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a million things today:
ERYKAH BADU'S AWESOMELY FAKE NEW VIDEO BY SOME FANS:
I LIKE 'HEALER', BUT DAMN... SOME PEOPLE LOVE THIS SONG LIKE IT'S THEIR FIRST BLOWJOB. LOL!
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THE HOMIES!!! - APATHY AND ROYCE 5'9" RHYMING TOGETHER. WOW: http://www.zshare.net/audio/150298191463da94/
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YOU DON'T DESERVE RETIREMENT!
You Don't Deserve Retirement
By Robert Brokamp July 11, 2008 Comments (1)
9 Recommendations
I have some news for you, folks: You are not entitled to a retirement. It's not in the Constitution. It's not in the Bill of Rights. It's not in the Bible (except for that one time in Numbers 8:25, and that was only for the Levites). Retirement is something you earn.
You have earned your Social Security benefits, but good luck retiring on those. This year, the average benefit is about $13,000 a year -- and let's not even get into whether future benefits will be paid in full.
Not only are you not entitled to a retirement -- you don't deserve a retirement. By "you," I mean the average American -- which could mean you specifically if you're doing an average job of planning for your retirement. Here are three reasons why you should work for the rest of your life.
1. You don't save enough.
According to the Federal Reserve, the savings rate in this country hasn't exceeded 5% since 1995; that's down from approximately 12.5% in the early 1981. There's plenty of debate about whether the savings rate accurately reflects how much people are actually saving. But there's no doubt that the average American isn't saving enough.
Hey, it's a free country. You earned your money, you should spend it however you like. But if you're spending every dime you make throughout your career, don't complain when your 60s roll around and you're still a slave to the alarm clock.
2. You don't know how much you need to save.
What's one of the best ways to get someone to save more for retirement? Get them to do a retirement savings calculation. According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, crunching the numbers is particularly effective at getting people to make a change to their retirement plan. Unfortunately, less than half of workers even bother trying to estimate if they're saving enough.
On our Rule Your Retirement website, we have a host of calculators to help you analyze several financial decisions, including a retirement calculator that can handle all kinds of variables -- Social Security, pensions (and whether they adjust for inflation), different levels of spending in retirement, and Roth and traditional retirement accounts, to name a few. Your broker or IRA provider might also provide a retirement calculator; just make sure it can handle all the moving parts.
But whatever calculator you use, you'll at least have some idea of what you need to do -- especially if you're in your 40s and 50s and are way behind.
3. You have a lousy portfolio.
As we've seen over the past several months (and past several years), U.S. stocks don't always go up. Which means your portfolio hasn't done so much, if your portfolio -- like those of most other Americans -- is dominated by the stocks of large American companies, thrown together with no rhyme or reason.
However, there's a whole world of other investments out there, and holding a little bit of different types really paid off over the past decade. Consider that a $100,000 investment in an S&P 500 index fund in the beginning of 1998 was worth $177,546 by the end of 2007, a 5.9% annualized gain. However, what if that one hundred grand was instead invested in the following portfolio and annually rebalanced?
Asset Category (25% in each)
Typical Stocks
U.S. Large-Cap Stocks
General Electric (NYSE: GE), ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM)
U.S. Small-Cap Stocks
Priceline.com (Nasdaq: PCLN), FLIR Systems (Nasdaq: FLIR)
International Stocks
Toyota (NYSE: TM), BP (NYSE: BP)
Real Estate Investment Trusts
Simon Property Group (NYSE: SPG), Public Storage
Source: Large caps and small caps from Ibbotson Associates; REITs from NAREIT index; international from Europe, Australasia, and Far East Index. "Typical stocks" taken from respective Vanguard index funds.
That portfolio turned $100,000 into $251,463, for an annualized return of 9.7%. Plus, it has held up much better so far during this painful year.
Finally, if you're within 10 years of retirement, or already retired, you should own bonds, with a heavy dose of inflation-protected securities. The iShares Lehman TIPS Bond exchange-traded fund is up 16.5% over the past year. Have anything like that in your portfolio?
Begin earning your retirement
You won't be able to retire until you have a plan -- a plan for how much you'll save now, a plan for how you'll invest those savings, and a plan for the best ways to spend it if and when you actually can retire. In my Rule Your Retirement service, we cover those topics each and every month -- along with model portfolios and the best ways to maximize your Social Security, pension, and retirement accounts -- with some cool tools thrown into the deal. You can check it out with a free 30-day trial by clicking here.
With a lot of planning now and a little maintenance planning along the way, you'll get the retirement you deserve.
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WHO IS XV? FIND OUT:
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I LOVE AYAH:
Ayah
Below you will find a link to "I Reminisce" which is a song off the mixtape, "Problem Woman" available now. You may recognize the production, as it is J Dilla's "Think Twice."
http://www.zshare.net/audio/90534482304c15/
Second song from the "Problem Woman" mixtape. It is an original song that both Skyzoo and Ayah wrote over Pharcyde's "Passing Me By".
http://www.zshare.net/audio/9875184cf025c1/
"Pusha Man" Feat Tona. "Pusha Man" is the latest release from Ayah's "Problem Woman" Mixtape Pls go to
http://ayahmusic.com/music/pusha_man_single/01-Ayah-Pusha_Man_(Feat.Tona).mp3
to listen (click)/to download (right click) "Pusha Man" ft Tona
REQUEST FOR PUSHA MAN ON FLOW AT: WWW.REQUESTS@FLOW935.COM
VIEW THE PUSHA MAN VIDEO AND CLIPS FROM HER PERFORMANCE AT HER RELEASE:
www.myspace.com/AyahMusic
OR JOIN MY FACEBOOK GROUP
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2713083395
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I ALSO LOVE ANDRE 3000 CAUSE HE'S JUST LIKE ME:
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TIMES NEUE ROMAN AKA AROWBEAROWBEAROWBE
http://www.zshare.net/audio/815907562a151e/
THUNDERHEIST/ELECTRO INSPIRED, BUT NOT BAD...
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JAY-Z ROCKING IN AFRICA? ILL:
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DAMN! YOUNG BUCK AIN'T PLAYIN!
Ousted G-Unit member Young Buck continued his assault on his former group when he went on XM satellite radio and challenged Tony Yayo to a boxing match.
“As far as Yayo talking about he wanna fight, I’ll do it,” said Buck, according to UDub News. “I’ll do it off of real nigga shit I swear on my child’s life. If they line this shit up, where me and that nigga can go in a ring, we can put that shit on VH1. We can make that shit real life. I’ll have Floyd Mayweather training me. I’ll knock that nigga’s fat, flabby, old non-rappin’ ass out.”
This isn't the first time Buck and Yayo have had disagreement. When Yayo was accused of slapping the son of Jimmy "Henchmen" Rosemond, Buck spoke on the matter saying that he would never side with someone who hit a child; however, Buck never officially accused Yayo of doing so.
WWW.HIPHOPDX.COM
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HOW AWESOME DOES THIS ALBUM COVER LOOK?
ICE CUBE FOREVER!
