Nas (Rapper)

Nas, 2 Chainz, Fabolous, Miguel More - Capitale - 4/30/13

Better Than: Farmville "Why am I here?" That's the refrain that kept running through my head as I walked into Capitale on the Bowery last night, where Nas, 2 Chainz, Miguel, Elle Varner and a whole host of hip-hop and R&B artists emerged to celebrate the launch of Gig-IT, a new performance-based Fa ... More >>

The Five Best NYC Rap Albums That Never Happened

This week, while we've taken a loving look back at the finest album-length offerings that the home of hip-hop has contributed to the genre, we're also reminded of the empty spaces in our record collections where masterpieces should sit. It's heartbreaking enough that rap in an album form didn't catc ... More >>

How Have We Not Seen Diddy Crucified in "Hate Me Now?"

It's now 2013. As online music lovers, we've had widespread file-sharing for 14 years, Youtube for eight years and full-fledged communities dedicated to pop-culture preservation and video obscurities for at least five. At this point, every banned music video, live TV blooper or controversial perform ... More >>

Five Great Nas Songs You May Have Missed

Tonight, hip-hop legend Nas will be sitting down with Rolling Stone contributing editor Anthony Decurtis at the 92Y for a discussion on his lengthy, important and influential career. For over 20 years, Nas, with his innovative writing style and signature delivery, has contributed some of the most ce ... More >>

So Nas Might Have Used A Ghostwriter. So What?

Earlier this week, one tweet and one blog post alleging that Nas had used ghostwriters—specifically, Jay Electronica and stic of Dead Prez—on his 2007 album Untitled. The tweet, by Jay-Z biographer dream hampton, came first; after that, former Hot 97 art director Frank William Miller Jr. ... More >>

The Top 3.66 Hip-Hop Songs Of The Week

Hip-hop is at its best when artists collaborate, challenging one another to create their best work, and this week's best hip-hop tracks are highlighted by a collection of odd couples. DJ Khaled, of incessant yelling and inexplicably giving Ace Hood work, managed to put Nas, Scarface and DJ Premier o ... More >>

The Top 5 Rap Songs Of The Week: Olympic Edition

There was a time when the best place to hear new music was Hot 97, when the sound of bombs going off would signal a song debuting across the city. But if anyone wanted those songs for themselves, they'd have to buy a whole damn album or sit around and wait until it came on the radio again. Yes, thes ... More >>

Live: Nas Celebrates His New Album At Tammany Hall

Nas Tammany Hall Tuesday, July 17 Better than: Listening to Nastradamus. "I don't even know how to start this shit..." lamented a young Nas right before presenting the most complete, most timeless rap album in history—and doing so his first time out of the gate. Illmatic was a lot to live u ... More >>

Does Nas's New Album Prove That Life Is Good For Older Rappers?

Something weird is going on in rap music; older rappers are as lost as Mitt Romney in a Dollar Tree. In a game dominated by the young, there doesn't seem to be much place for men of a certain age talking about clubs, bottles of alcohol and selling drugs, and the resulting soul-searching has yielded ... More >>

Large Professor, Bigger Than Life

The legend continues with Professor @ Large

Live: Nicki Minaj Takes Off From Summer Jam, Nas And Lauryn Hill Climb Aboard

Hot 97 Summer Jam: Nicki Minaj, Young Jeezy, Rick Ross, J. Cole, Wale, Meek Mill, DJ Khaled, Waka Flocka, Trey Songz, Maino, Big Sean, 2 Chainz, French Montana, Mavado, Tyga, Slaughterhouse (and Nas and Lauryn Hill) MetLife Stadium Sunday, June 3 Better than: Seeing a Nicki Minaj concert. In an er ... More >>

Six Great '90s NYC Rap Demos

"Please listen to my demo!" That particular plea may no longer be heard coming from plucky upcoming rappers, what with the Internet age and all, but there's an undeniable pull about getting to hear the industry-ears-only dusty tapes that begat some of hip-hop's finest album moments. This week sees t ... More >>

Blondie (12) And Nas (4) Tangle In SOTC's March Madness

Last round, Blondie safely navigated past Hollis, Queens icons Run-DMC and the trio's aggressive, raw rap sound. This time, the Debbie Harry-fronted new wave ensemble faces off against Nas, hip-hop's one-time prodigal son turned full-time Bill O'Reilly antagonizer. Will the quasi-rap stylings of Blo ... More >>

Nas Takes Illmatic To Texas As South By Southwest Comes To An End

Before the 2012 edition of South By Southwest blows out of town, allow Village Voice Media's editors to share their favorite moments from the festival's fourth, and final, day.

