S. Samuel
Grammy-nominated rapper Nas recently talked about today's rap newcomers and shared how he views his status as a hip-hop veteran.
According to Nas, it is vital to keep in tact and maintain relationships with the rap newcomers.
“Where do I see myself, I’m waiting for the rap game to catch up,” Nas said during a press conference. “Not to sound arrogant, that’s just a generational thing. When the young guys come out, they hit me on the BlackBerry, real rap and it’s love because they can tell I love them. And it’s just like, we’re speaking from different perspectives so that’s why they appreciate the older stuff and kinda like it, or the guys that’s older than them because they can see where their future might be. But meanwhile, they’re reinventing the game from the early stage from a young stage.” (Rap Radar)
Fellow rap veteran Ice Cube recently explained his issues with trying to help rappers on the come-up.
“I got burnt out,” Cube wrote explaining why he stopped producing new emcees. “N*ggas couldn’t take the baton and run wit it. I was sick of babysitting grown a** men and walking them through the industry…With that being said, I understand my last few blogs have been talked about in the streets and all over the internet. I want to make myself clear to all my fans who think I turned my back on the young rappers out here. No. I wish every young MC nothing but success, especially the ones from the New West. BUT, I have a major problem with any mothaf*cka from ANY COAST dissing the Old West…especially me. I’M SERVING YOU!” (Ice Cube’s Blog)
West Coast emcee Xzibit, however, said it was key to help out younger generation emcees.
“I feel like if more of us held down more of our own, it would generate and circulate throughout the whole coast. We’d have a vibrate f***in’ scene here,” X said in an interview. “How did I get on? What happens if King Tee wouldn’t have come through and been like ‘Hey man, not only can you drink 40s, you can rap’ (laughs). King Tee came through and gave me a shot, and Tha Alkaholiks a shot. It’s gotta start somewhere. It gotta start somewhere. I think f***in’ with these dudes, they gonna be representatives of where we at.” (Baller Status)
Last year, rap mogul Jay-Z addressed the hip-hop age factor.
“I hear it all the time — ‘Yo, he should let the young guys, the new generation of guys come in,'” Jay explained in an interview. “But you don’t become the front-runner in music because someone lets you. You have to claim your shoes…If you grow up listening to hip-hop, you love hip-hop and that’s the end of it. But if you’re a 30 year-old rapper still trying to make music like you’re 15, then you’re making it narrow. At my age, I can’t relate to a 15 year-old. I deal with mature and relevant topics for my age group — it has to all be based on true emotions. The more diversity and the more mature we make hip-hop, the bigger the net you cast.” (Reuters)
Check out a recent Nas interview below:
