lows — and some of everything in between.
Discussed in NaS Lost:
The 2001 beef with Jay-Z. What really led to this dispute?
Nas and Jay-Z as Eskimo brothers. How the two of them became related in a sense.
Nas’ albums. Is it true what Jay-Z said, that Nas has a one hot album every 10 year average?
Illmatic’s five mic review in The Source. Was it really the best album of its era?
The dreaded n-word. If KKKramer can say it, why can’t Nas?
Ghostwriting allegations. Can anything dream hampton says on Twitter be believed?
The Virginia Tech controversy. What is the real cause of most school shootings?
The hostage situation in Africa. Who was to blame there, Nas, the promoters, or the continent of Africa?
Nas’ marriage to Kelis. Bad idea, or worst idea of all time?
Nas as a parent. Why is his teenage daughter posting her birth control on Instagram?
Cultural tourism. Why is it that SPIN magazine likes a Chief Keef album more than Life Is Good?
lmfao
so did your mom
“I have no idea what youre talking about,” he says regarding Your Old Droog. “I dont even know what [a secret EP] is. I dont want a secret EP. I want you to know its me when I drop.”
lol this only makes you more suspect dumbass.
Nas wore a pink suit, LMAO what a fruit
He can because he an OG in this.
relax bro. it is only a color.
pink is dop[e
If anyone still thinks Nas is not Your Old Droog you must be trolling or have a very low IQ.
droog got images up internet boy
yeah an image on the interwebs is good proof
And anonymous posts on a message board are even better proof
Your Old Droog did a live performance already.. ya dumb fucks. The dude ain’t Nas. Hip Hop Illuminati conspiracy retards are the only ones who will believe Nas is Droog
that was the same actor who did the droog “freestyle” on rap is outta control, lol nas is foolin yall and ya fall for it.
LOL Nas a old head, he ain’t checking rap blogs like suckas do today!!! This nigga said a “sub internet thing that’s blowing UP!!” I swear everyday rap music represents less of what it once put out there.
Tim says ” I swear everyday rap music represents less of what it once put out there.”
Thumbs Up on that ^^^ shit!
Nas is top 5 no doubt he far better than jay that nigga been average/wack as fuck since the black album beanie sigel was the best mc on the ROC.
When is this Illmatic documentary coming out on dvd/blu ray? Need to buy that shit
People still believe Droog is Nas?! Crawl out from under your rocks, Droog is a russian kid from Brooklyn. A couple of days after that EP got online the word was out already.
u must be one of nas’ people helping get the hoax out, no single human can be this stupid
go back to your miserable life
this interviewer is not professional, thats all that can say. Time is illmatic.
History repeats itself.
When Nas first came out, the majority of people in Queensbridge genuinely thought it was Tragedy.
They weren’t aware that his understudy Nasir had taken and used Tragedy’s exact same style…
thank you at least there is somebody on here that knows something dudde bit tragedy whole style and they also said when live at the BBQ droped he sounded like Kool G Rap and Rakim so oyu just have to chalk it up as influence
my bad on the typos
There are similarities… But this Droog guy is a straight carbon copy of Nas whole flow… he even mimics the ruff sound of Nas voice… This bitin shit has to be stopped right here… Iggy Azalia should have been called out for sounding like Da Brat… WTF is going on in Hip Hop; is it no long a rule to be original?
like nas said “no ideas original, theres nothing new under the sun”
^^yeah he said that rapping like tragedy.
Listen to Death Anniversary by Nas:
What if I told you that AZ didn’t exist
And I put him there, played it like a ventriloquist
Cause niggas spit fake shit and y’all respect it
I spit that real shit and y’all won’t buy the record
What if me and the rapper homey was really cool
And we used that whole thing as a media tool
Would you say I was a sucka or say I was savvy
If I told you mothafucka’s that me and K wasn’t married?
What if Jungle wrote my shit and I’m really illiterate
And the whole Nas catalog was just an experiment
ANDRES RETARDIO CAN EAT SHIT AND DIE SLOW
Nas is a fucking retard. Hey, when’s the Firm II coming out? That record was awesome!