01 What is a Pyroclastic Flow?
02 Jack In the Box
03 It Takes a Nation
04 Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It
05 Hood Mentality
06 Why Me? f. Musiq Soulchild
07 Cold Places 08 Do Ya Thang
09 Thank God
10 Here He Come
11 Get Money, Spend Money, No Money
12 Get Use To It f. The Game & WC
13 Crack Baby
14 Tomorrow
15 Stand Tall
16 Take Me Away f. Butch Cassidy
IT CAN'T COME SOON ENOUGH :)
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CANNIBAL OX IS THE MOTHERFUCKIN BEST GROUP BESIDES SBU! WORD TO VORDUL:
THE EYES OF A PIGEON
words: JOHANNA CONSTANTINE
Vordul Megallah. If Cannibal Ox’s second album was truly to be called Cipher Unknown then no one exemplifies that idea more than Vordul. And if Vast can be summed up by his name, then in a way so can Vordul; after all, the name Vordul is not in any dictionary. And for a rapper who came onto the scene in the late nineties wielding clutches of multi-syllabic rhymes, which he seemed to rattle off at the top of his lungs, somehow he managed to remain fairly anonymous. Cloaked within the largesse of the Atoms Family movement, he stood out lyrically without ever being in the forefront. Even when Atoms Family gave way to the duo of Vordul and Vast, somehow V. Mega was both omnipresent on the album and invisible at the same time. Interviewers seemingly often headed straight for the loquacious Vast Aire or their notable producer and co-signer El-P. Reviewers pegged him as the “other guy in Can-Ox” and for his part, he seemed more than happy with the spotlight off. In the years since, Vordul continued making music and his fans came to expect that it would have to be sought out; often appearing on smaller labels, each project seemingly more underground than the next. Somehow, as he seemingly drifted out of the music industry, Vordul nevertheless continued to make his mark on the actual music. In fact, although he has only one solo album; 2004’s Revolution of Young Havoks, including The Cold Vein Vordul has four group LP’s of some kind ,and a “street album” called Yung World to his credit. This sort of paradox somehow seems to fit Vordul and his reputation for being a “rapper’s rapper”, after all, over the years it always appeared that he was more interested in rhyming with his friends than in making money or acquiring fame. This sort of elusiveness, compounded by the 2007 announcement and subsequent cancellation (again) of a new Cannibal Ox record with El-P was fuel for speculation of all sorts. From rumors of clinical depression to drug use to a supposed rift with Vast Aire, Vordul seemed to be the fulcrum on which everything turned. Conspicuous in his absence from the at times acrimonious debate, true to form, his voice seemed stronger than ever on the only song Cannibal Ox released during the short-lived reunion for the group which never broke up. Now the walking paradox known as Vordul Mega has a new album dropping in the fall, and somehow, the lead single is a track recorded in 2000. Confused? Well, what did you expect…
Hey Vordul, what’s up?
What it is?
When I looked at the press release for this project I was a little confused. It said this project was started during The Cold Vein, before you even did your first solo album [2004’s Revolution of Young Havoks]. But you worked on it up until now? That’s a long time…
Right. Well, collectively yeah, but there were a few pieces the kid had lingering around that never had a chance to get their shine. While the first solo was being recorded with Belief, we just recorded a ton of material and chose twelve or thirteen tracks for it. But prior to that I had been recording with this kid Zach One who also made beats, this was when he was in NYU, around the same time as we did Can Ox. At that time, me and a few of my friends were putting together some songs and whatever, made maybe three or four songs and that was that. Now, I was able to retrieve it through the magic of the vault (laughs), there’s a vault that holds a lot of special material and we went and took that out. So it became part of the record in addition to material I had been working on after the first solo and stuff I did real recent.
So, how does that work when you look at this record as compared to Revolution of Young Havoks? How do they compare?
I would say this one is a fuller experience. That is due to more features and producers but it’s all put together a certain way. I enjoyed working with El again and Vast again, and what they brought to the table. James Bond too, I worked with him before on production, so that was peace, you know? But I also enjoyed working with new people; Invizzbl Men brought a lot of energy with how they do it and they had the beat for that one picked out. Megalon is just unique, a very unique brother and we had met before but never recorded so it got set up and we just vibed in the studio. Bronze Nazareth did his thing too. All those people brought their individuality into the record and helped make it a more full picture. It’s also fuller due to just life experience in general. This record took some time, you feel me? Because when Young Havoks was put together, it was put together so…how should I say it…it wasn’t as focused on as being an album. It was all about, okay, we got some dope beats, put some good lyrics to em, get in the lab…kids was a little anxious being that it was beginning of the Nature Sounds label and the my first album too. So you know, that was more about putting some [dope songs] together where this was more concentrated on the album, more focused of describing a specific time period.
You mention the features, which is something I also found interesting. Like any fan of the OX, although I like you both individually, I immediately looked to see if Vast and El-P are both on the album, which they are, yet we aren’t getting a new Cannibal Ox album. We got press advances of Vast’s album and you are featured on it, as well as being featured on the Mighty Joseph LP he did with Karniege. You guys did a couple tracks together last year on other people’s records like the “Brothaz” remix with Mr. Lif and “Planet of the Eat” with El-P and so on. From everything I can tell you and Vast still work together, are cool with each other and talk about Cannibal Ox in the present tense. So explain to me, what’s that situation, and why is it that we aren’t getting that Can Ox LP?
That’s funny. That’s ill because I am interested in hearing the final songs on [Vast’s] album because it be like, kids will record so much material at a time that you forget. It’s like okay, the music is due and then next thing you know there’s an album coming out with you featured on it. Then you hear it and it’s almost brand new to you. Because me personally, I don’t listen to my own music a lot unless it’s put together as an album. If its just pieces of songs or stuff that aint finished or guest verses, I just let em sit. Then when the album is together I might listen to it, it has to be in a way I can sink my teeth into it. So I remember doing a bunch of songs with Vast but I couldn’t tell you what songs those are on his album, I’ll hear it when it’s done, I like that better, know what I’m saying? But yeah, Can Ox is a situation that’s been on hold due to circumstances, but it’s like kids is always Can Ox, to the death! Can Ox is us, so as long as we here making music it’s Can Ox. At the same time, kids is doing their individual explorations right now.
When you guys kinda came out from the bigger and at the time, fairly well known umbrella of Atoms Family, did you in any way imagine it would be a collaboration that you would still get asked about almost a decade later? Does it surprise you?
People are always interested in when we are going to do that second album. I always see people and always somebody wants to know and honestly, it’s just up in the air; I don’t really have one reason, so I guess I’m just as puzzled as you. But it’s so many ways that life is just flowing, kids is getting older, time is passing and that is just natural, know what I’m saying? It’s like when the appropriate time comes we can indulge but what matters is we can still do our solo thing and express as Can Ox, feel me? For me and Vast, I know I can speak for him too (pauses) this was always a strong hobby of ours. It was never something like “We gotta get out there and get money!” Kids loved the cipher, loved to sit back and write some lines and just be creative, know what I’m saying? So it’s just a given that any situation we could come together and put something together, he on my album twice. I’m on his album, Mighty Joe album; we did Super Chron, Lif…but as far as another Cold Vein. It might never be another Cold Vein. It might be something totally leftfield from that and it can be appreciated or not. But as long as both of us are being creative, I’m happy for that, I know he’s happy for that, the people who listen to music as we do are happy for that. Times change. Sometimes you gotta have just one of something.
