“I’m still an MC who wants to create something that people can feel”: Nas Reflects on 50 Years of Hip-Hop
“Fortunately for me,” Nas said when I mentioned that he had never lived in a world without hip-hop. At 49, you could tell that the rapper and the genre, now 50 years old, grew up together.
“How wonderful. I remember as a kid and listening to these rap songs and watching the crazy dance go on and all that, and all that led to it becoming this huge, huge industry. this giant. It’s great to see it grow into what it is today—and you can still remember what it was,” he said via Zoom from Los Angeles, nearly 3,000 miles and 29 years away. illusion, The critically acclaimed 1994 album would eventually enter the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry and kick off a career that would lead to Grammys, film roles, investment company his own and a recurring spot on the GOAT MC roster.
To celebrate, the artist, born Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, collaborated with Hennessy to design a limited edition bottle that symbolizes hip-hop lifestyle, culture and influences – a somewhat natural partnership when these things happen, in his opinion. iteratively checking the name of the cognac.
Courtesy of Hennessy
“On my first album, I talked about Hennessy before the first song came out. I’m having a conversation, like, “Get over Hennessy.” Come to think of it, my journey and the journey of hip-hop, this is the moment, this is a year to celebrate—you know, when you’re old enough and of legal age to enjoy and eat Happy my way. love to celebrate,” he said. “You can get with what I’m doing. You can see the journey that I have had. “
Last month, Nas talked to Vanity Fair about its debut in the ’90s, returning to the studio during a long-awaited period of creative growth and becoming real.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Vanity Fair: Ilmatic debuted when you were 20 years old. Looking back now, what was your wildest dream of releasing that record?
Nas: I just want it to be heard. I just want it to gain some respect from the people I grew up listening to or to open up a whole new avenue for artists my age to become a new vocalist.
Did you ever listen to that album and can you still identify with your 20s today, despite all the other albums, the whole life you’ve lived? Are you still related to him?
I don’t listen to it, but if someone played it or it came out, I would think about what life would be like and today is a completely different day. And it was like the nineties was a completely different animal and yes, it took me back.
What do you think is the biggest difference in your creative process today compared to then because you have been in the game for such a long time, you have so many albums, you have awards, you have a business.
I don’t think about any of that. I’m still an MC who wants to do something that people can feel. I wanted to express what I was feeling and make that connection inside the studio so it had this meaning and painted a picture of where I am today. Hopefully people can, some people, relate to it, but back then it was just about making noise so people knew who I was. Now that they knew, it was a completely different set of ideas that an older man would normally try to implement. That still suits my style. My signature style.
