Almost ten years ago, the Grammy-award winning rapper seemingly sealed a casket upon Hip-hop with the release of his controversial “Hip Hop Is Dead” record. A decade later, Nas revealed differing sentiments when asked about his prior statement in his appearance on HBO’s “Any Given Wednesday With Bill Simmons”.
Hip-hop is alive and well, expressed Nas as he directed his personal tributes to the likes of current artists such as Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, and Drake. The rap icon went further as to acclaiming them as “great musicians” who have “inspired” him as a musician, thus, leading to his conclusion: Hip-hop is in a “better” place.
“Better, because it gave birth to Kendrick, J. Cole, Drake, and a few other great, great artists”, exclaimed Nas when specifically asked about his 2006 declaration, later adding on an emphatic “they inspire me”.
Back in 2006, critics as well as fans acknowledged the vehemence behind Nas’ “Hip Hop is Dead” allegation. Throughout the decade, however, critics speculated a gradual change in perspective as seen through appearances and interviews.
Earlier this year, Nas commended Future, indicating perhaps the first reveal of his newfound perspective: “Big fan of Future, man, He’s pushing flows forward. He’s speaking about this generation and what’s going on. That’s a great place to be and what I respect about him”.
His words resonate with his earlier viewpoints expressed back in 2010, when he argued that Hip-hop “died several times, but I do believe in the heartbeat of it right now”.
Further into his interview with HBO, Nas relayed back to his memorable feud with West Coast rap icon, Jay Z: “It was a healthy rap rivalry. It went a little too far. But look at the results. Things can go really too far. Things can get out of hand”.
Nas continued with enumerating lessons he’s learned throughout his career as a musician, as well as concluding with his profound view towards current Hip-hop artists:
“We’re expected to be leaders. Especially coming from communities that we come from. We gotta do better. It’s up to us. We’re responsible for these kids that’s looking at us. For our families, it’s not just sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll… We learned. I learned from losing Biggie and Pac”.
By Jods Arboleda for RAPStation.com