Live: Common Keeps The Intensity High At Highline Ballroom

​Common Highline Ballroom Monday, December 19 Better than: Holiday store displays involving snow globes and marionettes. On "The Sixth Sense," a DJ Premier banger and one of the greatest cuts to come out of the second golden age of hip hop, Common chided that "this industry will make you lo ... More >>

Amy Winehouse's Top Ten Hip-Hop Collaborations

​Rappers loved Amy Winehouse. The British warbler might not have collaborated with rap chaps to the extent that Mary J Blige has, but when she passed away earlier this year she did so leaving behind a discernible trail of hip-hop goodies. And the songs suggest there was a genuine bond and shar ... More >>

Pitbull And Nas: Where They Are Now

by Ian Cohen Timothy Saccenti ​ This week's Voice takes a look at how Pitbull rode a bullish multimedia campaign to a level of chart success and celebrity that far exceeds what he accomplished during reggaeton's heyday. It's every bit as heartening as it is surprising. When you consider the ... More >>

Nas And Kanye West Leak Tracks, Lead The Pack (Again)

"Queensbridge, y'all ready to see Nasty Nas?" Thus begins Nas' "Nasty," a return to form that justifies the answer to that question always being "Yes, duh!" With rugged, street-level bars about the finer things in life and being better than other rappers that recall his legendary post-Jay-Z battle ... More >>

Five Questions To Ask At Ben Westhoff's Dirty South Reading

​Tonight, Voice contributor and hip-hop sommelier Ben Westhoff will read from Dirty South, his look at the populist rise of rap music from the southern states, at Williamsburg's Book Thug Nation. The book focuses on the bigger names to have emerged from the south, with chapters based around Bi ... More >>

Ten Hip-Hop Covers Of Rap Songs

​Last week, the Detroit-based rapper and one-time J Dilla collaborator Elzhi released Elmatic. It's the second time a rapper has re-written and re-made Nas's hallowed Illmatic, with Fashawn attempting a similar feat last year. As a listening experience, Elmatic is less than convincing, leaving ... More >>

The Ten Best Hometown Productions By Large Professor

​Large Professor cuts an outside figure in the New York hip-hop scene these days. As a producer who also happens to rap in an endearingly economical manner, he's integral to any overview of hip-hop's storied golden era--he tutored under Paul C, contributed production input to Eric B & Rakim so ... More >>

Watch: Nas and Damian Marley Trek Through Jamaica in "Nah Mean"

​Not content with just being announced as part of the rather-weak Lollapalooza 2011 lineup today, Nas and Damian Marley have dropped the music video for "Nah Mean" from their album Distant Relatives. The clip, shot almost entirely in black and white, follows Nasty Nas and Jr. Gong as they take ... More >>

Live: Nas And Damian Marley Teach Personal Chemistry In Williamsburg

Nas/Damian Marley East River State Park Saturday, July 31 With the Manhattan skyline behind us and the sun setting on the first not-disgustingly-hot NYC day in ages, Nas and Damian Marley took the stage for an almost painfully picturesque show Saturday night at the Williamsburg Waterfront. Featur ... More >>

Q&A: California Rapper Fashawn on Remaking Illmatic, Nas's 1994 East Coast Classic

"All the shit Nas was experiencing as a 21-year-old in 1994, I'm experiencing that shit now as a 21-year-old in 2010." ​In 1994, a 21-year-old Queensbridge resident calling himself Nas made a svelte, ten-track album that he titled Illmatic. Over beats concocted by a dream team of New York pro ... More >>

Download The Impeccably Curated Nas Tribute Mix 20 Years/20 Verses

​Yes, the bad news is that Nas has been at it for goddamn near two decades now; the good news is that Steady Bloggin' is offering an exhaustive mix of his 20 greatest verses, with each of those verses, from 1989's "Live at the BBQ" to 2010's "Victory" (warning: contains DJ Khaled), transcribed ... More >>

Back to 'Africa' With Nas and Damian Marley

Why the blockbuster collusion of Distant Relatives feels so . . . distant

Nas Has Great Taste in Beastie Boys Songs

The Beastie Boys played Bonnaroo this weekend, bringing out Nas--of all people to show up randomly in the middle of the Tennessee countryside--for a new song that is reportedly destined for the upcoming Hot Sauce Committee. That would make Nas the second confirmed guest on the record, after Santi ... More >>

Mr. Lif on the Election, I Heard It Today, and Nas

A Running Diary of Hip-Hop Superfest Rock the Bells

The exquisite joys of a sunny Sunday afternoon on the LIRR, Mos Def's basketball uniform, and De La Soul's late-'80s nostalgia

Nas Makes Fox News Look, Go Back to Eating Lunch

Nas's Untitled

More controversial than it is enjoyable, but it's enough of both

Status Ain't Hood Interviews Q-Tip

Yo! YouTube Raps

Rap videos have changed dramatically, as any teen or old-school icon will tell you

Nas's "Where Are They Now" Remixes: Publicity-Stunt Greatness

Nas: Better Than Nas

Die Another Day

Crafting another eulogy for hip-hop, Nas breeds a few improbable near-masterpieces

Preview: Ghostface Killah's New Album More Fish

Live: The Roots Forget to Call Jay-Z

KRS-One and Marley Marl Working Together: Who Cares?

Jay-Z Signs Nas to Def Jam

Jay-Z Brings Nas Onstage, Disses No One

Got Your Sex Raps Here

Nevertheless, Nas still sounds like a man who's thinking even when he'd rather not be

It Was Rewritten

Nas-postles Remix and Retool the Prodigal Son of Hip-Hop

Original Pirate Material

Queens Upstart Skips the Middleman, Takes on Hip-Hop's Kings of New York

All the Cliché to Heaven

Who's Your Daddy?

Destroyed

Hip-Hop's Ur-Self Got Himself a War

Kings of New York

Half and Half

One-Man Dialogues