Last night, I got the chance to see Nasty Nas perform at his album release party at New York City’s Tammany Hall and there was something indescribably extraordinary permeating through the air.
Something refreshing. Something very special. I couldn’t put my finger on it at first, but then I realized that “something” is what I like to call hip-hop.
Nas was the happiest I’ve seen him since he first met his now ex-wife Kelis and his energy was magnetic.
All I could think about was, “Damn, Nas is so happy.”
I even took the initiative to tap the stranger beside me to co-sign my thoughts by saying, “Doesn’t Nas look so f*cking happy?”
The perfect stranger and Nas fan confirmed my statement with a simple, “Cause his life is good.”
He was energetic, and seemed to be in a state of nirvana as he absorbed the hundreds of faces holding onto his every rhyme.
I’m going to keep it simple and just say, Nas was straight up electric in Tammany Hall.
He took it back to the ’90s when he brought out his musical partner in crime, AZ, who performed “Life’s A Bitch” with him.
But as they celebrated on stage, the irony of their “Life’s A Bitch” performance became apparent when Nas realized that he and his Doe or Die buddy were no longer trapped in life’s bitchy grasp.
For Nas, life is good.
And life is good for Nas because he’s finally at peace, and he’s back making what we true hip-hop heads call “real hip-hop.”
In the middle of his set, Nas decided to share a few of his thoughts and the few things that have been bothering him about the genre he helped build.
And then Nas said it. He said, “f*ck pop!”
There was no sugar coating. No fillers. And no words to soften the blow. Nas isn’t feeling the “hip-pop” mash up some of us have grown to accept, and when he said those two words, the crowd went wild.
Nas’ full speech went as follows:
“This is music that I just put together, I’m praying will be the inspiration for my brothers that’s in the rap game. I think a lot of us are confused about who we are. It’s important that we stay ten toes down at all time.
F*ck pop, f*ck all that shit. We don’t imitate pop, pop imitates us! So that’s why we go back to the gutter. We’re number one in about 5 or 6 countries around the world. And none of this is pop. Stick to your guns, do what you do support the real sh*t.”
After Nas summed up his feeling about rappers and their willingness to go “pop” for commercial success, I realized I couldn’t have agreed more.
This isn’t my first realization that I hate hearing Nicki Minaj’s “Starships” or cringe at the fact 2 Chainz hopped on Justin Bieber’s “Boyfriend (Remix).”
And this is no way an attack on Nicki or 2 Chainz, because I love them both. No seriously, I love them both.
But as Nas would say, “stay true to yourself.”
And hey, maybe Nicki’s been dying to be the next Madonna since she was a little girl, I don’t know, but one thing I do know is despite all the spins she’ll receive on Z100 over the next few years, no one will remember “Starships.”
“Starships” is disposable.
There’s nothing memorable about it. It’s watered down music, not meant for the people who held onto every beloved bar she spit on Beam Me Up Scotty.
I didn’t like how Hot 97’s Peter Rosenberg delivered his message to Nicki about her pop crossovers, but I respected his overall message.
Pop music is like fast food.
It’s quick, it’s on every f*cking corner, and you love it at the moment, but shortly after you feel poisoned and less like yourself, and then you realize that you should’ve just waited to get some of your mama’s home cooking.
Don’t get me wrong, I love artists like Britney Spears, Katy Perry, and who could forget the king of pop, Michael Jackson, but I’m not too fond of rappers blending their heavy-hitting 808-riddled beats with Ke$ha-like dubstep tings and pops in the hopes of moving major units.
In the beginning, hip-hop was never in the business of imitating pop. Hip-hop was raw. Hip-hop was innovative. It had never been seen, and at the time, only the best were allowed to reign.
As a hip-hop fan, there’s nothing cool about Lil Wayne rapping on a Jonas Brother’s track – absolutely nothing.
I know these rappers need checks, but damn!
And this isn’t solely a hip-hop fan issue, rock fans hate when their favorite rock bands sell out to move a million records.
But artists in all different genres can’t sell their souls. Some have to “stick to their guns” and protect their music with their lives.
If some these artists could protect their music like they protect their homes or protect their pride, maybe, just maybe, music across all genres would be in a better place.
So when Nas says “f*ck pop,” I say, “only if she’s robbing me of my real hip-hop.”
Brittany Lewis is the Music Editor at GlobalGrind and a Howard University Alumna. Brittany considers herself seasoned on all the pop culture ish that matters. Follow her on Twitter @Buttercup_B.
