NAS TALKS ABOUT HIS RELEVANCE IN HIPHOP.

Starting off at a tender age of 18, he feature on "large professor's" jam, live at the babercue, and he has been a phenomenum since. He later dropped his debuted with his first studio album, three years later, in 1994, and his flawless rp skills was exposed to the world. The album, "illmatic" went down to be a classic, and receive 5 mics rating from the source magazine. That is the highest rating you can get on an album review. He has since then blessed the world with raw lyrics, sticking to the fundamentals f what real hip hop should be. 15 years since dropped his first albm, and he is still a relevant emcee, a name to reckn with in the rap world. He has dropped 9 studio albums through his career so far.


He was recently inntervied by sohh.com, and he had some words for the public:

"[The nod] showed that I'm here and my voice is relevant," Nas said. "It shows my work is appreciated...It tends to scare people and offend them, a record is supposed to do that every once in a while. We have it good here in America, we're spoiled. We don't realize that people are poor, don't have food, no water in this same world we live in. Those are the things I'm concerned with and need to talk about."


Here are a couple of comments from enthusiastic rap fans and what they feel about nas and hip hop.


By BlasfemiAuthor Profile Page on April 27, 2009 2:01 PM

It irks me the hell out when muthafuckers think Nas aint relevant in todays hip hop. What? Illmatic was a blueprint for your favourite rappers favourite rapper, word up. I went bananas when a pal said Weezy has more classic hits than Nas. See, with this dumbed down music churning out of CDs these days, muthafuckers wil tell u Weezy is the GOAT and all that shit. Jayz said it better 'what, nigga u drank fluid?'



By muvaphkn_megatron on April 27, 2009 2:26 PM

To say NaS isn't relevant would be like saying the beetles aren't relevant to Rock. He's a legend and one of the voices that allowed hip-hop to reach its highest peaks. Anyone who contributed to this game like he did is forever relevant that goes for dudes like Rakim, Wu-Tang, NWA, Ice Cube, KRS-1, etc. They built this and I'll always lend an ear to what they got to say.
By Black Dutchman on April 27, 2009 3:11 PM

Give credit were credit is do. Nas is that dude who nobody right now can fuck with him o the mic
By CJAuthor Profile Page on April 27, 2009 3:32 PM

Nas is my favorite rapper of all time. Therefore it really hurts to admit this, but he is not Relevant because he refuses to dumb down his lyrics and subject matter. I had like 5-6 kids talk about Nigger when it came out, and most of them were white. Nas makes real music, but his fan base is now an older more educated crowd. That's why he can go gold without any promotion, because people like will ALWAYS buy his album. But the kids, nah. The white kids def nah. And he's way too complex for the avg. fan that likes their rappers gay (lil wayne/Kanye) and fake (ross).

But I'm glad he's that way. like he said, fuck it "i'll go gold with it".
By nh1234 on April 27, 2009 3:33 PM

yoooo who said weezy had more classics then Nas?!?

dudes is retearded man lol

cosign the hell outta blasfemi

ne way legends will always be relevant thats wat makes them legends
By nh1234 on April 27, 2009 3:37 PM

by the way just wanted to point that im only 17 give the youngins some credit we dont all bump weezy lol
By DIRK DA GOD on April 27, 2009 4:04 PM

@ nh1234

GOOD TO SEE YOU WERE BORN WITH GOOD EARS THEN YOUNGIN!!!
By Clo-freshAuthor Profile Page on April 27, 2009 4:41 PM

@CJ...I beg to differ my man...We were those same kids when Nas first came out...I copped his album when I was a freshmen in High School..I was only 14 at the time and I felt and understood the whole album..I didn't know that I craved an album like that until I first heard it... The conusmer at an age so young really don't know what they like until they actually witness for themselves what it is...Many people my age copped Nas's album when it dropped...So I rather Nas not dumb down his lyrics for no damn body and keep giving the people who really want that deep lyrical Hip-Hop and the consumer who may not know what great lyricism is... Lyrical rappers today do not get as much attention as the bubble gum, ring-tone rappers simply cause of promotion..
Case in Point: Mims damn near got more promotion then Jada!
By gasface on April 27, 2009 4:42 PM

