It appears Nas feels as though he has more than a few things in common with artists such as Drake and J. Cole.
On Friday (December 24), Nas and Hit-Boy successfully delivered the follow-up to their King’s Disease 2 album via their surprise project Magic.
Throughout the nine-song release, Nas has a lyrical field day, firing off shots at unnamed rappers on “Meet Joe Black” and claiming his spot as the GOAT of Hip Hop on tracks such as “40-16” among others.
Of the countless bombs Nasir drops over Hit-Boy’s production throughout Magic, his bars on “Wu for the Children” suggest the 48-year-old rapper has both reservations for his past, and aspirations future as an MC.
“Listen to The Manhattan’s, Queens to Brooklyn, oh what a feelin’/I shoulda had Grammy’s when Ol’ Dirty said “Wu for the children,” Nas raps.
While in the process of reminiscing and airing out his dirty laundry Nas goes on to cosign J. Cole, Drake and Kendrick as the heirs to the throne of Hip Hop.
“Shoulda did that remix verse on ‘Gimme the Loot’ for Biggie/Me, JAY-Z, and Frank White is like Cole, Drizzy, and Kenny,” he continued.
It’s clear that JAY-Z has also always been very keen on maintaining the hierarchy of New York rap royalty also, and even spoke about it on his 1997 track “Where I’m From” rapping, “I’m from where niggas pull your card, and argue all day about / Who’s the best MCs, Biggie, Jay-Z or Nas?.”
During his appearance on media content creator Miss Info’s Spotify podcast The Bridge: 50 Years of Hip Hop, featuring Jeezy, Nas revealed Hip Hop Is Dead was largely directed at New York rappers.
“I didn’t think that certain people would think I’m talking about them,” he began. “Oh nah, I’m talking about mainly New York! Mainly New York. I’m talking to everybody, but I didn’t explain it thoroughly enough.”
Nas Reveals 'Hip Hop Is Dead' Was Mainly Aimed At New York Rappers: 'I Didn't Explain It Enough'
It also appears that Drizzy is on the same page with Nas, according to Hip Hop legend Ed Lover, who recalled a conversation with Drake from early on in his career in which the 6 God proclaimed his ultimate goals as an artist.
“We had a nice conversation for the 40-minute flight and I asked him ‘What is your ultimate goal?” Ed Lover said. “When you’re done in your career and you’re an OG, how do you want to be remembered?’ And he said, ‘I just want to be remembered in the same breath as JAY-Z, Biggie, Nas, Rakim, [Big Daddy] Kane and all of them.”
Stream Magic, home to guest appearances from A$AP Rocky and DJ Premier below.
Nas and Hit Boy get better with each album. 5/5 Album of the year. Though KD2 is amazing as well.
Goat
First it was Rakim, KRS and Kane, then Big, Jay and Nas now Kendrick and Cole. Drake makes hits but he’s never been arguably the best lyricist of his era but the other guys have been. Wale and Big KRIT both rap better.
Jay hasn’t either except to people from NY. Drake is emulating everything Jay-Z did except the rapping about drugs part. As far as people talking about what about Pac, there is no parallel to him these days. I mean let’s get real, there has never been another parallel to Pac in the history of the game. He was Haley’s Comet, a once in a lifetime event. Back then, those three, especially Nas and B.I.G., were mentioned alongside each other, and he’s saying the same is true for those three today.
Jay is one of the best rappers of all time, Drake isn’t even close. He can emulate Jigga all he wants and get all the 12 yo girls buying his music, but he doesn’t have 1% of the talent.
So I guess Lupe is a 12 yo girl huh? Oh wait let me guess you know better than Lupe and Nas because you’re a “real hip-hop head” lmaoo
Fuccin clown ?
Like I said, only people who really say that shit are people from NY who are biased. He jumps on everybody’s dick just like Jay did in his prime to stay relevant. I call that emulation if I ever seen it, and don’t give me that shit about regions or how I hate Jay and all of that other stuff since personally Nas is my GOAT and I still have loved Jay-Z’s music over the years. I just remember history, and facts are facts.
