J. Period has teamed up with Apple Music to exclusively premiere The Best Of Nas mixtape for the project’s 15th anniversary. Originally released in 2004, the 40-track effort set him on a path to Hip Hop greatness.
“The moment this picture was taken, my fate was already sealed,” he captioned an Instagram photo of himself and Nas. “It was 2005. A year earlier, my ‘Best Of Nas’ tape had dropped, and set off a chain reaction: first, bootlegged on Fulton St. (the ultimate sign your tape was fire), then featured in The Source ‘Hottest Mixtapes] (back when it was The Bible), then co-signed by Nas himself.”
Fast-forward to 2019 and J. Period has roughly 40 mixtapes under his belt and crafted a career beyond his imagination.
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“The mixtape game has changed a lot since the days of hustling tapes on Canal Street,” J. Period tells HipHopDX. “Back then, we could never dream of a scenario where a tape like this could be cleared for commercial release by an entity like Apple Music, so today is crazy. I’ve poured so much love into these mixtapes over the years and it’s very exciting to share my first — the tape that birthed my style and launched my career — for a new audience to discover.
“In 2019, these tapes are like cultural artifacts of a lost era in Hip Hop, when mixtapes defied the rules and defined the game. Premiering The Best of Nas on Apple Music helps shatter the glass ceiling of what’s possible for a mixtape, and I’m honored to help pave the way for a new generation of DJ’s to keep this artform alive in the streaming era.”
J. Period, who is also Black Thought’s tour DJ, partnered with Dubset Media to clear the mixtape, a rarity these days. The project boasts three bonus tracks, including “Street Dreams,” “One Love” with Q-Tip and “Ill Street Blues” featuring Kool G. Rap
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In a July interview with DX, J. Period revealed he also has a solo album on the way, explaining, “I got really inspired by my experiences at [DJ Jazzy Jeff’s] Playlist Retreat. That really has pushed me to want to extend my repertoire and be as serious about it as I am about the mixtapes.
“So, it’s taken me a while, but I feel like a style has started to evolve and it’s a lot of improvisation based off the vibe that’s created by these incredible musicians.”
Until that materializes, check out The Best Of Nas (Anniversary Edition) below. [apple_news_ad type=”any”]
1. Intro (’91 Freestyle)
2. Live At The Barbeque f. Nas
3. Made You Look f. Jadakiss & Ludacris
4. Made You Shook [J. Period Exclusive]
5. Righteous Records (Interview Interlude)
6. Nas Is Like
7. Represent
8. Halftime
9. If I Ruled The World (Imagine That) f. Lauryn Hill
10. It Was Written Freestyle
11. Dr. Knockboot
12. The Ultimate High
13. Street Dreams
14. Silent Murder
15. You’re Da Man
16. Doo Rags
17. Memory Lane (Sittin’ In Da Park)
18. The Message (Mafioso Remix)
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20. What Goes Around (Poison)
21. One Mic
22. I Gave You Power
23. NY State of Mind
24. NY State of Mind Part 2
25. Eye for an Eye
26. Get Down
27. No Idea’s Original
28. White Label Freestyle
29. One Love
30. One Love b/w Hell on Earth (J.PERIOD Remix)
31. Affirmative Action (St. Denis Style Remix)
32. The Second Coming
33. It Ain’t Hard to Tell (Remix)
34. It Ain’t Hard to Tell
35. The World is Yours
36. Nas vs. Jay-Z (Interlude)
37. Ether (Outtro)
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