NAS IS & ALWAYS BE RELEVANT.... HE IS THE GOD MC.
By CJAuthor Profile Page on April 27, 2009 7:14 PM

@clofresh

I don't understand your point?
By RUDE on April 27, 2009 7:28 PM

Damn it's good to see the younger generation knows the real REAL... NAS is the top MC in the game right now.. "NIGGA" was beyond description. There are no words that can convey how much that album was hip hop at it's finest and in this day and age it's incredible for my man not to have succumbed to the preassure of not only album sales but the whole who sold more mentality.. Dude is hold'n us all down at the moment. Didn't like the fact that he worked wit "officer ricky" though. Gotta keep it real!
By cat360 on April 27, 2009 8:54 PM

More inspirational based music. Thats why I love Nas music. Music is perfect outlet to talk about IMPORTANT issues. Rock does it all the time and remains relevant, why can't hip-hop in this day and time?......TRealist.com - Black Community News, Hip-Hop, Videos, and more
By senoner on April 27, 2009 9:09 PM

Nas is the realest MC in the game. No one can get at him on the mic. His creativeness and lyrics are what makes him a legend. I mean look at Fried Chicken off of his latest album that is creative at its finest. He dont need to change his rhymes for no one, if you dont get it, it probably aint for you. His true fans will make his album go gold
By Clo-freshAuthor Profile Page on April 27, 2009 9:16 PM

@CJ...If you really didn't understand my point, then you really are dumb..I can't dumb down my comments more than than that.. I apologize, I thought you had at least a lil sense!... Even a highschooler can understand what the fuck I was saying..So which leads me to believe that you were just getting smart...For your sake, I hope you were..My apologies though, I'll never come at you again for you'll never understand anything..
By senoner on April 27, 2009 9:23 PM

@CJ...How is Nas not relevant because he doesnt dumb down his lyrics but still goes gold? Halve these other bubblegum rappers cant even deliver a gold album. Like Clo-fresh said, mims got more promotion than jada, but who came on top?
By yirmiyah on April 27, 2009 9:26 PM

Nas is a God he is the truth but He will never get the promotion or even the cake that the bumble gum ring tone rappers will make cause his music is not for kids who like to pop lock and drop it crowd. the booty shakin crowd will neva understand his music. many of our young black youth are to fixed on wayne and God knows what else. Nas is for the educated crowd. those who do not want to grow spiritually and mentally, emotionally have no use for a NAS. 40 yr old men who want to continue to act like they sixteen have no use for Nasir jones

BILLBOARD TOP TEN RAPALBUMS (23/04/2009)

10. SOULJA BOY- ISOULJABOYELLEM.

9. BOW WOW- NEW JACK CITY 2.

8. PASTOR TROY- FEELME OR KILL ME.

7. GORILLA ZOE- DON'T FEED THE ANIMALS.

6. FLO RIDA- R.O.O.T.S.

5. T.I- PAPER TRAIL.

4. SLIM THUG- BOSS OF ALL BOSSES. (7,409)

3. JIM JONES- PRAY IV REIGN.

2. UGK- UGK 4LIFE. (14,750)

1. JADAKISS- THE LAST KISS.(44,785.)




There is really no new entry this week,andjada sits at the top of the charts for a second week running. Lets see if rick ross would be boss enough to bump him the top next week.

SHOULD ALBUM SALES DETERMINE HOW GOOD AN ALBUM IS?

