Elzhi to Collaborate with Nas on Elmatic Mixtape

October 8th, 2011 | By

There’s collaboration talk about Nas and Detroit rapper Elzhi, who will be dropping an album named after the Queen legend’s “Elmatic”. It is a mixtape that is inspired by Illmatic and will hopefully feature Nas. The word is that Nas’s camp is listening to the project and are actually feeling it, but there hasn’t been anything said by the God’s Son himself.

“As far as feedback from [Nas's] camp, my manager spoke with Nas’s manager and he’s heard through [him] that they’re over there loving it, ” said Elzhi. “That’s a blessing because when I set out to do the album…I wanted to pay homage and pay tribute to the classic album that Nas did. As far the fans, it’s been incredible. It surpassed my expectations, and it’s still growing.”

With the success of Elmatic thus far, he has already gotten a couple of offers from big record labels and has lead him to a collaboration with Chrysler on their “Emerging Artists” series.

“Through Elmatic, I was able to get a situation popping off with Chrysler, where they got me in their new campaign called ‘Emerging Artists,’” he explained. “It’s just been incredible, the labels are calling. It’s a great thing, and like I say, it went beyond my expectations and I’m glad I put it out.”

You can listen to more of this interview in the video below:

Jadakiss and Kendrick Lamar Debate the Winner of Old Rap Battle Between Nas and Jay-Z

September 12th, 2011 | By

How could we ever forget the battle between two of the biggest rap artists of our generation, between Nas and Jay-Z? Well, the debate between who won the 2003 battle still goes on between the opposing views of Jadakiss and Kendrick Lamar. Everyone has their views on who won, but who can dare say that “Ether” by Nas wasn’t a hot track?

The argument may never truly be done on whether Jay-Z or Nas won the rap battle, but here is what Jadakiss had to say.

“I didn’t really like the ‘Takeover’ beat,” admitted Jadakiss. “But the words—you know what the words are! It’s like the Declaration of Independence on the battle tip. What he’s saying is crazy. I like the laaaaayyyyymmmmme part. It was heavy, but Nas’ ‘Ether’ sits on the mantle when it comes to battle songs.”

He then added an “A-Plus grade” for the song Ether.

On the other end, Kendrick Lamar had this to say, “Truthfully, I felt like everybody wanted to go against Jay-Z because Nas was the underdog. But I was riding with Jay because he was saying more facts. ‘Ether’ was powerful, but I always thought Jay had the upper hand.”

It seems this will be a lifelong battle that will not end unless the two of them have a rematch that gives one or the other the title. Who do you think won the rap battle between Nas and Jay-Z?

The Revival of Hip Hop: Lupe Fiasco and Nasty Nas

June 14th, 2011 | By

A lot of folks who grew up on NWA’s gangsta rap and 80s-90s hip hop will all agree that the hip hop industry is suffering horribly. The game has really changed — from baggy pants to skinny jeans, and hardcore lyricism to singing and lyrics that say next to nothing.

You’ve heard Nas complain in his song “Hip Hop is Dead” back in ’06, and it seemed to be the case with a new wave of crunk and party rappers, and other so-called rappers who many would vote out the game if given the opportunity. Except for a select few, such as Lupe Fiasco, Nas, Kanye West, Mos Def, Common and Talib Kweli.

With the new album release, “Lasers” from Lupe Fiasco, it looks like hip hop won’t be dying without a fight. This seems especially true with Nas also releasing a new album, which had a song leaked called “Nasty”.

You’ve already heard a couple of songs from “Lasers”, like “The Show Goes On” and “Words I Never Said”. “Lasers” went straight to the top on the 200 Billboard, ranking number one for eleven weeks.

Lupe Fiasco is a breath of fresh air and can finally be something to look forward to on radios, BET and CD players. He speaks truth and knowledge, unlike what we’ve been hearing from the usual rump-shaking tracks that have been overloading the media (T-Pain, Soulja Boy, New Boyz and so on). Hopefully true hip hop prevails and we can throw out the skinny jeans, crazy dances and weak songwriting.

Prodigy and Nas to Reconcile Differences

May 16th, 2011 | By

The Prodigy and Nas rivalry has finally saw its end, going back to their collaborating days.

These two hip hop artists have been at it for a while now. Their feud has been documented as one of the most controversial in Hip Hop, as they were former friends and collaborators-turned rivals.

News broke out of their possible friendship rekindling when they both appeared in Mobb Deep’s “Dog Shit,” which surprised many fans who tuned in.

Nas said that, “He [Prodigy] called me as soon as he got out of jail; he got in touch with me. We talked about some things.” This cleared the tension that these two artists were facing. They have now settled their differences and are ready to hit the music industry once again, as collaborators and not as rivals.

Nas said that he put the past behind him because of the misunderstanding they had, and he believed that Prodigy may have fixed his old ways. Nas believes that things will start off well this time around, especially with new projects in line.

Nas also states that he wanted to know the truth. P had been writing a book, and Nas came to completely accept it as something positive, had Prodigy told him the truth. This was the major factor that fueled the rivalry, which was resolved right after Prodigy left jail.

We can surely expect things to get easier between the two hip hop artists in the future, especially with the “Dog Shit” collaboration to kick it off!

A Video of Nas Getting Arrested for DUI

December 7th, 2009 | By

On September 10, hip hop king, Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, was arrested for driving under the influence of marijuana. Recently, a video surfaced on the web of this event (does it look like he passed the sobriety test to you? Some think so). In the video you will see the cops asking him to count from 1001, 1002, until they said stop, while standing on one leg with both arms out and had him walk a straight line back and forth while counting to nine. Nas tells the cop that he always had “weird balance”, but guess that didn’t work out so well. At the time, he was in the car with his brother Jabari, also known as Jungle. They checked his pulse, eyes and had him stick out his tongue (which was supposedly a bit green with raised taste buds). Then what really gave it away was the smoke filled SUV they were driving. He and his brother were both arrested and released later. There are rumors that the charges are being dropped.

Of course, this isn’t the most important of Nas’s worries at the moment, especially with the case he has with his ex-wife Kelis. He has to face a lien that’s worth $2.5 million — this accumulated over 2006 and 2007 for spousal and child support. Other than the trouble he is facing, he is still working hard in the studio, trying to bring out more songs and his next album. Word has it that he is collaborating with Damian Marley for the “Distant Relatives” album and documentary. Hopefully none of this drama will faze him because he has a lot of work to do…plus I know we all can’t wait to hear what the rapper has conjured up for the new album and documentary.