You’ve been a Harlem resident your whole life?
Yeah, the strong majority of my life. I was born in Manhattan but my moms and pops was living in the Bronx and then shortly after that we moved to Harlem. Majority of our lives we was in Manhattan, besides some time in Florida to get away from the city and came right back to Harlem.
How old are you?
I’m 29 now.
So you have been around through massive changes in Harlem, you’ve been around through the 80’s and 90’s and now the “new” Harlem and gentrification?
I always thought Harlem was a jazzy place. It always had a lot of music, a lot of shopping, 125th, Appollo…it’s pretty much an open city where a lot of people from other places flow through. I feel like New York has this essence of “The Big Apple”, big commerce, everybody at some point moves here from somewhere else or stays here or visits or takes a plane. Harlem, like anyplace, it aint too much if it’s good or bad, it just is what it is. There’s a lot of development, I mean you would never see something like Starbucks back in the days. It was definitely more specific, it was more specific to Harlem back in the days, soul food not Starbucks. Back in the days you could always get a good movie for four dollars off the street, it was always like that on 125th. People had tables up on 125th and they was selling tailor made clothing, bootleg videos and music, but then the government or whoever took that off the street and moved it into the market on 116th. But what changed in Harlem is what changed all over the world, people used to just be from where they was from but now people moving around, mixing cultures and just getting with it. Which can be a good thing…I don’t really have no strong attachment to New York except for the people I know. I went to a lot of art schools and that is where I met Atoms and that’s how Atoms Family came together and we all left school to do art on an entrepreneurial level. And my whole experience had just been all about art; I was big into comic books, just all about art. I was going to Nuyorican Poets Café and all kinda venues of that nature…
When you look back at that era in New York, that time in the underground when the scene was brand new and really right knit, what are your memories? What stands out to you now in hindsight, after all, that’s the era that sort of birthed Atoms and by virtue of that, Cannibal Ox, right?
Yeah…I would say the freestyles. There was always an event and every event was decent, at least good. There might be one artist you didn’t like cause it’s not your cup of tea but there was always an event and a thousand artists performing and you enjoyed who you enjoyed. And most nights you enjoyed everything! But then it would be the freestyles outside, know what I’m saying? Kids is just chilling, talking about the performance they saw and then get into a freestyle session, go get something to eat, then you take it in. It was always an event though, like Wetlands…Nuyorican was more intimate, from start to beginning Nuyorican was more like how it was after an event at Wetlands. It was more like everybody is really close whereas Wetlands was more like a performance and then afterwards was more low key.
It’s funny because you had a reputation for sick freestyling didn’t you? I read something El-P said about your verse on Metal Gear having been supposed to end with the Vast Aire adlib but you just kept going off the top for something like 24 more bars. And although I had that song on vinyl since forever, I always thought it was written that way, which is impressive. Was freestyling something you prided yourself on?
I never prided myself on freestyles. I always thought I could do better because I looked up to so many people when it came to freestyling.
Like who?
Who! Like Many Styles and…Walz…Subcon, Supernatural…many artists man, many, many artists. Pumpkinhead…kids was just nice and they went at it! Atoms did they thing too, kids was nice, but me personally…like me personally, I always jumped in and out. I would jump in, throw a lil' (dart) and be out [laughs]. But these kids went at it and me, I always fell back kinda, know what I’m saying. I was, for lack of better words, always very low key with it. I was just so happy to be there. And then later on I started becoming more involved and made more of a mark or whatever but for the most part I just loved the be there. I just loved to see my kin and kick it, and just be there! I observed more so…
You always have kind of taken the background in so many ways despite the fact that you were always artistically upfront in a sense. I remember when Sol dissed El-P and he threw your name out in the discussion when you didn’t have a record or anything and then El had you say a little rebuttal on his response. Early reviews of The Cold Vein almost made you sound like a third wheel to the contributions of Vast and El-P, but in retrospect you were almost like the cement that held everything together. Your discography and list of collaborations is far deeper than I think most people would realize but at the same time your interviews and public appearances seem rare. You seem an enigma of sorts, you have a lot of respect from your peers yet you always stayed in the shadows. Why?
I’ve grown a lot as an individual but…I think it was just natural. I think I just really enjoyed other people more so than trying to put myself out there. It wasn’t so much lack of confidence or shyness as it was me…I was just so overwhelmed by the energies that I was absorbing around my people…I always loved doing the art y’know? And being with my people, because I grew up as a single child till I was ten years old. Then I had a baby sister and a baby brother but they was close in age so they was playing with each other [laughs].
So looking at Megagraphitti, we didn’t get a press copy yet but we got a press release and track listing. And to a certain extent it seems like this is meant to be a pretty personal record, and somewhat of a dark record…what does this record symbolize to you?
It definitely symbolizes coming out of struggle and being able to…over the years I been involved in all types of situations. Recently I been rippin’ and runnin’ and just unable to sit still. Going through the struggles of how to maintain with self and just…not be bored. On a real personal level now, outside of the music, I’m finally able to be stable and be focused right now. Being focused and having some foresight towards what I want to do. That’s what I plan to do as far as promoting myself and that’s what I plan to do just as far as how I orient myself with people period. Because, yeah, I have been known as the person who is just out the picture, know what I’m saying? And now I have more of a grasp on the other shit in life so I have a much more enthusiastic feel to want to be more involved in my art. Whether it’s my music, someone else music or just music in general. Or just the politics of life in general, you feel me? I just want to be more in tune with it and more in tune with music. And so this represents a return to being more involved in music and more involved in creativity…for myself.
http://coolehmag.com/frontEnd/feature.php?i=41&s=67
AND NOW FOR A WORD FROM VAST ARRINGTON!
FIFTY-TWO PICKUP
words : ANDREW RICKETTS & SAMMY Q.
photos: ALEXANDER RICHTER
Vast
dj., vast·er, vast·est.
1. Very great in size, number, amount, or quantity.
2. Very great in area or extent; immense.
3. Very great in degree or intensity. See synonyms at enormous.
n. Archaic.
Etymology: Latin
An immense space.
Vast Aire is perhaps the most perfectly named performer I have ever met. He is not only one of the biggest people I have ever shook hands with, he does everything on a scale that is commensurate with his nom de plume. And in conversation he is indeed “very great in degree or intensity”; he thinks big and has no qualms about sharing those thoughts in his aptly booming baritone. Perhaps then it makes sense that he was such a massive presence from his first appearances as a member of the Atoms Family collective in the late nineties New York underground. It goes without saying that Vast is still best remembered as one half of Cannibal Ox, a rap duo whose 2001 debut The Cold Vein, is widely considered one of this millenium’s most important hip-hop records. But that was over seven years ago, and although Vast and Vordul still collaborate and mutually fly the Ox flag, it is clear that Vast has been his own entity from the beginning. His discography as a solo artist is indeed “great in area or extent”…innumerable appearances with artists as varied as Madlib, Dabrye, Bronze Nazareth, MF DOOM and Pete Rock, a series of mixtapes entitled Way of the Fist, a really dope collaborative record with fellow indie-rapper Karniege under the moniker Mighty Joseph and two solo albums. He tours incessantly, and has been making it happen on the road since The Cold Vein, quietly earning his veteran status.