Naturally, when something is good, people would want to have it, whether its a vehicle, a home appliance, a movie, a c.d. So people have that believe at the back of their heads that once an album sells hundreds of thousands of copies, then it is a good album. But that is not usually the case with all c.d's. What if the rap artist made you believe the album is good, cos you only get to hear about 2 or three songs from the album before you purcahse it. I'm sure you have heard of one hit wonders? So what if the rapper was a one hit wonder, and the other songs on the album are a dud?
There is also the fact that some rap styles can be hot now, and not some time later. So if a particular rap style is the thing now, and the rap star falls into that category, then he could go on to sell hundreds of thousands of copies without being too good. That is why a lot of rappers come and go. Right now, the hot thing is to be a flossing/gangsta rapper.Shoot videos with a lot of jewels, expensive cars, talk about things you don't have, and people get interested. Because whether you like it or not, 70% of c'd buyers are teenagers and nerdy white guys that believe anything they hear and want to associate with it. And the way they feel they can be associated with the rappers is to own a cd by one of the gangsta rappers they hear.
As far as rap goes, there have been great rap albums, that didn't have any of the gimicks that all the new rappers use, all the expensive videos, all the heavy promotion, all the interviews, and they don't do so well. So people just believe that the album is not great, and so they write it off. But that should not be the case. If you really apprecites good rap, then you should not be one to follow the crowd. You should have your own yardstick to judge a good rap album. An example of a very good rap album that did poorly in sales is sheek louch's first album, "walk with me". The album was a classic by many standards, but because it did not get the right promotion or it didn't have all the ingredients that wack rappers use to make their albums sellable, it didn't do good numbers.
There are different elements that a very good rap album should have, like good lyrics, good flow, delivery on beat, the beat itself, these are some of the stuffs that make a good rap verse. These elements, i can say a lot of the new rappers do not have. But the formular they use, that i talked about earlier, carries them through. But if you look at, the truth would always come out sooner or later. Judging from a lot of list of top five rappers, dead or alive, these following names always pop up, tupac, biggie, nas, jay-z and eminem, but it does not mean that they have been the highest selling rappers, or that they are the ones selling the most right now. All it just means is that they are really great rappers that have stood the test of time, and the other rappers are just a fard.

BILLBOARD TOP TEN RAP ALBUMS. (16/04/09)

10. SOULJA BOY- ISOULJABOYTELLEM.

9. GORILLA ZOE- DON'T FEED THE ANIMALS

8. JIM JONES- PRAY IV REIGN.

7. SLIM THUG- BOSS OF ALL BOSSES.

6. BOW WOW- NEW JACK CITY.

5. MIMS- GUILT.(12,400)

4. T.I- PAPER TRAIL.(19,500)

3. UGK- UGK 4 LIFE(26,400)

2. FLO RIDA- R.O.O.T.S. (31,700)

1. JADAKISS- THE LAST KISS(134,900)

A look at the charts this week.

Jadakiss, one third of the rap group, the l.o.x,sits at the number one spot this week with his latest work, "last kiss". He moves a total of 134,900 in his first week. This is a success, concidering the state of hiphop sales, and the not too high radio spins of any of his singles. I think people are starting to aprreciate pure lyricism to gimicks in the rap game.
If you check out an artist like flo rida that had a single, "right round" that broke records in its first week in digital sales(over 600,000), and then the album drops and he sells just 50k. Or a rapper like bow wow with all his teenage fans, and he debuts with his latest album and sells just 30k. Then you have to respect jada for the numbers he did in his first week.

Elsewhere on the charts, "mims" second album(guilt) does very dissapointingly on the charts. If you can remember, i predicted it would do around bow wow numbers, which is around 30,000. He did worse, and sold just 13,000k of his second album.

MORE ON THE 50 CENT AND RICK ROSS BEEF.

