Steve Stoute, a Hip Hop mogul often regarded as one of the more important people in the industry, dropped by Revoltās Drink Champs alongside Tone (from the production duo Trackmasters) to spill a healthy amount of tea for Hip Hop heads.
The two covered a lot of ground with hosts N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN, but the most intriguing revelation was about one of rapās most iconic diss tracks. According to Stoute, there was an entirely different version of Nasā āEtherā that almost made its way onto Stillmatic ā and it was terrible.
When N.O.R.E. asked Stoute whether he was nervous upon hearing āTakeover,ā the exec replied, āNervous was an understatement.ā He noted that he and JAY had become friendly around that time, which made it sting more.
āHeās a secretive dude and didnāt tell me he was going to do that ā¦ I felt betrayed.ā
āI thought Nasā career was over,ā Stoute admits. āHe wasnāt taking it as seriously. There was a lot of shit he was dealing with [at the time].ā
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According to Stoute, the āEtherā beat was originally sent to Nas without any intention of it becoming a diss record. The legendary MC wasnāt feeling it though and soon, the two werenāt even on speaking terms ā despite Stoute executively producingĀ Stillmatic.
āIt was the lowest point in our relationship,ā Stoute told N.O.R.E. and EFN.
That all changed when Nas called him to the studio the night before the album was due to be mastered. Nas played āEtherā for Stoute, apparently looking for feedback on whether heād gone too far.
āI take off my coat like, āWe staying here all night. We gotta fix this,'ā he told Nas. āThis is a mess ā¦ if this shit comes out, your career is over.ā
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The existence of an alternate version of āEtherā was first brought to light by producer Large Professor on ThisIs50 Radio back in 2012.
āWhen Nas was first working on āEther,ā it was over a Swizz Beatz beat,ā he said, referencing the fact that it had the original lyrics. Itās unclear if these are the same lyrics that Stoute felt were terrible.
These lyrics have appeared on multiple forums and discussion boards over the years and included shots at Fat Joe and Big Pun. However, the absence of a credible original source has always made fans skeptical of the validity.
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āThis was Ali and Frasier,ā Stoute said, referencing the historic battle. āWe were punching each other in the muthafuckinā face [lyrically]. Nobody got shot, nobody got stabbed ā¦ we should be bigging that up right now.ā
Throughout the three-hour interview, Stoute and Tone recalled working with a young Foxy Brown, what really went down between Diddy and Stoute surrounding the āHate Me Nowā video (there was no bottle swung) and much more.
Check out the full interview above.