All this work and success has not come without it’s pitfalls however, Vast has drawn his share of criticism over the years, deserved or not. His debut album pleased many but also surprised and alienated some Cannibal Ox fans with it’ lighter tone and sound. His second album; a collaboration with Mighty Mi of the now defunct Eastern Conference label, was maligned by some press and fans as uneven and uninspired. Vast seems both aware of this and remarkably untroubled, it could be just the nature of any professional who has excelled in his field for a long period of time to simply shrug off criticism. Or perhaps he is buoyed by the recent critical success of his work as part of Mighty Joseph. Whatever accounts for his confidence, some small part is surely because of the album banging out of his speakers, a project he describes as his “best work ever”. Dueces Wild, his third solo album, is tight and bombastic, it’s Vast yeah, but it is also unmistakably different from his past work. Well, why not let him tell it…
I gave Dueces Wild a listen. I find it to be a lot different than the first. Can you explain to me what your objectives were when you first started recording?
You mean recording in general or recording this album?
This album, yea.
I feel that hip-hop is missing that fun, that vibe. But still at the same time, educational...dropping jewels. You know what I mean? At the same time! So that's what made it interesting. That was my goal for this project. I pretty much centered it around, like a card game. Just you and your buddies talking life, shooting the shit, talking about what you gonna do. The card game is life really. Dealing with life...with the hand you're dealt. I sorta took that angle and just ran with that.
How does your camaraderie with friends influence this record and what you do in general?
I mean, you know, everyone's growing and learning. Everyone's growing and experiencing. I definitely have a group of friends that I'm close with, that I grew up with. Friends are a huge influence. On books you read, movies you watch, people you date. You could meet a girl just 'cause they know a friend of yours. So that's definitely a huge influence. I have a group of associates that I've [been] cool with for many years, and I have a close circle of close friends. Add all of that and it's a big group of people.
Who would you count among your "associates" from doing music?
Everybody that I've been working with over the years. You know Wu Tang, Brand Nubian, my LSG fam. All that is deeply rooted old fam.
You're considered a formidable solo artist and you do have this extended family that's also great in their own right. How has it been to establish yourself even with those ties to a huge fam? Does their endorsement help you?
Hip-hop is a culture. I'm proud enough to know certain people in this culture that did a lot. I'm proud enough to have them be able to judge, and tell me what I'm doing is hot or, you know, to par. In that respect it's motivation and it's also an elder or teacher. That's a huge influence as well. Sadat X is a close brother of mine. Knowing people like that...Justice or GZA...knowing people like this have helped me grow and become who I am as a person. I'm fortunate to know them, and I'm lucky (on one hand) that their great musicians too. They can teach me about life and music.
You talked about "dropping jewels"...what are the things those people have imparted to you that you see yourself passing on with Dueces Wild?
I feel like on Dueces it's very life oriented. It's very pro-knowledge and pro-culture. That's the best way I can explain it. It's about dealing with what you gotta deal with and being real about it. Life is not gonna give you the Ace. Life isn't gonna give you all the big cards you're gonna need to win games. Sometimes you gotta be straight genius with it...with how you meet goals in life. And I had fun with this album showing a real side of me. We all play joke around and have fun. But at the end of the day, we're real people. Government and church...all that shit affects us. So we can't just sit here and act like nothing affects us. Everyone's playing their role. With this album, I didn't wanna just complain about what's wrong. I didn't wanna just sing about "Be in school. Don't be a fool" either. There's a couple of songs where I touch on topics...and it was purposely done. I think that spirituality, culture and knowledge needs to come back and needs to be at the forefront of hip-hop. We need to be mature about sexuality, about all these things. When the deuce is wild, it's the number one card in the deck. So I'm trying to show dudes 'Get your game up.' The deuce is wild; you can't just play with some joker.
There's a real poetry about your language. You equate one thing to another very well. You substitute ideas that are similar. I wanted to know if there were any literary or musical or film influences that particularly help you to do that.
Definitely, definitely. One of my biggest influences right now is Stanley Kubrick. And everybody loves Blade Runner. But the gem is...you gotta be able to look at Eyes Wide Shut and see the gem he's giving you in that. You gotta able to look at the army jump-off he did. What's that?
Full Metal Jacket?
Yea there's a couple. Just his whole mind. Like 2001: A Space Odyssey...you can't compare none of that to Blade Runner but it's from the same mind. To me, that was a huge influence on me because I'm a director but I do it with music. So the only difference is, this album is Blade Runner , that album is Eyes Wide Shut. But it still comes from the same mind. It's an honest vision. He taught me to basically be creative. You gotta be creative and open-minded. Things will be different as long as it's good. You can't ask a tree to be two-feet tall forever. It's that height at that moment in time, but it's gonna do what it's gonna do. It's natural for me to be influenced by Lost Poets and Gil Scott Heron. Hell yes! But, I'm also influenced by Rakim and KRS-1. So that's what makes Vast. That's [my] uniqueness that I was able to grow up with KRS-1, with Rakim and Lost Poets. I'm able to mesh all of that, and make sense out of all of it. I'm able to respect what Pharoahe Monch was doing. I'm able to respect what Q-Tip was doing...and Rakim was doing. And I'm able to respect what Maya Angelou is doing. It all comes together.
Do you think that the environment in hip-hop is conducive to taking that inclusive approach? Do you think the market supports that?
It's starting to. You know when Jay-Z is doing songs with The Roots, he's going acoustic...it's a sign of that. There's a kid in Marcy Projects who doesn't think a guitar is cool. Doesn't even understand that he made the guitar. But, at the same time, now that Jay-Z is behind it. It'll help open up eyes. It's a beautiful thing, in a way, to admit...I'm not afraid to admit. The public wants something fresh. The public is tired of money talk. The public is tired of basketball games...emcees on the beach. They're tired of that. The public is! Let alone the artists. A lot of artists don't wanna do none of this. They get pressured by their labels to do certain things. So, you know, there's a lot take into consideration.
What do you consider fun? You talk about bringing the fun back? You talk about being honest and educational but also addressing the topic of sex. What part of the fun do you want to bring back?
VA: The fun is about the language. I remember when every other album gave you the new language. Do you remember that?
Definitely.
VA: I may be giving my age away, but who cares. I grew up in a time where BDP...look at how BDP was reggae hip-hop, whereas Tribe Called Quest was jazz hip-hop. I'm talking about everybody that came through had a new style of the music. It was amazing in a way. Run DMC is rock and roll hip-hop. And it keeps going. I wanted to bring that back. That's the fun of it. The fun is Nice N' Smooth doesn't sound like EPMD -- but they're both hot. We were more open-minded about what was considered hot. You understand?
Do you think there are artists who are popular currently who do have that idea of fun and flexibility? Who do have a different idea of what hip-hop can sound like?