Also, the Bravehearts!
quick to back down was a bangerrrrr kid
bravehearts probably went gold by now its been what? 10 years?
they got thissssssss
More bad acting from Nas, ok. Makes you look more suspect than before.
If that Droog guy is anything but a hired actor I’d be surprised, that being said it’s POSSIBLE nas had nothing to do with this, in which case this kid is the biggest biter in the history of hip hop. If Nas dont start speaking out against him it’ll confirm it for me, its been put to his attention now and you cant just let this sorta shit go unsaid, Droog is a carbon copy in every aspect.
At the end of the day tho it’s Nas so he aint gonna say shit
^ this pretty much
THANK YOU! My point exactly… This biting shit has gotten out of hand… If this guy career takes off with him sounding EXACTLY like nas then; there’s no more respect for the rules of the culture.
niggaz bit off nas shit
did he bite his own hand then?
You’ve gotta be the dumbest nigga alive to still think Your Old Droog is Nas, after his debut performance.
lol u the dumb nigga here. letting yourself get fooled by a physical appearance, nas got the type of money to pull of a stunt like this. the white boy u saw performing is an actor.
hmm…are we really supposed to believe that this is the first time ANYBODY has asked Nas about Droog? the theories have been out there for a while now, so long that they’re pretty much dead after the performance and video Droog did.
But really, NOBODY brought him up to Nas before this interview? I find that extremely hard to believe
exactly, this is just more proof that Nas is Droog.
Strategy. Isn’t it odd how nobody’s heard 50’s take on droog? Answer, Nas kissed his ass and made him promise not to tell. You know 50 knows, and you know he would be talkin some sh_t about this
cuz that’s what 50 cares about…your old droog…
Droog is not Nas, his enunciation is completely different on his S’s,D’s flow is much more metronomic and his delivery is much cleaner . Nas pronounces words a little dirtier than that dude who is more polished with his tone, Nas is way more atonal than that guy in the sense his range isn’t as consistent. Nas has more of a free-flowing random shuffle and swing to his flow. His syllables don’t flip the same way, bars and punch-ins don’t sound alike. Also, this guy’s pitch is in a different spectrum, the key is not really in Nas territory specifically the mid range is different , Nas is a bit more Nasally. If you pitch his vocals lower and mess with semi-tones to really switch it up, the sound isn’t the same. The overall sound of a vocal track wouldn’t be as clean either if it was pitched. There would be way more flanger, phasing etc if Nas were to pitch his vocals.
Listen to Street’s Disciple, there is mad joints on there where Nas’ vocals are pitched to make him sound like different girls, he even has a feature on the album crediting some lady when it is clearly his vocals pitched up. You can tell by the way the mid-range frequencies sound, there is always less clarity in the upper-range of a vocal when you shift the pitch on it and the lower end sounds funny as well. I have messed around enough with vocal tracks, Nas one too, to tell you 1000% for sure Nas ain’t Drooog.
lolll, u must work for mass appeal trying to keep this lie alive.
If you think I am part of a “mass appeal” or whatever nonesense you are talking about and you think I am making something up in order to keep some conspiracy alive, download some Nas Acapellas, get some editing software and pitch his vocals yourself.
You will notice that what I said is accurate.
Convince me that I am at fault, use science to debate your stance instead of some hollow and childish speculation that has no basis or merit. I tested my suggestion, I have physical hard proof and years of listening to Nas to back my opinion.
90% of the folks that said Droog is Nas went on some forum, website, social media outlet or wherever else on the internet to listen to everyone’s opinion without looking at the evidence available to formulate their own ideas.
The time they wasted doing the easy thing, which is talk and speculate, they could of tested the proof for themselves and came to the same conclusion as anyone who has the initiative, curiosity and willingness to figure out the truth for themselves.
