Alongside that of The Notorious B.I.G. and 2Pac, the feud between Jay Z and Nas will forever be marked down in the history of hip hop as one of the greatest rap beefs.
In a candid interview with Zane Lowe, legendary artist Nas has opened up about what it felt like to be at the centre of one of the industry’s longest clashes.
The 40-year-old expressed how unlike rappers today, his battle with the Reasonable Doubt star was about so much more than just making money.
Speaking to Lowe as part of the MTV series Relentless Ultra Presents Soundchain, Nas said: ‘It’s really about money now, and back then, during that period when you talk about me battling with J, it was about something else.
‘It wasn’t just about being the top guy in rap, it felt like we were leaders of nations, not that we were egos, egotistical as in “I’m the leader”, no not in that sense.’
He continued: ‘What you felt surrounding us was there was an importance in what we were doing that mattered more than just success, it was more than just, “are my records going to sell” or yes, we need the records to sell to make money.’
Representing the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, the beef between the two New York rappers dated back to the 90s but only really became public knowledge with the release of Jay Z’s song Takeover in 2001 which Nas responded to with the track Ether taken from his album Stillmatic.
Both artists continued to fire shots at one another on respective releases until 2005 when Nas made a surprise guest appearance onstage alongside Jay Z during his I Declare War tour where the two performed Dead Presidents.
Cementing the end of their beef, in 2006 Nas, who was once married to singer Kelis, signed to Def Jam which at the time Jay Z was the label’s president.
During his interview with Lowe, the rapper and actor also spoke about the impact that the murders of B.I.G. and 2Pac had on him and what he felt it meant for the rap scene.
Speaking about the deaths of the two artists, he said: ‘Those two things hit me real hard. I knew them both of them. Biggie more but what they mean to the art form can never be replaced.
‘When those two guys passed away I thought it was the end of rap.’
Source: Daily Mail