Oh of course! There's a handful of them. But, I wanted to bring it back on MY level. I'm on a level where we only sell about 150,000 records and it takes off. I wanted to just be like look 'This is the truth. This is the bottom line.' I'm here to have fun just like we did back in the day. KRS-1 made you have fun and he made you think. I'm not here to be some crazy militant or whatever else. I'm here to spread truth. But, I'm here to laugh and dance with you too. It goes hand in hand.
I read this recent statistic that the top ten cities that search 'hip-hop' on Google are in places like Poland, New Zealand...only two U.S. cities were in the top ten. I'm wondering how someone like you who has been to many parts of the country and world feels about the receptiveness to the form globally. Are there any places in the world that are your favorites in terms of that?
There are people in the world who are definitely...like I said, everybody in this world is on an equal plane to me. If you're in Harlem, New York, America, India...wherever...we have governments or may claim to have a different god but we're all people. We all have things that we like. At the end of the day, music is art. And music is beautiful but, we gotta bear witness that, at the same time, the fans demand what they want. There's a demand right now for artists that are very open-minded, spiritual. I think I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing for our culture. I don't think what I'm doing is weird. The press labels everything "weird" so they can get out of really looking at what the culture is doing. If anything, Parliament Funkadelic was weird by being on stage with diapers on. I feel like I'm right on time. I feel like I'm doing everything I'm supposed to be doing. And if these bigger millionaire monopolies open up their minds and sign the Kanye West’s, Cannibal Ox’s, vast Aires. People who would get on what's new. But, what happens is...something works and if it worked, if it was good, they try to copy...even if it's good. Now that The Roots and Common are Grammy-winners and nominees, now you gon' see a bunch of groups that are fake that try to simulate those artists. "Now Erykah Badu is hot, let's sign five wannaba Erykah Badu's." Meanwhile, none of them have half the voice she got. So all they're doing, in essence, is making the way for fluff. A lot of idiotic music is getting million-dollar budgets.
I wanted to ask you about things that are perceived as "weird." Right now, hip-hop music is using the Vocoder device a lot, in terms of what you hear on the radio. But I'm an 80's baby too, and a lot of the music that we got used the Vocoder and other voice effects. Does some of that come from the same tradition?
I think something that's weird just means 'lack of understanding.' People don't understand, you know, different recording techniques...or styles so...I like to have fun. I like to do things like use the Roger Troutman, the keyboard, the synthesizer. I don't think it means something is hot, or something is used correctly. You're gonna try things out, different methods.
What do you think about the fact that rappers are not considered by the press as musical?
VA: I'm very hurt. And that's another thing I did on Dueces. I did all of the arrangement. Dudes would do beats and I'm sitting there doing the beat with them. I'm not just sitting there rhyming. I'm making a bridge. I'm making a hook and an intro and an outro. I come with attitude and energy, and all of that is part of me. So it hurts. Writing a rhyme alone isn't easy. You have to be talented to do this. I can't play the violin, and I would never disrespect someone who plays the violin. Because I know it takes an immense amount of talent to play it. I would want the same thing, to be honest.
If you had a 30-year-old rapper and a 15-year-old rapper in a room together and you could mediate the conversation, what would you want them to talk about?
Shit... I mean, I want the 30-year-old to inform the 15-year-old on certain artists that he might not be up on, or even a certain sound. It's all history. We have history now, and it's all important. The 15-year-old is going to be into some great artists. But he's not gonna know some too. So the [older one] has to say 'Check out some of these artists that you missed. Check out some of the clothing, the lingo...' There's a whole culture. We didn't just pop out in 1992.
What are your tour plans?
I'm planning a tour with C-Rayz Walz right now. He's got an album dropping soon. I'm definitely going to be on the road hard...all over the country.
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www.hiphopdx.com
C-RAYZ IS THE MAN. TALKING TO PRODIGY?! FUCKING AWESOME.
While purists look fondly look back at the early '90s as a superior era in Hip Hop, the truth of the matter is when it was good, it was great; when it was bad, it was horrible. To make up for this disparity, the culture slowly evolved into two different sounds—underground and commercial.
C-Rayz Walz and Prodigy are virtual polar opposites, as distinct as rappers can be: underground and commercial; G-Unit and independent. But at the Midstate Correctional Facility in Marcy, New York the two find the middle ground, discovering any differences between underground and mainstream rap can be reconciled.
When one focused on lyrics and wordplay to build a buzz, the other used gangsta imagery and slick production to make it to the top. And while some artists—like a ’95 Jay-Z or a ’99 Eminem—catapulted from underground fame to superstardom, the two genres (like the two rappers) never really interacted until now—and it took the permission of the New York State Department of Corrections to get it done.
So for the first time in rap history, a backpacker interviews a commercial rapper—in jail.
C-Rayz Walz: You're still that same nigga I used to wild out with back in the days. With all of the shadiness in this industry, how do stay grounded without totally losing it and really doing some violent shit?
Prodigy: Really, it’s my partner [Havoc] you know what I mean. My name should be Havoc and his name should be Prodigy. That’s our character really. I’ll be ready to really hurt somebody and Hav will be the one to tell me, "Yo chill. Don’t do that. We gotta worry about our careers." We keep each other balanced. Hav will be the one that will chill me the fuck out. Sometimes it’s opposite. But most of the time, he’ll be the one to tell me to chill the fuck out.
C-Rayz Walz: I always want people to ask me this but they never do. What made you realize that you wanted to make music for a living instead of a full life of crime?
Prodigy: I was raised by good parents and a family that influenced me to do positive things in life. Instead of criminal things, you know what I’m saying. I ended up doing music, and doing something good with myself.
C-Rayz Walz: Is/are there anyone out right now that you're feeling? Why/why not?
Prodigy: That’s a hard question, but there are a few people. Lil Wayne [click to read], he got fire right now. I like Juelz Santana [click to read]. He got fire. There’s not too many people I’m feeling though, man. Of course, the love of my G-Unit [click to read] brothers is doing it. Tony Yayo—he be killing it all the time; 50 [Cent] of course. People like to talk down on Mobb Deep and G-Unit for some strange reason. Like, "[Why they] thinking they hot?" or some shit. Like it’s wrong for me to think that 50’s hot or Yayo’s hot. People would think that’s the wrong kind of answer, but, those are my answers.
C-Rayz Walz: Of all the collabs you've done, what's been your favorite and why?
Prodigy: I don’t even know. I can’t even say, man. I don’t even know man. Probably…maybe like, working with [Big] Pun on ["Tres Leches"]. He was just a fun dude to be around. That dude was mad funny, yo. I had a lot of fun with that nigga. Hanging out with Pun was crazy. The song we did was one of the illest songs in rap music. RZA [click to read] did the beat. It was me, Pun and Inspectah Deck [click to read] from Wu-Tang. It was an ill song.
C-Rayz Walz: True Mobb fans have been die hard from the beginning, why do you think they remain loyal after so long?
