Word: nas
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Nas walks the line. Between gangsta-leaning and Godfearing, between lustful and romantic, between the poetic and the scatological. He has starred in a movie (director Hype Williams' Belly), performed high-profile duets (with Mary J. Blige and Lauryn Hill), and dodged death (when his friend and fellow New Yorker Biggie Smalls was shot and killed in 1997, Nas went into virtual seclusion, fearing for his life). He's proud but not bombastic, he's casual in tone but almost always serious in content, and although his raps are deeply personal, he strives for the prophetic. He's a craftsman...
...Nas' first solo album, Illmatic (1994), was a rap classic--lean, smart and at times jazzy. His new album, I Am... (Columbia), aims even higher: the songs are grander, more aggressive, more cinematic. Several top pop performers stop by for duets, including Puff Daddy (on the booming Hate Me Now), hip-hop-soul singer Aaliyah (on the ballad You Won't See Me Tonight) and gangsta rapper DMX (on the rough-riding Life Is What You Make...
Just seven words and-poof!-an incalculable amount of damage done. WARW, Greaseman's employer, quickly suspended Greaseman after he made this remark and has subsequently fired him. But there have been rumblings, as Greaseman makes his groveling rounds in such reputable are-nas as Nightline, that the radio man will soon be back...
...years later, Nas blesses us with his masterful Illmatic, which includes his own ode to "Represent"-ing, held by some as the best track on the album. This Nas story by Aesop begins: "Straight up sh*t is real and any day can be your last in the jungle/get murdered on the humble guns'll blast n*ggas tumble." The next year, Nas' Queensbridge cohorts Mobb Deep commence their foremost LP with the line: "I keep it real pack the steel hold my nine...
...movie or TV role that might compromise the message in her music. She addresses the crowd. "I'm just a vehicle through which this thing moves," she says. "It's not about me at all." You think back to some of the rappers you've talked to--Jay-Z, Nas, the Roots, Grandmaster Flash. A record cues up in your mind: "Ain't no stopping...