In light if the UPN being number 1 with African Americans I bring this post.

Nas. THe man who made arguably the 2nd best album in hip hop history (next to public enemy's Its takes a nation of millions), Illmatic. During Hip hop's last true renassaice 1994, along side other very important recordings of the genre, such as Pete Rock & CL Smooth - THe Main ingrident, Gangstarr - Hard to Earn, Outkast - Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, Notorious B.I.G - Ready to die, Just to name a few. Though he has displayed his greatness through his career he has let us down quite a few times (most of "I AM", Nastradamus, The Firm) he ususally returns to greatness. beating Jay - Z For the Crown of NY. Making Amazing records like Stillmatic and Gods SOn. On his lastest LP Street Disciple he take serious shoots at certain black celebrity and stations because of thier cooning of America. Kobe Bryant Is the main target as is Taye Diggs, Tiger Woods, WB and UPN. Is he overly harsh or is he on point? Take A Look At THe Lyrics and Judge for yourself:


Nas: "This ain't for everybody. Y'all know who y'all are
Yeah you, y'all know who y'all are. These are our
heroes."

[Chorus: Nas]
Let's hear it, one for the coons on UPN 9 and WB
Who 'Yes Massa' on TV, what ever happened to Wheezy? The Red Fox's?
Never got Emmy's but were real to me
Let's hear it, two for the spooks who do cartwheels
'Cause they said they played they parts well
Now they claim caviar, hate that oxtail
Lambda Sigma Phi badge on lapel
Whitey always tell him, "Ooh, he speak so well"
Are you the one we look to, the decent Negro?
The acceptable Negro -- hell nah
But they say, "These are our heroes"

[Verse 1: Nas]
Uh, Massa used to breed us to be bigger to go play
Athletes of today in the NBA, make me proud
But there's somethin' they don't say
Keep gettin' accused for abusin' White pussay
From OJ to Kobe, uh let's call him Tobe
First he played his life cool just like Michael
Now he rock ice too just like I do
Yo, you can't do better than that?
The hotel clerk who adjusts the bathroom mat?
Now you lose sponsorships that you thought had your back
Yeah, you beat the rap jiggaboo, fake nigga you
You turn around then you shit on Shaq
Who woulda knew, Mr. Goodie-Two-Shoes
He love a little butt crack, got enough cash
Little kids with they bus pass who look up to you
To do something for the youth, stupid spoof
But you let them use you as an example
They would rep, but our heroes got they hands full

[Chorus]

[Verse 2: Nas]
You Homey The Clown, bowtie, apple pie, Bo Jangles
But we love Bo Jangles, we know what he came through
But what's your excuse, duke? You talk Black
but your album sound like you give your nuts for a plaque
You don't ride for the facts like um, say Scarface
You don't know what you feel, y'all too safe
Election done came and went, y'all worked so hard for it
Huh, and in the end we all got dicked
These are our heroes, thanks a lot public school systems still rot
Still harassed by cops, snitches on blocks
Sellin they peoples out - some real folks with clout
Tavis Smiley, Michael Eric Dyson
Stokely Carmichael, let's try to be like them
Nicky Giovanni poetical black female
Jim Brown to the people who sing well from
Fela to Miriam Makeba
The mirror says you are the next American leader
So don't be, acceptin new 'We are the World' records
These pickaninnies get with anything to sell records
Cause it's trendy to be the conscious MC
But next year, who knows what we'll see?
Ha-Ha, these are our heroes

[Chorus]

Nas: "Yeah, I wanna give a special shoutout to the -- y'know
the crew doin' they thing out there reppin' us hard
Big up to Tiger Woods. Yeah, ya don't stop. Big up
to Cuba Gooding Jr. Y'know, yeah, y'know. Tay Diggs
what up my nigga. Yeah, ha-ha. And you don't quit
and ya don't quit, and ya don't stop and ya don't quit."

Male Heckler: "Yeah-Yeah, what you doin' for the hood though
homie? What you doin' for the hood, man? Look at
all that paper. Drivin' around like a playboy in
my hood. What type of shit is that?"

*overlapping dialogue*

Nas: "I'm outta here. Please, excuse me, 'xcuse me -- please
Let me get to my limousine, I'm outta here. I know, I
got a plane to catch. And I love you back. Ha-Ha
yeah yeah -- And I'm outta here. A-ha-ha -- PEACE."

