Nas recently joined Henry Louis Gates’ Finding Your Roots series on PBS, where he found a 1859 bill of sale for his third great-grandmother Pocahontas to a slaveholder in the South, according to the New York Daily News.
“First I was enraged when I looked at it,” Nas said. “I was like, ‘That guy that owned property owes me some cash. My people made him really wealthy, so maybe I should find his family and talk.'”
Nas says the news about his past was unexpected.
“I thought I would never know anything about my family past my grandparents,” he adds, “and I was willing to just accept that because I had no way of finding out…So when I saw the bill of sale, I had to stop and deal with that for a moment. This is a sale of a human being. This was business here in this country.”
The Queensbridge emcee adds that questions about his third great-grandmother came up as he made new discoveries on the show.
“Just finding out her name was Pocahontas, it made me wonder what she looked like,” he said. “She had to be hot.”
Nas’ experience on the series is likely to impact his music, he says.
“It will probably happen on its own,” he explains. “I cannot disappoint these ancestors now. I have to represent.”
Nas has rapped about slavery in the past, including his material on Untitled’s “N.I.G.G.E.R. (The Slave & The Master),” which was released in 2008.
“They gave us lemons, we made lemonade,” Nas raps on the track. “But this nigga’s paid / Ancestry of slaves / Descendant of kings, it’s necessary, I bling/ Put rims on everything, wear Timbs on every scene.”
That year, Nas earned a 4.5 out of 5 for Untitled in the HipHopDX review of the project. “[Nas] waxes poetic about the African American struggle in America,” DX said at the time. “There’s a certain enriching manner that Nas addresses the N-Word that makes it look more like a study rather than the rampant usage of a word.”
“Just finding out her name was Pocahontas, it made me wonder what she looked like,” he said. “She had to be hot.”
– Nas speaking on how hot his great great great grandmother must have been…
What’s the subtext here? What he wants to fuck Native women? The fuck is he even talking about?
and to think, all that happened just 20 years or so ago in 1985…how far we’ve come since then.
wtf are u talkin about wasnt no slaves in the 80s in the united states
if that was the case his parents would be slaves, this is his 3rd great grandmother
To other anon:
Did you even read the fucking article?
^ 2nd anon, have you ever read a history book?
what book should i check out to read about slavery in the united states that was going on 29 years ago lol
We got the fucking date fixed, you assholes. Go fuck yourselves.
love to play the “we” card. unless you work on the website, how are you apart of this? if you do work for the website-who cusses out your customers?
Backshots on Nas’ great-great-great-grandma, motherfucking right!
a 1985 bill of sale for a slave. horrible editing. so there was slavery during the cosby show lmfao. even if it was 1885, slavery was over in 1865 SMH
We got the date fixed! Thanks for pointing it out
“even if it was 1885, slavery was over in 1865 SMH” Thanks for pointing that out, Captain Obvious. Moron.
Her name was Pocahontas she must’ve been hot???
Are you serious negro? You couldnt say “beautiful”
fuck outta here
A Bill of Sale from “1985” (Nas was alive when his 3rd Great grammy was still in slavery) for a slave named Pocahontas. I can’t even……
america its america an africa its africa
1985 bill of sale seriously? so his mom was still inslavery 100 years after proclamation.
1859 is the real date.
Damn slavery in 85? The slaves should have got some AKs and UZIs and blasted massa “Say hello to my lil friend bitch!!!”
They should have called the United Nations to set them free.
I bet she was a fine piece of ass too Nasty.
Just finding out her name was Pocahontas, it made me wonder what she looked like, he said. She had to be hot.
Can you imagine being as retarded as Nas?
only a w.dude could say something like dat…yup..only u guys,trying to fit in a genre u don’t belong in.
This is what happens when you allow low key racist hipsters into the genre…
“Nas is stupid.”
“u white”
only white call each other white and expect them to get offended. “this is what happens when white people -” yeah, it is. people with money and influence.
^entitled boy trying to play hhdx professor
We see you, fuk off
Since when is a NI**ER a human being? Negros are lesser beings, I’d call them monkeys, but I don’t wish to offend the animals
Lol try harder bigot boy
They follow the racist websites they know that post hhdx content
Jethro and his boys pop up when its lord jamar, eminem, and black talk
Keep telling yall stop thinking these comments come from all hiphop music fans, some of them only here to fuk things up
Their weird suburban 30 + cornballs who were bullied when younger . Pay the weird suburban trolls no mind
why would you even type in http://www.hiphopdx.com if you are racist lmao..
hot as in beautiful.
Thanks captain obvious. Im willing too see the followup to this story, it will be interesting toshow us how this goes
Nas sold drugs. He was lower than any slave trader.
BRUUUUAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH White boy, gtfoh.
Go cash a welfare check, oreo boy.
Pocahontas was ugly as hell, google it you Disney loving weirdos