I’m from the South and Jay-Z is major down here. OutKast, Killer Mike, T.I., Scarface, UGK, Jeezy, Rick Ross, Lil Wayne and others have vouched for dude. I remember hearing his music in clubs and seeing the reaction – you must’ve been inside.
You are twisting things into what you want it to be instead of what it was at the time. I was around in 1995, 1996. Nobody in the South was fucking with Jay-Z outside when he did that single with Jermaine Dupri, and they still weren’t fucking with him too much. It’s why he jumped on Juvenile’s Ha remix and on Master P’s projects. I bought Reasonable Doubt and Volume 1. Nobody was fucking with it and would even clown you for having them. That’s not even mentioning how he was seen as like a second or third tier rapper when Pac, B.I.G. and Nas were the ruling class along with Snoop out West at the time, maybe Outkast in the South.
You spitten pure facts bro. Hov didnt pick up traction until early 2000s. Hov still dope tho.
And with that I lost respect for Nas. Love his music but he dumb af for saying some shit like that. Sure jcoles loving it though. More power to him
You are right bro Nas seems like he wants to be like LeBron James and wants popularity SMH
I think he’s parenting Hip Hop and trying to pass the torch responsibly. Those guys really and truly are at the top of their game right now. Gotta respect it….
What about Pac
or Ice Cube, Scarface, Lil Wayne or T.I. Common had a 3-4 album run where he wasn’t playing either. People just regurgitate the popular names without thinking for themselves.
What Nas says is a play on Jay-Z’s like from Where I’m From.
It’s the ultimate respect that Nas at least has the decency to acknowledge, there is no parallel to Pac. He was a once in a lifetime artist. For those of us who were around back then, we knew that. It was Pac and everybody else. Those three were compared. He was seen as above all of them at the time and in retrospect.
I heard this line this morning before reading….dude. Nas grown up Fam. Anyone that knows his catalog can see this…
Lol Drake? Really?
No artist in music history is bigger than drizzy, maths.
Eminem has sold way more
There are plenty. There just wasn’t streaming services when they were dropping albums you Gen Z dumbfuck
Dumb comment after another … everyone of you dickheads listen to their music. Like it or not those are the 3 guys on top for this generation and that can’t be debated it’s a fact
Sounds about right it terms of relevancy and putting in quality work those 3 guys are literally carrying hip hop in the new generation…ppl get mad when drake is mention his run has been on a high level most artist that pump music out like drake doesn’t have that level of quality. Cole and Kendrick stay putting out albums that do not miss and are turning into classics…
MAgic was better than KD1 and KD2 and lastly and started to mention this, but Lupe fiasco is more worthy of that title than those 3 imo
Nas said Lupe is the only one to be compared to him on Drink Champs. Gotta swap out that middle school TA trying to be down sounding Drake for Lu. That Magic.album is fire though.
This is barbershop talk, JayZ wasn’t hard when Biggie Nas Pac was blowing up
A notable omission on the list is Pac. I guess that’s okay though coz none of the new generation are as real as him with the exception of King Tekashi.
Drake will make hits in any genre that is profitable. Whether it be hip hop, Uk drill,
rnb, reggae, Latin America reggaeton Etc. When it’s time to collect his props he’s only knocking on the American black man’s door. This music is a fusion of everything. It’s not hip hop though. Therefore he can’t be Big Jay-Z or Nas
He could have quote Dave East instead of Drake. Don’t give a fuck about hits and sales. Aubrey is not a rapper. He’s a pop artist damnit!
Reasons why Drake is the best rapper of all time:
1. Longest run at the top (10 years)
2. Greatest Hook rapper of all time
3. Greatest Rap/Pop rapper of all time
4. Greatest Rap/Singer rapper of all time
5. Greatest features rapper of all time (Each feature would create a new career and guaranteed #1)
6. Rapper most #1 albums
7. One of the most influential rappers ever (rap now is melodic)
8. Made hip hop #1 genre for over a decade
9. Brought afro beats, uk drill and other genres to rap
10. Most VERSATILE rapper of all time (Can sing, rap in any beat in any genre and rap style)
11. Most important rapper of all time (Drake era was the peak in rap history, he changed the sound and approach for rappers in the future)
12. Drake made Trap popular (By making Migos and Future popular and out-rapping them)
Best rapper in an era with all styles of rap
Lastly, Drake doesn’t get the respect he deserves in America because he isn’t American. He doesn’t have a hood or city to rep him. If he was from NYC or LA he’d be in everyones top 3 No debate.