Prodigy: Because they were like raised on our music and we try to always give that same feeling when we do our beats and our lyrics. We try to make something that you gonna feel in your soul. It’s like soul music. I think the fans, they identify with that. They know that Mobb Deep is gonna give you that shit. It’s a certain fix. It’s a certain high that you know you’re not gonna get from no where else but listening to our music. I’m gonna say things that no one else is gonna ever say and you’re gonna have a style of production that no one else can really do.
C-Rayz Walz: So many groups fall apart and have beef after a while together. How have you and Hav managed to stay strong after so long?
Prodigy: Me and Hav are like brothers, man. The way we just came up together, our friendship was real close. We understand that the music that we make is real important. Our goal was to last longer than these other groups. We always strived to last longer than them, be better than them. That was our goal, and it still is.
~~~
TORONTO RAP CLASSIC!
RON NELSON'S B-BOY DESTRUCTION: http://www.zshare.net/download/15134080ffd460c7/
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NAS REVIEW BY WWW.HIPHOPDX.COM ~ I LOVE THIS WEBSITE:
Nas’ potential is so immense that it puts him in the uncomfortable position of living up to a level of artistic greatness that presumably doesn’t exist. Case in point, Illmatic was an unintentional classic. It came at a time when Hip Hop wasn’t begging for a savior. Nas just became its leader. There was no pressing cultural issue that demanded an icon. Nas just rolled his young sleeves up and menaced the microphone. There wasn’t enough media attention surrounding Nas to question - or demand change to - a controversial line like “When I was twelve I went to hell for snuffing Jesus” off of his guest spot on “Live at the Bar-B-Que” as there is today. There was no pressure to make a classic. And that’s how classics are made.
Since that template has been set, everyone has expected Nasir Jones to eclipse that timeless piece of work. The fact of the matter is that it will be impossible to nail it like Illmatic did. It was equal parts timing and brilliance. But Nas has been trapped under that microscope of critics and fans alike and often succumbed a bit to the pressure. It’s not Nas’ fault. It never appeared that he made Illmatic with the idea of making millions. It just happened that way.
Every piece of work since has been compared to his debut and it appeared that even Nas was uncomfortable with what he saw in the mirror. Realizing he has no peers in today’s generation of Hip Hop artists, Nas has stood alone in this industry. And it does indeed get lonely at the top. Because of that, he has created work that is more reflective of those who are artistically beneath him rather than put the blinders on and do what he does best. Each of his 7 works following Illmatic have embraced this to some capacity. Some have been critically acclaimed (Stillmatic) while others have been critically panned but commercially successful (Nastradamus). Regardless, it seemed that Nas was too conscious of what people thought rather than making what he thought was great.
Imagine if Prince made music featuring – or reflecting – Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z or Dr. Dre. While it may sound good in theory, the fact is that Prince has never needed these artists to define him and because of that he will always remain a musical genius. Nas needs no peer to define him. Simply put, it’s a race that Nas has already won but he just doesn’t know it yet. But with his 9th studio album it can be perceived that he may have finally figured out he has always been ahead of his class.
When Nas initially named his album "Nigger," it was Nas not giving a fuck what anybody thought. Just like when he created Illmatic. It was all about him and what he wanted to do – whether we liked it or not. Although controversy and constant criticism from the album’s initial title may have placed doubts on how great of an album it can be, none of this has stopped Untitled from lyrically being his most consistent and daring project since Illmatic.
What Untitled does is bring Nas to the masses minus the big budget cameos, the glossy camera tricks and any other far reaching method to claim crossover success. Nas is beyond that for the most part. Untitled finds Nas doing Nas with absolutely no concerns about how the critics or fans will take to this project. It’s damn near Illmatic all over again – but this time with a message.
On this outing there are no beats by Kanye West, no features with Lil Wayne, no songs about mink coats and popping bottles and no lyrical gimmicks. It is just Nas and his mic – which is pretty much how it should be. Jay Electronica’s naked piano loop on “Queens Get The Money” raises the proverbial curtain on this lyrical monologue and sets the tone early by clearly stating that Nas means business.
Although stripped of its original title, Untitled still utilizes a loosely knitted concept surrounding the controversial N-Word. Nas goes places where only the likes of Public Enemy, KRS-1 and dead prez have gone before him. But Nas’ lyrical eloquence takes front and center stage to personify the ideology of using Hip Hop as the soundtrack to the revolution while creating thought provoking social commentary.
“N.I.*.*.E.R. (The Slave And The Master)” is Nas at his most powerful as he waxes poetic about the African American struggle in America. 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. This isn’t Nas celebrating the N-Word, but rather bringing forth the idea that – in one way or another – “Niggers” will always exist. This is best personified by the brilliant narrative “Project Roach” where The Last Poets scorn the supposed burial of a word in favor of uplifting those who the name has been bestowed upon before Nas spits from the perspective of a roach. The obvious comparison between the word and roaches is done as provocative as only Nas could do.
“Y’all My Niggas” breaks down the ideology behind the word and offers some lyrical insight (“Yo I was thinking a little bit/What would it take to authenticate my nigga-ness/ball ridiculous/26 inches when I call up the dealership/aw that’s some nigga shit”) while “Fried Chicken” finds Nas alongside Busta Rhymes and a funky Mark Ronson production as they affectionately play with stereotypes. If there’s any two artists that can illustrate their food fetish, it would be Nas and Busta.
Nas has always been criticized for his production. Since his flawless debut, there hasn't been an album where the production fit the artist. Although the criticism can't be completely be put to rest on Untitled, it certainly be silenced for the time being. The surprising appointment of dead prez' stic.man proves to be an excellent decision as stic's plush production rolls on "We're Not Alone." Elsewhere, DJ Toomp's “N.I.*.*.E.R. (The Slave And The Master)” thumps triumphantly while Green Lantern provides a marching aesthetic to "Black President." What Nas has done is employ production that doesn't overpower his lyricism and forces the listener to hear Nas.
Untitled is not a complete examination of the “N” Word. “Sly Fox” takes a hard look at the “fair and balanced” Fox network and the aforementioned “Black President” deals directly at the mere concept of having a black man running the White House.
There are a couple of songs that restrict it from becoming an instant classic. The glaze of commercial sheen that Polow Da Don and Keri Hilson spray on "Hero" turn Nas’ brainstorm to a slight overcast. Although there are no complaints with rhyming alongside The Game on “Make The World Go Round,” Nas’ appointing of Chris Brown makes the song the biggest commercial reach on the album. Although both songs “work” to some degree, it adds some turbulence to an otherwise smooth flight.
With Untitled it appears that Nas truly understands and embraces that you cannot please everyone. Because of that, he has rid himself of the handcuffs that fans and critics have bound him with and expresses true creative freedom. As long as he realizes that the people believe in him and will follow him just because he is Nas, he can continue to create ambitious projects such as this.
Nas has always been criticized for his production. Since his flawless debut, there hasn't been an album where the production fit the artist. Although the criticism can't be completely be put to rest on Untitled, it certainly be silenced for the time being. The surprising appointment of dead prez' stic.man proves to be an excellent decision as stic's plush production rolls on "We're Not Alone." Elsewhere, DJ Toomp's “N.I.*.*.E.R. (The Slave And The Master)” thumps triumphantly while Green Lantern provides a marching aesthetic to "Black President." What Nas has done is employ production that doesn't overpower his lyricism and forces the listener to hear Nas.