Soulchild82 said:

wow, that was rough! who is he talking about in the second verse? sounds almost like it could've been p. diddy? anyway, i have mixed feelings about this song. maybe the lyrics have gone over my head a bit but if he's saying he has a problem with these people because they're black and successful then i have a problem with that. black people tend to think that speaking articulately and holding down a decent job is selling out but if he's asying that they are just selling their souls to the devil by taking on stereotypical black tv/movie roles then i can see his point but even then sometimes you may have to take a role like that in order to get your foot in the door but i would hope after you've gotten through, you should do other roles to break the stereo types.

I like Taye Diggs. Maybe I should be a sidekick on a UPN show.

Nas made some good points in the song...He's not criticizing success, but success at the expense of selling out one's people & perpetuating stereotypes.

Nas is a walking contradiction. I really can't take him seriously, especially after hearing that one verse on his latest disc "she sucked cum out of my urethra as Marvin Gaye bumped on the speakers."
[Edited 2/15/05 12:11pm]

sinisterpentatonic said:

He's giving R. Kelly a run for his money!

PAPAROBBIE said:

I agree. he mentions Redd Foxx and weezy as inspirations because they werereal characters and not the steppin fetchit types. I think the 2nd verse could be about p diddy and the whole vote or die campaign. I think its also a reaction of how the media tells us who our heroes are Condi and Colin ect. no doubt its commendable that they have such power but at what expense.

VoicesCarry said:

Yeah, he's talking about some nasty stuff on this latest disc. He's also going by the name 'Nasty Nas' It's hard to believe this cat just got married.

sinisterpentatonic said:

I understand what you mean. as a nas fan I think he is constantly being the conscience MC ie Common ect. or the ice wearing thug. I think most of us need to realize that 1994 is over and real hip hop is no longer mainstream hip hop too.

sinisterpentatonic said:

Nasty Nas was his original namme to begin with. Go back the 1991 and look at Main Sources "Breaking Atoms" Live at the BBQ is with Nasty Nas. Same on the Zebrahead soundtrack Halftime is by Nasty nas. Hes been using Nasty Nas From day one.

Soulchild82 said:

I stand corrected. I don't remember him reffering to himself as that until Kelis. My bad!

He overlooked that Isabel Sanford aka Weezie was the first (and I think only) black actress to win an Emmy for Best Actress in a Comedy.

sinisterpentatonic said:

This is exactly why I don't listen to much rap/hip-hop. Dude is talking like his shit don't stink. I get the jabs about Taye and Tiger because they married/dated outside of their race. Well big freaking deal, so did Jack Johnson, Sammy Davis, Jr., Joe Louis and shit load of other black men from way back. To each his own. And isn't Nas' wife Kelis bi-racial? WTF? It isn't like she's straight Zulu Nation either. And didn't Jim Brown date Rachel Welch when they were filming "100 Rifes" back in 1969? And didn't Jim Brown also pitch a women out of a window or off a balcony or something back in the early 90's?

He really, really irritates me.
.
[Edited 2/15/05 13:36pm]

Ugly song with ugly, hateful sentiments. The album's not exactly overflowing with quality either.

sinisterpentatonic said:

that just makes it sound so nasty.

Ifsixwuz9 said:

I understand what you are saying however, Illmatic is still one of the greatest Lp's ever made. so i think at times he uses that fact to his advanntage like he can say anything now.

PAPAROBBIE said:

exactly.This was my interpreation of his lyrics as well.

Soulchild82 said:

PAPAROBBIE said:

These lyrics are just absurd . I find that a lot of Blacks believe that all Black people have to think one way, with one opinion, or they're "sell-outs". I don't agree with Condoleeza Rice's politics, but I respect her, and Colin, too. Why do have to agree with them all the time? Because they're Black and I'm Black we always have to think alike . Why can't we have a diversity of opinion ? Look, George W and John Kerry were both rich white men of roughly the same age who both went to Yale : Does anybody say that they "have to" think alike ?

