Normally drawing controversy with everything he does, NYC rap legend Nas has revealed that his next solo record will take a more positive approach than previous material, including 2008's Untitled (which originally bore the N-word as its titled) and that album's precursor, Hip Hop Is Dead.
Despite divorcing his long-time wife Kelis, it seems the rapper, born Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, has been feeling a lot of positive vibes lately, as he revealed to Billboard in a recent interview.
"It's funny; drama is something that definitely kicks a fire underneath artists," he said. "But I try not to make that my focus. I'm trying to have peace and love... My shit right now is age-appropriate for myself. I love everything, most of the things that are going on musically. But my music will talk about what I see, how I see it, and it should be interesting. My last things were about what I felt about hip-hop and what I felt about race matters. This new thing will be a natural thing. I have a few things that I feel like doing, but who knows what it will be."
He's so positive, in fact, that he's even happy with the direction hip hop has taken recently, saying, "Everybody is trying to beat the life back into it. People are forced to beat the life back into it because it's either that or, if hip hop dies completely, then it's our fault. So no one wants that on their shoulders. No one wants that on their brain. We have a responsibility to keep this shit crunchy. That means a lot to fans and people, and we should care more about the music."
Before Nas can even get started on this release, however, he needs to put the finishing touches on Distant Relatives, the long-anticipated collaborative record he's been working on with Damian Marley. The record was originally scheduled for a June 23 release, but was pushed back to August. Let's be honest with ourselves - they're probably going to move the release date again. But expect that album, you know, sometime.
Nas is currently scheduled to perform with Marley during the Rock the Bells tour. Let's just hope he keeps showing up.
Despite divorcing his long-time wife Kelis, it seems the rapper, born Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, has been feeling a lot of positive vibes lately, as he revealed to Billboard in a recent interview.
"It's funny; drama is something that definitely kicks a fire underneath artists," he said. "But I try not to make that my focus. I'm trying to have peace and love... My shit right now is age-appropriate for myself. I love everything, most of the things that are going on musically. But my music will talk about what I see, how I see it, and it should be interesting. My last things were about what I felt about hip-hop and what I felt about race matters. This new thing will be a natural thing. I have a few things that I feel like doing, but who knows what it will be."
He's so positive, in fact, that he's even happy with the direction hip hop has taken recently, saying, "Everybody is trying to beat the life back into it. People are forced to beat the life back into it because it's either that or, if hip hop dies completely, then it's our fault. So no one wants that on their shoulders. No one wants that on their brain. We have a responsibility to keep this shit crunchy. That means a lot to fans and people, and we should care more about the music."
Before Nas can even get started on this release, however, he needs to put the finishing touches on Distant Relatives, the long-anticipated collaborative record he's been working on with Damian Marley. The record was originally scheduled for a June 23 release, but was pushed back to August. Let's be honest with ourselves - they're probably going to move the release date again. But expect that album, you know, sometime.
Nas is currently scheduled to perform with Marley during the Rock the Bells tour. Let's just hope he keeps showing up.