Untitled is not a complete examination of the “N” Word. “Sly Fox” takes a hard look at the “fair and balanced” Fox network and the aforementioned “Black President” deals directly at the mere concept of having a black man running the White House.
There are a couple of songs that restrict it from becoming an instant classic. The glaze of commercial sheen that Polow Da Don and Keri Hilson spray on "Hero" turn Nas’ brainstorm to a slight overcast. Although there are no complaints with rhyming alongside The Game on “Make The World Go Round,” Nas’ appointing of Chris Brown makes the song the biggest commercial reach on the album. Although both songs “work” to some degree, it adds some turbulence to an otherwise smooth flight.
With Untitled it appears that Nas truly understands and embraces that you cannot please everyone. Because of that, he has rid himself of the handcuffs that fans and critics have bound him with and expresses true creative freedom. As long as he realizes that the people believe in him and will follow him just because he is Nas, he can continue to create ambitious projects such as this.
AND ON THAT NOTE, PEEP THIS NAS INTERVIEW FROM WWW.ALLHIPHOP.COM:
It’s hard to tell what Nas is really thinking right now. From walking the beaten path of complaints yet again over his now Untitled album title to watching el Presidente Hov exit Def Jam to pursue the next phase of his career, Nas has a lot to question.
The only thing Nasir Jones knows for certain is that his lyrical prowess is as sharp as ever, and that tool is most certainly needed right now in Hip-Hop. His new album would suggest that he’s ready to attack with the same illmatic intensity he harbored years back. However, if you’re looking for an enraged veteran MC bitterly beating his chest about social injustice and how he’s Superman, you won’t find him here. Contrary to the fire behind his single “Hero,” Nas is pretty laid back about the whole “situation.”
Speaking semi-candidly in between airport security checks, Nas is giving a proverbial middle finger to the controversy surrounding him. He doesn’t sound like a defeatist though; more like an optimist. While Lil’ Wayne counts the figures of his album sales, the paradox of God’s Son being shamed into a corner for speaking his mind is unfortunate. He’s not mad at Weezy though, and neither should we be. As the Son’s disciples, we’re all marching to the basslines of his leaked LP in the hopes of following protocol on how to preserve Hip-Hop of substance.
The solution is in Nas’ new mantra: Kill ‘em with kindness.
AllHipHop.com: There has been some back and forth on what the real title of your album is, so just to officially clear that up…what is the title of your new album?
Nas: There is a title; it's called Untitled.
“Too many people took [the title] the wrong way. I think Al Sharpton; he didn't realize when he had lost. He lost when my record company stood with me. Jesse Jackson even had to change his tone when he saw that brilliant Black artists and White artists stood with me and understand what I'm talking about, even before they heard one song.”
AllHipHop.com: In the last verse of “Hero” you paint this really powerful imagery of what happened regarding the titling of the album. For those who really didn't absorb the words in the verse, how would you explain what happened and your decision to do that?
Nas: Def Jam had been riding with me 100 percent every step of the way since the beginning. There has been talk that they were not riding behind me, but there has never been one point where they weren't down with my freedom of expression. There was a time when I decided, when you're getting calls from the White House, when you're getting calls from opportunists in the Black community, when you're getting calls from people trying to take this thing all the way to something like that, which is going to be a fight for Universal.
So I kind of felt bad for them, because me knowing my mouth not knowing what type of s**t I was going to get us into, I kind of felt bad for them. There was a Newsweek article saying, the start of other big wigs overseas and they got really nervous about this word and me trying to handle the African-American struggle on one album. It just seemed like that way, we were about to get attacked from all angles, and part of me was like, “f**k it.” I mean those guys overseas were really scared.
I was like, “You know what? Why let them stop this record from hitting the streets when I can just get my record in stores, do what I got to do and get my record in stores?” To people, when I go to the store and I go to buy an album and there's not enough copies there, I am pissed. If there is anything that stopped it, I'm pissed. I want a record when I want it. And me wanting to put it out in December, it wasn't ready, and me wanting to put it out and keep pushing it back, pushing it back. I was getting tired of the wait, and I didn't want to wait anymore. Out of all the hoopla and all of that s**t, this is music, let me put this music out, and that will be that. And people will listen to what I'm saying and people [will] take it from there.
AllHipHop.com: What do you think they feared more; the title of the album or the content in the album? Or which do you think they should fear more?
Nas: I think the title if that is my intention – to remind muthaf**kers – watching and hanging out with rich friends was not enough to remove the realities of the world. I just look at life like, “Alright, I made it out the hood where it seems impossible to make it from and me just chilling out wasn't enough, and me helping a few people wasn't enough. It was too much going on.”
I think initially, the title, I think too many people took it the wrong way. I think Al Sharpton; he didn't realize when he had lost. He lost when my record company stood with me. Jesse Jackson even had to change his tone when he saw that brilliant Black artists and White artists stood with me and understand what I'm talking about, even before they heard one song. They know what I'm going to say before I say it, because they know what I'm talking about. So I feel like we beat them, we made them understand that we are apart of them. Where a lot of elders look down on the Hip-Hop generation and disassociate themselves and cut themselves off the younger generation, which to Black people seems insane. How could you stand for them to look down on me because my music reflects the lifestyle on the corner? That makes you look like you're out of touch, so that was my message.
But then the record started to turn into the attention only for people to battle me with the title, and that's not what this s**t is about. This s**t is about for my kids, for rap fans and we laughing in the face, throwing a middle finger back in the face of those who want to use Hip-Hop as a scapegoat, and use Hip-Hop as a platform to grandstand on, and point the finger at us, and say that we're responsible for the crimes of America because of the music. It was a middle finger back in their face, like everybody forgot them, everybody left the hood, everybody made it, and everybody got educated and got the hell out.
And we made it by talking about what was happening there, whether America likes it or not, no matter how ugly language, no matter how many people get shot at the concert, no matter how many girls want to dress in tight jeans and be called hoes and bi**hes on record. There is hoes and bi**hes in the world, there are ignorant n*****s in the world. It's brilliant men in the world; it's brilliant women in the world. Everybody needs they music to dance to or move to. If the music reflects the reality of the corner, the block, then we are going to expose the people who ain't of that and really don't want to see us come off the block with that attitude. What we did was turn that into money. I'm explaining that on some of my songs too.
We are turning our nightmare into a dream, into a great dream, a beautiful dream come true. And that is a beautiful triumph, an incredible triumph that needs to be awarded, not looked down on. And that's what thy’re doing to us, looking down at Hip-Hop, so by stating the album title “n****r” it was a middle finger back in those conservative, nose in the air, don't know where I came from, mad at my own people, lost and confused Negroes. This album is for them.
“The hustlers are rhyming; the gangsters are rhyming, that's crazy. Lil' Wayne is living proof that Hip-Hop Is Dead is something that pushed a lot of people forward.”