Also the old definition of the boom bap era doens’t define what a rapper is in the future, hip-hop is only 40 years old so to say that 90s style of rap is the only criteria for greatness is dumb LOL.
All those artist music he jumped on kept him relevant not the other way around. Drake’s talented but those artists would have blew up anyways. And Lil Wayne’s got him recognition anyways so he owes that to new artist. Tryna make one dude repsonsible for the whole music industry smh ?
New York is suck a big headed state of mind
I don’t know what category in hiphop game nas is talking about that he will skip pac.. i will basically see it as his own lame opinion because lyrically b.i.g is no where near pac. Biggie was basically rapping about pu$$y back in the day just like we have Wayne do his thing now. Even cole today is more of a lyricism compare to biggie, he only had wordplay. I’m disappointed to see someone like nas talk about hip hop heads and he will omit pac
Nas said before Pac was like a God. Nobody can fit those shoes.
One can understand why he omitted him from that angle
Then from this angle, one can understand why he omitted him
Pac was neither known for his lyricism nor his wordplay. He was known for his message in his music and his tantrum off cameras. Get off this dick for a minute. Yes, he was a good rapper and overall a talented artist. But as far as his skills as an MC, nas, biggie and jay-z are clearly above him.
My Man Pac didn’t flip words he was an emotions and story type of rapper. Biggie had cadence, flow and word play. Pac had a great voice and some songs I enjoyed but far from a god like some like to call him. Stop dicking Riding and enjoy the music.
So Pac just had the complete package of all of the things that are most important in making songs, lol.
all wack. and this page is the deffinition of censorship. fuck your freedom of speech na zi dickheads
tunes like store run, kings disease, till the war is won… typical nyc hogwash it has to be said.
Nas fell off after his second album and started being a pop star. Horrible beats and out of all the dope real MC’s he co signs these bubble gum pop radio rappers. Drake is a great pop rapper he’s friendly and safe, but never should he be mentioned in any goat MC stuff. Same with J-cole his can rap but neither guy is game changing. Way to many dope artists that are not on the radio using wack trap beats
Only reason why nas omitted 2pac it’s coz PAC dissed him in an interview,”All these weak rappers…..”? it’s on youtube
They squashed their beef the weekend before Pac got killed. That’s what the Death Row East song was about is that Nas was supposed to come to Vegas that weekend so they could do it publicly. Would have been big shit with Nas and Pac together while Pac was clearly still beefing with B.I.G. when B.I.G. had dissed Nas on Kick in the Door subliminally.
Nas is not omitting PAC as a GOAT. He is referring to the “Kick in the Door” remix which would have included NAS, Jay and BIG. He’s just comparing that to today’s big 3. Nas has said many times that PAC is top 4. PAC had probably already passed by the time that was on table.
J. Cole and Kendrick seem close to retirement so I disagree with those guys being next up. Drake is also an older rapper so nah he ain’t next. It is not clear why Nas cut out Tupac. It is probably Nas flipping the Jay Z verse from the “Where I’m From” track on Jay’s Volume 2 album. That is where Jay Z asked “who is the best MC, biggie, jay-z or nas?”
Dumb people take comments like this too seriously. I doubt Nas even listens to any of them like that…. Nas is just a nice guy who always shouts people out and shows love. I don’t take any of his “opinions” on rap seriously unless he’s talking about rap from the 80s which is what he’s truly passionate about. Dude is not sitting around listening to any of these modern rappers. lol
I think lil wayne is better than Cole, Drake and Kendrick, nas got to realize he not better than tupac.