Nas is a few months into life in his 40s, following a few celebrations and some amazing accomplishments to boot. Some time during his birthday week, the Queens lyricist connected with Cat Greenleaf of NBC’s Talk Stoop to talk about reaching the milestone age, why he claimed Hip-Hop was dead, the n-word, and more.
The host painted Hip-Hop as a culture that “in a way glamorized thug life” from the beginning, but Nas contended that, “It kind of pushes you. It doesn’t make all people want to grab a gun and go do what the lyric says, but it know makes you say, ‘I’m tough. I can survive out here,’ so it’s needed.”
Seguing topics, the pair discussed a Marvin Gaye quote that Nas tweeted: “True artist suffers for the people.” On that, the MC said, “I wish there was no suffering. It just comes with the job. Some of the greatest work comes from pain. Some great work comes from love, from lost.”
Despite this, Nas said he would never forgo the bad times. Hear more in the interview below.
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