*Nas reflected on his hip-hop battle with Jay-Z during a recent appearance on Rick Rubin’s Broken Records podcast.
Their beef began in the mid-1990s with the two lyrically trading shots, mostly famous on Jigga’s “Takeover” diss track, and Nas fired back with “Ether.”
Nas explained to Rubin that he was “honored” to have been a part of that iconic moment in music.
“The art of emceeing was right there on full display,” he told Rubin. “It was like, if you’re in the rap game, this could happen, a battle. It was like, ‘This rap thing is real. A battle could really happen.’ So I was honored to have that part of my life happen because that’s how I saw the greats do it coming up. I saw some of the greats do it.”
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Nas went on to explain that the feud highlighted “the art of emceeing.”
“Again, it’s about the art of emceeing,” he explained. “And when you’re trying to make the best stuff you can make, and you bump heads with another MC, and then you guys have a war or whatever, that’s what this art form was since the beginning; since Double Trouble and Busy Bee and Kool Moe Dee. But that’s what I like about hip-hop compared to other genres is that, they go at it in hip-hop. You know, like, really at it. Not to say that other rockers didn’t go at it, other reggae artists didn’t go at it, other crooner didn’t go at it, but Hip-hop will always be around because of how competitive it is.”
You can hear Nas’ comments via the YouTube clip above, and check out the full interview here.
In an interview with NME late last year, the hip-hip star dished about possibly reuniting with Jay-Z on a new track, and plans for a Nas biopic.
“There’s been talk about me doing my life story, like a TV series. [Producer] Brian Grazer called me into his office years ago to discuss doing something like that. I think it’ll happen if it’s supposed to happen, and when it’s time,” the rapper explained. “It could be too soon right now, I don’t know. But it has to feel right. It has to come together in a way that makes me go: ’This will make a difference. This will be what I think it should be. I don’t wanna just do it just to see my life story. It has to be right.”
Read his full NME interview here.
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