Nas has been called out by MC Shan over him not being included in any of the Hip Hop 50 celebrations he’s been organizing throughout the first half of 2023.
The former Juice Crew legend took to Instagram recently and aired out his frustrations with his fellow Queensbridge native.
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“I’m sitting here hearing that Nas is doing these muthafuckin’ 50th anniversary shows, right?” MC Shan began. “Nas, if you doing 50th anniversary shows and you ain’t holla at ya mans, let me tell you something, my n-gga, don’t never mention my muthafuckin’ name again. Don’t put my name in ya mouth about nothing, n-gga.”
He continued: “See, I’m not one of them n-ggas that’s fucking glorified by n-ggas with money. I could give a fuck how much money a n-gga got. N-gga, you put your pants on one leg at a time like men n-gga. I ain’t glorified by the shit you have.
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“But I’m looking at it like this, n-gga: if you gettin’ n-ggas money on the 50th of Hip Hop, and you glorify me and say, ‘Yo, Shan this,’ and you ain’t call me and say, ‘Yo, Shan, I see what you doing, n-gga.’ “I done did a show with you muthafucka, but if you ain’t call me and that whole roster is full, n-gga, don’t never mention my mothafuckin’ name.”
MC Shan continued his tirade by saying he doesn’t need “Nas’ accolades” and how he “deals on loyalty” above all else.
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It’s unclear which shows Shan was referring to specifically, but Nas toured with Wu-Tang Clan earlier this year and headlined Madison Square Garden in February.
Mass Appeal — which Nas is a key player in — has also been spearheading a range of Hip Hop 50 celebrations including concerts, documentaries, musical releases and exhibitions.
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Despite MC Shan’s grievances, the Illmatic lyricist has frequently shown love to the 57-year-old, including during a February appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.
During the interview, Nas recited lyrics from Shan’s classic 1985 song “The Bridge” while calling it one of his favorite rap songs of all time.
“It was a song about my neighborhood called ‘The Bridge,'” he said. “And MC Shan — this came out in 1985, I was very young, and it was a Hip Hop anthem.
“He said in the last verse, I’m paraphrasing it: ‘Dead dreams, bought and sold/ You gotta try and receive your goal/ However you do it, however you may/ Don’t ever listen to what nobody say/ ‘Cause I will tell you the deal/ You gotta go by what your heart feel/ ‘Cause if you don’t, you’ll be misled/ By stupid little things put inside your head.'”
He continued: “That verse, when I heard it, it was like gospel. This is what I have to be aware of.”
This isn’t the first time that MC Shan has called out a Hip Hop heavyweight. During an interview in 2017, he took issue with JAY-Z’s 4:44 track “The Story of O.J.”
“I don’t see this game as being a young man’s sport,” he said. “I see this game that if there’s not people like me and [Kool G Rap] doing what we do, there’s a whole generation that don’t have shit to listen to — what the fuck? Are we gonna be forced to have to listen to this other stuff that is out here? I don’t think so. There is another slot for us out here don’t be greedy and take it all.”
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He continued: “I’m not agreeing with … I haven’t heard Jay’s album and I’m not running out to get Jay’s album. From what I hear, he has been saying the same shit that people has been saying for years. If you wanted to tell people to do something, tell them to pull their fuckin’ pants up! Don’t tell them to stop putting money to their ear! That’s what their fans expect from them.”
Shan also accused JAY-Z of stealing his flow.
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“If you listen to a lot of albums where you take a lot of people’s lyrics and use the shit including my flow, I’m definitely not gonna run out and buy the fuckin’ Blueprint and The F Print or whatever the fuck,” he added dismissively.
“Not being a hater. Man made his money — get your money and do what you do — but don’t act like your word is law like you some fuckin’ prophet and shit. Let n-ggas do what the fuck they do.”