Don’t take my word for it, go line up 4 or 5 Nas vocal tracks and 5 Droog songs, do the comparison yourself. Develop your sense of observation, intuition, your intelligence and your skills instead of just talking and repeating other people’s ideas. Make yourself useful instead of spreading speculation without any merit or fact.
they ain’t gonna research dude, it’s easier to stay ignorant and why they’re called useful eaters
it’s official it’s time for population control we need to wipe the world out of dumb stupid ass niggas cause the comments on here are just unbelievable how you make shit up in your mind and run with it like it’s actually the truth no wonder religion has it’s grip on the world and governments continue to play people like puppets cause the brain power is zero with people now an days the guy just did a concert and dummies still running with the bullshit they won’t let go. the sad part is if you actually listen enough you know he doesn’t even sound the same with the way he writes his bars so how you still get that this is nas? too bad cause dude will release a dope ass album when it comes out and those all upset like this is they whole life out of order gone miss out on a dope artist who will make a splash and i promise you that so give props where they due and listen for real hip hop cause it’s happening but y’all don’t hear me though
There’s a possibility Nas isn’t rapping but writing for him. You think Nas’ best friend from school Sacha Jenkins played guitar for Droog and wrote articles on him without ever mentioning the commotion over this to Nas? No one even sent a text to Nas about this?
Nas already floated the idea of writing a persona for another rapper.
Listen to Death Anniversary:
What if I told you that AZ didn’t exist
And I put him there, played it like a ventriloquist
Cause niggas spit fake shit and y’all respect it
I spit that real shit and y’all won’t buy the record
What if me and the rapper homey was really cool
And we used that whole thing as a media tool
Would you say I was a sucka or say I was savvy
If I told you mothafucka’s that me and K wasn’t married?
What if Jungle wrote my shit and I’m really illiterate
And the whole Nas catalog was just an experiment
cosign awake
here’s the proof for all the retards still believing that old droog is nas. http://www.okayplayer.com/news/your-old-droog-show-his-face-video.html
same actor again, this has been confirmed to be false
This Your Old Droog guy is in Hip Hop VIOLATION and so is Iggy
Azalea and Nicki Minaj… It is unacceptable to sound like, look like or bite another MC’s style… There is no longer any respect for the rules of the culture and this is why the culture is in the gutter… Hip Hop is about originality, being unique, clever and pushing the envelope.
Hip Hop Rules at the gate…
NO FUCKIN BITING ALLOWED!
no biting allowed?
rappers have been biting since the days of sugar hill
action Bronson and ghostface killa? besides the voice…
cuz action raps about napoleon complex niggas rocking benneton eating pasta with Asians right?
^action Bronson and ghostface do look and dress a lot alike though
This is Hip Hop and these violators need to be outted for the fuckery they are bringing into the culture…
Imposters / Biters Originators
Nicky Minaj Lil Kim
Iggy Azalia Da Brat
Action Branson Ghostface Killa
Your Old Droog Nas
A question for you who believe in this nas/droog conspiracy
do you believe that the “illuminati” is and has been involved in hip hop too?
droog being nas has nothing to do with illuminati, its all a big publicity stunt by mass appeal/nas to get people talkin bout nasir again
“yeah, lemme send this russian guy to the club so these weirdo ass fans will keep my name around believing it’s me instead of doing the show myself, bring my rappers and I can make a quick hunnid thou with all types of NYC press there….yeah, this Old Droog thing is the way to go!!”
y’all some STUPID muthafukks
“droog being nas has nothing to do with illuminati, its all a big publicity stunt by mass appeal/nas to get people talkin bout nasir again”
didn’t say it had anything to do with the illuminati…
If you believe in this dumbass conspiracy which only has 30-40 bloggers who don’t buy albums talking, I want to know if you also believe that the illuminati is involved in hip hop
stupid asses actually running with that “he’s an actor”, “it’s nas” bullsh*t
ur the stupid ass, nas is trolling bigtime
don’t worry, I’ma let you believe that dumb sh*t too, LMMFAO
Jesus are people still on this Your Old Droog/Nas thing? So Stupid anybody who actually listened to the incredible EP (and who knows Nas) could clearly tell that he wasn’t Nas. Your Old Droog is a singular voice in hip hop the only thing similar was the cadence/flow, lyrically Droog is way sicker than most cats out now. Annoys me cause it had to be young cats who thought they were the same.