And why attack Taye Diggs, Tiger Woods, or Cuba Gooding for falling in love with and marrying someone of a different race ? ( And Good Lord- imagine if a White artist said something like that in a record??? Toby Keith or Tom Petty or Eminem writing againt interracial relationships ?? Just imagine the hoopla !) If we ostracized all the Blacks who ever had romantic and/or sexual relationships with people of other races, who would we have left ? That would eliminate : Thurgood Marshall, James Baldwin, Lena Horne, Miles Davis, Pearl Bailey, Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington, Muddy Waters, James Brown, Chuck Berry,
Rick James, Alice Walker, Leroi Jones, Bill Cosby, Barry Bonds, Tiki Barber,
Dorothy Dandridge, Martin Luther King, etc, etc, oh...and yes PRINCE!!

If he wants to attack those who perpetrate negative stereotypes of Blacks, here's a few he can start with : 50 Cent, The Game, Snoop Dogg, Lil Kim. And if he wants to criticize those who profit off of the selling of those images, why not include: Damon Dash, Russell Simmons, Jay-Z ?

These lyrics are pointless, and show a complete lack of logic and critical thinking

jjhunsecker said:

Right on! Very well spoken! I basically said the same thing at the beginning of this thread. So it's ok to be a fucking gangsta thug rapper talking about hoes, and bling because that's keeping it real. God forbid we should have an education and speak properly, then we're sell outs. What the hell is wrong with people and where is this backwards way of thinking coming from? How can we make it stop?

Nas must be living in the ninties,
since there are no black shows on the WB!
Word....


And Weezy (Isabella Sandford) did win at least one emmy. The song would have a good point if the first few lines were accurate. The song does make sense, for the most part, tough.

The song is useless.

jjhunsecker said:

I dont think that the interacial relationships is the point of him dissing Kobe,Taye Diggs, Tiger Woods, or Cuba (being that his wife Kelis has a mixed parent, and he was discovered and is friends of MC Search of 3rd Bass and Eminem for that matter who produced A song for his Gods SOn LP). I think the reason for dissing them is soley their image. That they are "the perfect Negro". By this I think he means the most marketable and such for crossover appeal. I think he is Justified in dissing Kobe. And the vote or die campaign for that matter. TO say all of the lyrics are pointless would be a mistake. he does give credit to under appriciated African Americans. such as Fela Kuti(Famous African musician), Tavis Smiley, and Nicky Giovanni.

Soulchild82 said:

Very Well Said.

Soulchild82 said:

Maybe I'm wrong on the Taye, cuba, Tiger assesment but I really don't see anything wrong with their image either. Especially Taye and Tiger. And I'm not even a fan of Taye Diggs. Ok Cuba did some corny movies but wasn't Nas in that piece of crap movie "Belly"?

Nas perpetually seems like an ignorant man who’s just obtained a wealth of knowledge, a man steeped in Afro centricity and Black pride, yet a man still embodying the traits of Black male oppression. Nas’ contradictory persona is the result of him being a “Thug Prophet”; a socially conscious Black man who still feels the need to maintain his street cred. Tupac was the quintessential “Thug Prophet”. The Black Thug is a self-destructive persona which the ruling-class has nurtured in it’s controlled wastelands, perpetuated in it’s media, and has sold as it’s product. It’s essentially a perfect way to destroy a people and make a profit while doing it. Nas, just like Tupac, will never be a true prophet as long as he continues to indulge in self-destructive behavior. Nas needs to check himself before his criticizes other Black folks.
[Edited 2/15/05 22:18pm]

lilgish said:

Right on with the right on!

AnckSuNamun said:

it is!

I just remembered another one of his brilliant verses

"I squeeze the nipples like a pimple to get the puss, get it?"




[Edited 2/15/05 22:13pm]

Im the first 2 post about this song I shudda been on this tread a long time ago. Well I said everything I had 2 say in the otehr posts so Im done. VEry good album and a wondeful song.

lilgish said:

But to me, that kinda seems like it's part of the point of the song. I don't think the dialogue between him & "Male Heckler" is just thrown in for the hell of it. He makes some decent points @ times, some of it's off base, but all of it is easy to say & criticize isn't it? What ARE the rest of us doing? I dunno, maybe the back & forth @ the end is just tacked on, but I think it's interesting - looking @ the criticized & the criticizers... b/c EVERYBODY has an opinion on what Black folks "need to do"


[Edited 2/16/05 1:45am]