50 and ricky have been going back to back for a couple of months now. Ricky dropping verses almost every week, and 50 dropping cartoon disses and documentaries. Is it that 50 can no longer rap? Because this is meant to be a rap battle. The only diss verse i heard from 50, "officer ricky" was so wack. I could not believe this was the same 50 that dropped "get rich or die trying" 6 years ago.
To all the 50 fans, you can not call me a hater, because i am only speaking the facts. 50 cent might be top 3 richest hiphop moguls, but he is on a downward slide. You can't be untop forever. His last group effort(g-unit abum), 'terminate on sight" sold a total of 200,000 copies. That is very poor for a group that sold 3 million copies about 5 years ago.
Nas said...,"yeah you sold plat, lets you do it three times, four times...". The truth is, 50's rap career is dead and he knows it. That is why he keeps replying ross, so he can stay relevant. His album is meant to have dropped since last year, but he keeps pushing it back. Now he wants to wait till em drops his album, so that he can ride on the success of the album.
And just for more information on the ross/50 beef, def jam has already shipped 350,000 copies of the album(rick ross's album) to stores. That means we can see him doing at least above 200k first week.
Ross also has the part two of his song, "maybach music" featuring old 50cent enemies, "the game", "fat joe", and "jarule". 50cent is getting a dose of his own medicine. They would run him in the mud. Karma is a motha....

BILLOBARD TOP 10 RAP ALBUMS (08/04/09)

10. PLIES- DAREALIST.

9. LIL WAYNE- CARTER 3.(9, 964)

8. SOULJA BOY- ISOULJABOYTELLEM.

7. GORILLA ZOE- DON'T FEED DA ANIMALS. (10, 862)

6. JIM JONES- PRAY IV REIGN. (13, 700)

5. SLIM THUG- BOSS OF ALL BOSSES. (16, 900)

4. T.I- PAPER TRAIL (21, 300)

3. BOW WOW- NEW JACK CITY PART 2.(30, 944)

2. FLO RIDA- R.O.O.T.S(ROUTE OF OVERCOMING THE STRUGGLE.) (55, 356)

1. UGK- UGK 4 LIFE. (76, 600)



The dynamic duo of pim c and bun b(ugk) sit at the top this week, although, sadly, pim c passed on a couple of years ago, but this album had already been recorded before then, so there is one half posthumous in the group.


Flo rida is at second place. Dissapointing if you would ask me. With all the air play his single, "right round" has been getting, and also breaking records of selling over 600,000 digital copies in its first single, you would think he would sell more than he did. He is an example of a ring tone rapper.


Another dissapointing artist debuting on the charts this week is BOW WOW. Releasing his 6th studio album since he debuted in 2000 with his first album, "beware of dog", which sold almost 250k in its first week in stores. Bow wow doing 30k, recession or not, is a flop.


Albums to watch out for next week, are albums from mims and jadakiss(the last kiss). I would put jada at between 60k-100k. As for mims, i am a fan, but i think he does not have enough promotion right now. I put his first week sales close to what bow wow did.

CAM'RONS TOP FIVE DEAD OR ALIVE.

Yeah, the harlem new york rapper, gives us his own version of the top five dead or alive rappers in the game.
Check it out.


“As for Big, I met Big about two or three times through Ma$e, you know Ma$e took me to his house, I rapped for him. That’s kinda how I got my deal because after he passed away like he had told Un [Lance Rivera] about me and Un signed me after that.”




Tupac Shakur











“I kinda appreciated ‘Pac after he died. You know, they always say stuff like that but I got the Makaveli album soon as he died. I was like, “Yo this album is crazy” and I started going through the archives of his old stuff and I was like, “Wow.” I wasn’t into him like that when he was alive, but after he died I started listening to all his s**t.” And, I was like wow this dude is amazing.”




Nas











"As far as Nas is concerned, I grew up listening to Nas before we even started beefing. You know I wouldn’t say his latest stuff is my favorite even though I like a couple of things on there but you know like “NY State of Mind,” representing first album was one of the classics Illmatic."




Jay-Z











“Jay-Z’s first album also you know I liked his first two or three albums um as far as “Can I Live” stuff like that, you know vintage vintage Jay-Z definitely. He's (comparable to) Big, Pac of course they are two of the greatest. If somebody is rappin' or plays basketball or whatever and says somebody’s better than them, they don’t even need to compete."