DROOG = NAS
this russian kid is an actor, he had some minor roles in californication and some low budget horror movies, check the interview on youtube
you do know that some up n coming rappers have agents who land them acting gigs right….
this has nobody talking outside of 50 people on the internet there is no publicity in this bullshit
Link to interview please.
It’s not Nas rapping but it might be Nas writing for the guy.
Think Gorillaz for hip-hop. Think getting paid while your alter-ego performs elsewhere. Listen to Death Anniversary – Nas already thought of the idea and played it out in a song. So maybe he’s followed through. Really not that far-fetched…
someone would have noticed Nas’ publishing company got paid performance royalties for Droog’s Webster Hall performance and blew the whistle
Gorillaz’ music leads to actual musician publishing companies, not Gorillaz
now i agree that biting is out of control but it’s 2014 if that’s your point then you should of been mad loooong time ago and not wait until now to be upset hip hop has been violated but its consumers and even emcees we look up to cosigning wack ass rappers and pop rap riding both sides of the fence and kissing ass trying not to step on toes for gain in the industry saying ok to the bullshit in the past at least droog has skills and yeah iggy is wack but the bar was lowered long time ago as to why you see people like iggy get props but people we had more then half the south coming out with wack shit,black eyed peas selling out and bring fergie in the game and no one says anything i can go on and on remember the laffy taffy song on how wack that was but they labeled it as a hit and sold records thus you get the excuse for cosigning shit cause it moves off the shelves like the world isnt full of people who don’t follow the music as purist cause most people just listen to the radio and become zombies and a slave to not using they own mind so it’s easy to sell them shit on a stick but its more of them who are born yesterday then people who are actually fans thats why you get dumb asses who think droog is nas the point is people been fucking the game up since 97 the year when shit started to die for real it just was not foreseeable then cause real hip hop was still in the light but when puff who was biting beats and jay-z who bites lyrics but y’all let them slide so now you can’t get mad and yes nas sounds like tragedy and cormega who has stated that nas bit the style so let it go cause when your favorite rappers do it then you love it so expect fast forward to now when someone who knows nothing about hiphop comes in after seeing how things have been and start using shit to get ahead you have yourselves to blame cause you been supporting bullshit now don’t get me wrong i do agree that rap is out of control and i emcee so i feel it to the heart but what can we do when the numbers flows out of those who do care hands cause we are out numbered by people who like throw away rap rather than hip hop that builds you as an individual with character to be original and innovative there is a whole generation that has disconnect not just with hip hop but music in general so they come out sounding like they do now singing terrible(beyonce,rhianna) and rapping garbage over nsync and backstreet boys sounding shit using auto tune. so ill say this droog to me minus the voice does not sound like nas his bars are and cadence in flow is different but has an influence just like FASHWN,ELZHI,JAY ELECTRONICA,and even GAME just nas has with KOLL G RAP,RAKIM AND TRAGEDY KHDAFI OR EVEN CORMEGA so get over it droog is dope iggy is an result of what y’all been letting people getting away with (not me included) im extremly strict and labeled as an hater cause i dont like wack shit which in turn is like saying im broke cause i won’t pay for pussy knowledge is power and history is truth but yall don’t hear me though
oh yeah p.s. my bad on the typos and it not being in paragraph form for those that care R-E-L-A-X it an blog/forum type thing and not an writing proficiency test and go niners/bulls
I think the point is not that he’s so similar a lot of peoe thought it was the same guy – this rare even for the worst buyers – but that he referenced Nas and his works countless times in each song. He uses Nas samples but flips them. He has Nas as his Facebook page profile photo.
Biters exist but this guy is more than that – he’s used Nas’ identity to make a publicity campaign for himself.
Either that or Nas is behind it.
Hard to believe that no one has come down on Droog from Nas’ camp if it’s some kid jacking His whole identity. And Nas has not heard a word about it. C’mon.
It’s leaning towards being a Nas project. But not Nas actually rapping.