AllHipHop.com: The title of the Hip-Hop Is Dead album was challenged as well. Once you dropped that album, everybody from award ceremonies to live performances got up and the first thing they would say is: “People like to think that Hip-Hop is dead,” and they really challenged it. Originally wasn't Hip-Hop Is Dead supposed to be called the N-word, but then you went with Hip-Hop Is Dead? What changed back then for you and how do you feel it reflects now?
Nas: Right. I think it was great for the game. I think it was beautiful for the game and that's a great thing. I know people somebody at Universal is like, “Who in the hell signed Nasir Jones? What was L.A. Reid thinking? What is going on?” But then there has got to be somebody at Universal like, “Wow we got this guy on our billings?” That has got to mean something. So it's just provoking people to think and talk, and that's everything to me right now.
AllHipHop.com: Do you think it says a lot that you changed your album title and people were outraged with it, but Lil Wayne breaks the one million in sales mark and they say he is saving Hip-Hop?
Nas: He is. I heard the song “Dr. Carter” when he breathes it, and to me that is the best s**t ever to hear…that “Dr. Carter” song and [Lil Wayne] breathing life into Hip-Hop. You know n****s, they’re cheering, Lil Wayne love Hip-Hop. He does in his BET performance at the Hip-Hop Awards "I am Hip-Hop" and he said it at the BET Awards performance he said it again. It's in the end of the Nelly video. Some girl even has a shirt on that says, "Hip-Hop Ain't Dead."
AllHipHop.com: Keri Hilson has the T-shirt on [the singer on Nas’ track “Hero”].
Nas: Oh. Yeah so that's a beautiful thing, man. Lil Wayne is here to show how much he loves it. You starting to see how people love Hip-Hop you didn't even know cared about Hip-Hop. The hustlers are rhyming; the gangsters are rhyming, that's crazy. Lil' Wayne is living proof that Hip-Hop Is Dead is something that pushed a lot of people forward. That statement alone.
AllHipHop.com: With Jay-Z no longer the president of Def Jam, does it change your comfort level with the label? Jay being an artist himself seemed like he was championing for artists too.
Nas: Two reasons I came there were L.A. Reid and Jay. And the big reason I came there was to squash our s**t and move on, but it's inevitable that [Jay-Z] is going to make moves. I'm going to make moves; people grow. He is somebody that is business sharp, so he is about growth. I wish that he was still there, but at the same time everything is going to grow, everything is going to move. The other reason I'm still there is L.A., so it’s still good.
AllHipHop.com: I spoke with Common [recently] and he was discussing working on his new album and he said...once the money has already been made and you’re not worrying that the album will do well to actually feed you, and you can actually make music for the sake of making music, you feel so free in your approach to Hip-Hop. Do you agree with that?
Nas: Yeah. I think once you spend a lot of time in [Hip-Hop], I think where ever you are, if you sell records and make money rather than just getting by, if you spend your time in it, you start to get comfortable in it.
AllHipHop.com: And you feel you can creatively navigate how you want?
Nas: Oh no doubt.
AllHipHop.com: A lot of tracks are leaking from the album. Was that at all intentional?
Nas: No, that's the basics of two weeks [of] free music. Once it's out of your hands, once it's out of the record company's hands somehow it happens, because other people have to hold it. The plants, the manufacturing, it's in lots of hands so it's going to happen. If you want to hear it, it's going to happen. Every one of my albums has been bootlegged worse than these days. I'm actually looking forward to the two weeks before the album drops when the music leaks. It's kind of cool because people want to hear it and people get to talking, it helps.
AllHipHop.com: You have listed some crazy producers on the album. You have stic.man, Mark Ronson and The Game even helped produce a track, is that right?
Nas: Yeah “Make the World Go Round.”
AllHipHop.com: How did you go about picking these producers for this album, because they seem to be really diverse?
Nas: Yeah, I wanted to make sure it was people with open minds. Somebody like stic.man has a real strong approach when it comes to Black matters, matters of our people. He has a real strong approach, he is very knowledgeable and it was like really important that I work with people who had that kind of knowledge. It couldn't have been just give me beats from anybody. You have to have some type of knowledge of what we’re doing, and it was a process not just give me beats let me rhyme to them.
Somebody like Mark Ronson is open-minded and from the UK, he is a nut you know what I’m saying? So his s**t is not only going to come one way, I already knew how his s**t was going to come before I had even heard it. He took his time and worked on the music and we talked about it, talked about it, talked about it. He didn't know what I was going to do to it, until I sent it to him. But we just talked about it and talked about it, so it was a whole lot of fun.
“I'm like a boxer when he hears the bell; I'm going to throw my hands up, I'm going to get my feet in position. I'm like a Vietnam vet when the truck [backfires]; I duck. I'm trapped in it forever, the album says toward the end, 'This n****r is like he hasn't created his favorite song yet.'”
AllHipHop.com: The timing of your album coming out is actually perfect, given the type of commentary while at the same time the rise of Barack Obama. What is your whole standpoint of America finally embracing the idea of a Black President?
Nas: Are they finally embracing it? I think the whole world has been ready for it. So I think it has been a great thing, it puts the cool back in America. America lost its stature in the world, and it was caught up in old times and old ways and old people. Everything has to die so there can be a re-birth. Certain sounds of Hip-Hop are dead and there has to be a rebirth, you have to have new artists out here – Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Kanye West save Hip-Hop period.
So you have to have that in order to keep me motivated, to keep the whole game motivated. A lot of the guys who was hot in the ‘90s, producers, rappers and even DJ's, their moment is a great moment that we can always look back to, but it’s not the forefront of Hip-Hop no more and they’re frustrated because of it, but that's like a Bush. They have a George Bush mentality; they want America to stay the way it was in the ‘80s. It has to change, and whether you like it or not it has to change. And when you really don't want it to change, it's going to change in ways you hoped it wouldn't. [Obama] is a great example of change.
AllHipHop.com: When do you think Nas will retire?
Nas: When I'm dead. I look at B.B. King; I'm trapped in it. I'm like a boxer when he hears the bell; I'm going to throw my hands up, I'm going to get my feet in position. I'm like a Vietnam vet when the truck [backfires]; I duck. I'm trapped in it forever, the album says toward the end. “This n****r is like he hasn't created his favorite song yet.” It is what it is, forever. I used to have a lot people around me saying, “Yo, I ain’t going to be rapping when I'm 25 or 30,” and now they’re 30. “I'm not going to be rapping when I'm 40.” That is the stupidest thing; it doesn't even make any sense.
Now people realize that was the dumbest thing. Ain't no way out of this except when we leave and even then s**t is immortal. Because they’re going to play your s**t, so we are in this forever. So keep rapping, catch Nas in Vegas. I will give you a free ticket to the Nas show at Vegas in 2024.
~~~
PEACE TO MOTHERFUCKIN STICKY FINGAZ AND FREDRO STARR! SONNEE SEEZA, I GOT YOU, HOMIE! WHY YOU AIN'T SPEAK UP MORE? I KEPT TRYING TO GET YOU AIRTIME :)
ANYWAYS, PEEP IT SOON ON PHILAFLAVA.COM!
I LOVE THIS GAME.
SINCERELY YOURS,
MINDBENDER SUPREME
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