Cam’ron











“With me, my word play is great. I could rhyme with anybody. It's like I did a song with Mariah Carey then next week with Ol’ Dirty Bastard or I could do a song with Bone Crusher and do a song with whoever you know, John Legend. I think that’s what makes me different also and then at the same time I been South like when I lived in Atlanta. I lived in Chicago. I lived in Ohio. I lived in Englewood, California for a couple years so me being throughout the United States you begin to see different things. I’ll be in Ohio and I’ll do a song with some people that you’ll probably never hear the song and never get to meet them but they take that like, “Wow we did a song with Cam.” Then on top of that, I’m just like a fly n***a too. Like you know my swag is a million like far as jewelry, clothes, anything. All that combined I think that makes me who I am."




Lil Wayne: Honorable mention











“Right now, (If I have to pick somebody other than myself), I would say Wayne, Lil Wayne. He gotta lot of versatility and a lot of stuff that he does, he rhymes off the top of his head. You know a lot of times people rhyme off the top of they head, but it doesn’t really make sense. They just rhyming of the top of they head. I think he’s one of the better artists that could rhyme off the top of they head and still make sense of what he’s talking about.”





On having highly publicized beefs with Nas and Jay-Z, but still respecting their skill:




“Is Kobe Bryant mad he gotta play Lebron James tonight? You know what I’m sayin? I’m not one of them people that’s beefin’ or battling with people and not gonna say who’s hot. That’s just a hater. Like if you think about like I said, not sayin that there stuff isn’t good now or whatever, but the vintage Nas and Jay’s first two, three albums was crazy. So definitely I would say (they are my favorites). It doesn’t bother me at all but I’m not gonna hate.

BILLBOARD TOP 10

10. YOUNG JEEZY.- RECESSION.

9. DOOM- BORN LIKE THIS.

8. GUCCI MANE- BIRD MONEY.

7. LIL WAYNE- CARTER 3.

6. SOULJA BOY- ISOULJABOYTEELEM.

5. PLIES- DAREALIST.

4. T.I- PAPER TRAIL.

3. GORILA ZOE- DONT FEED THE ANIMALS.

2. SLIM THUG- BOSS OF ALL BOSSES.

1. JIM JONES- PRAY 4 REIGN.

FAT JOE TALKS RECESSION AND HOW IT HAS AFFECTED RAP.

The bronx new york rapper, fat joe talks about how the recession is going to affect albums sales, and he also talks about the 50 cent rick ross beef. Fat joe is dropping his new album, j.o.s.e 2 may 19th.

"The recession has affected the whole entire globe," Joe explained. "Anyone telling you the recession ain't real is a liar. So the recession is too real, it's affecting everybody, you know, if people ain't got money how can they go to your show? If people ain't got money, how can they buy your record? Another way that it's affecting me is a lot of my friends are being laid off. They're coming to me like, 'Joe I'm messed up, what can I do' I try to help but I can't help the whole world...It really upsets me to know that so many of my friends are doing so bad during these times as well...In hip-hop, where do we draw the line...Notice he hasn't had a fight with nobody yet in every beef he's had in the universe. Disrespecting DJ Khaled's mom, that's not hip-hop. I haven't heard anybody that thought it was dope.


"Rick Ross is my brother," Joe said in an interview. "I'm just telling you [the battle] is a bit too much for me already...Nobody's scared of no 50 Cent. Are you nuts are something? 50's nothing, man. Nobody's scared of him, I mean, tell me one person 50 Cent has fought. All this hoopla and all this stuff he's doing, you tell me who he has fought one on one. Why should we be scared of this guy in the slightest way?"

"50 Cent just gotta make music," Joe said in an interview. "He does all these diversions and disses rappers to eliminate the fact that he's not really hot and relevant right now. So if two weeks ago we were talking about 50 Cent, what record or what would we really be talking about unless he disrespected Rick Ross...I'm tired of all these gimmicks and these games. This man's just gotta put out hit records. That's what we're doing...We making music. At the end of the day, we fell in love with hip-hop to make music and hit records."

The new project will have guest appearances by Ron Browz, Fabolous, Lil' Kim, T-Pain, Lil Wayne, Raekwon, Akon along with production from Jim Jonsin, The Incredibles and The Street Runners. Cuts from the album include "One" and "Winding On Me." The album is slated to hit stores May 19, 2009.