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Nas’ Top Ten Moments
Article by:
John Kennedy
 What a career it’s been for Nas. After dropping a debut that outclasses whole catalogs, Nas switched up his style with every subsequent project. And he seems to always make waves, from the controversial crucifixion scene in the “Hate Me Now” video to sparking the trend of more positive hip-hop with the inspiring, youth-oriented “I Can.” Before Nasir Jones’ ninth album, Hip-Hop is Dead… The N, is released to the world, NobodySmiling.com takes a moment to sum the many peaks of Nas’ career in a compact list of 10 entries. It’s only right, with hip-hop dying and all. Let’s go, Esco!
Pre-matic :
“Street's disciple, my raps are trifle / I shoot slugs from my brain just like a rifle / Stampede the stage, I leave the microphone split / Play Mr. Tuffy while I'm on some Pretty Tone shit / Verbal assassin, my architect pleases / When I was twelve, I went to hell for snuffin’ Jesus”
-Nas (“Live at the Barbeque”)
From the onset of Main Source’s “Live at the Barbeque,” all eyes and ears in the hip-hop circuit were glued to 18-year-old Nasty Nas. But when he dropped “Halftime,” his first solo single on MC Serch's soundtrack for the film Zebrahead, the world knew this kid was no fluke. Nas was instantly hailed the second coming of Rakim and anticipation mounted around Nas’ forthcoming album, Illmatic.
Illmatic :
What more can be said about Illmatic. It was one of the most influential hip-hop albums of all-time, raising the bar for lyricism, redefining flows and leading the way for the east-coast hip-hop renaissance. In a concise ten tracks and 40 minutes, Nas elaborately gives a glimpse into the mind of the young black male in growing up in the ghetto. On “One Love,” the hood news travels from Nas’ pen to his man in the pen, while “Life’s a Bitch” sees Nas partnering with AZ to detail the plight of the street life: “I switched my motto / instead of sayin’ fuck tomorrow / That buck that bought a bottle / could've struck the lotto,” Nas raps. Track for track, Illmatic is flawless.
On Top Of The World :
Nasir linked with then-peaking Fugees standout Lauryn Hill to hit the mainstream with some introspection on “If I Ruled The World.” He may have lost some Illmatic stans on this one, but nevertheless this became Nas’ first single to crack the Billboard’s top 20 on the Rap and R&B charts. With its flashy, Hype Williams-directed vid, the song established Nas on a more commercial level, pushing his sophomore project, It Was Written, to 3 million copies sold in the United States.
The Silver Screen :
Always interested in films, Nas co-wrote and made his acting debut on the Hype Williams-directed Belly, starring alongside DMX, T-Boz of TLC, Method Man, and other hip-hop heads. In the flick, Nas plays Sincere, the conflicted thug who realizes the street life is a dead-end road. While some of Nas’ lines lack believability (“Yo T., I got shot”), the film went to become a modern hood classic. A year later Nas filed a cameo role in 1999’s In Too Deep, acting as—you guessed it, a drug dealer.
Reppin’ The Hood :
Ok, so the CD didn’t garner much critical acclaim. And it featured a rapping Ron Artest. Even still, with QB’s Finest Nas united emcees from hip-hop’s most prominent housing complex in the world, the Queensbridge Projects, in a fine display of hood solidarity. On this first release from Nas’ Ill Will Records, Esco highlights the rhymes of greats like Marley Marl, MC Shan and Roxanne Shanté, current stars such as Mobb Deep and Capone of CNN, and under-the-radar rappers Nature, Cormega and Big Noyd. The lead single, “Da Bridge 2001,” brought together 10 QB lyricists to revive Shan & Marl's 1986 classic cut "The Bridge" and Nas’ group, The Bravehearts, also scored a surprise hit with “Oochie Wally.”
Rides on The Roc :
“I don’t kill soloists, only kill squads.”
-Nas (“You’re The Man”)
If you call out Nas, not only are you getting spanked, but your crew better look out too. The Roc learned this the hard way once Jay and Nas’ battle commenced. Riding the backdrop of Eric B & Rakim’s “Paid In Full” effortlessly, Nas aims his semi-automatic at Coc—excuse me, Roc-a-Fella Records on the freestyle track “Stillmatic”: “Rip the +Freeway+, shoot through +Memphis+ with money bags / Stop in Philly, order cheese steaks and eat +Beans+ fast / And bring it back up top, remove the fake king of New York / You show off, I count dough off when you sample my voice.” Ouch. I’m not even going to mention “Ether.”
Still Ill :
“They thought I'd make another Illmatic / But it's always forward I'm movin’ / Never backwards stupid here's another classic”
-Nas (“Stillmatic (The Intro)”)
True to its name, Stillmatic was a defining moment in Nas’ career. After years of his albums being compared to his debut, Nas finally quenched his fans’ thirst for a classic with his fifth solo project. Driven by Nas’ fiery feud with Jay Hova, Stillmatic displays an uncompromising Nasir on tracks like the stirring “One Mic,” the backward narrative “Rewind,” and the political “My Country.” Nas had previously taken on many alter egos throughout his career, but on Stillmatic he sounds as self-assured as ever, racking up another five mics from The Source magazine for his masterpiece.
Flips The Power Switch :
A year after Jay-Z puts Prodigy of Mobb Deep on the Summer Jam screen and challenges Nas to a battle, Esco decided to take his own antics to the stage. Nas planned a mock lynching of S. Carter—complete with a plush, life-sized Jay-Z—to go down at Hot 97’s Summer Jam 2002. The radio station rejected the idea and as a result, no Nas at the concert. But the next day, Nas popped up on rival radio station Power 105.1 venting to disappointed fans and talking plenty reckless. “I been bamboozled, hoodwinked, and the whole nine,” he said. Nas labeled Def Jam and Hot 97 “evil empires,” talked smack about Angie Martinez and Funkmaster Flex and even insisted that contemporary emcees are carbon copies, calling out rappers Nelly, Noreaga and Cam’ron in the process. In fact, the radio broadcast is the cause of the longstanding beef between Nas and The Diplomats: “Cam, he’s a good lyricist but the album’s garbage.” Oh boy!
Mutual Respect :
“Let’s go, Esco,” Jay-Z says moments before he and Nasir Jones are shaking hands in front of thousands at Power 105’s annual concert, Powerhouse, in New York. In the height of their battle, this would seem like the most unlikely of alliances. But unlike the beefy climate of hip-hop that swirled out of control after Nas and Jay’s battle, the two greats showed even greater strength in unity. After the show the two built even more. Nas eventually established a venture over at Def Jam for his own imprint, The Jones Experience, and he and Jay linked up for subsequent performances of Hov’s Nas-sampled classic “Dead Presidents.” It’s only matter of time before the two perform “Black Republicans” live.
Hip-Hop’s Obituary :
“If hip-hop should die we die together / Bodies in the morgue lie together / All together now”
-Nas (“Hip-Hop Is Dead”)
With hip-hop music dictated and controlled by the corporations rather than the artists, Nas feels that hip-hop is deceased. With intentions of performing mouth-to-mouth on the culture, Nas caused a storm of controversy with the title of his Def Jam debut, Hip-Hop is Dead… The N. Featuring “Black Republicans,” the long-craved-for collaboration with Young Hov, HHID will feature Nas rhyming over some of the finest backdrops Def Jam dollars can buy. But whether the album will prove its title accurate or serve as the antithesis will be seen Dec. 19, 2006, when his ninth long-player hits stores. On It Was Written’s “The Message,” Nas rhymed: “There’s one life, one love, so there can only be one king.” We’ll see if that statement still holds true.
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