Fri 2 Apr 2010
Video: Nas talks beat selection for Distant Relatives
Posted by Mikey Fresh under videos[42] Comments
Mikey: Earlier tonight, Digiwaxx hosted Nas & Damian Marley for a private listening session of their forthcoming collaborative album, Distant Relatives. While they only played a handful of tracks that we haven’t heard before, the majority of the material was head-nod inducing and sounded far from “forced”. During the brief Q & A segment of the evening, I got up the nerve to ask Nas about his much-debated beat selection over the years, and what the process was like picking the right production for this project.
April 2nd, 2010 at 12:50 am
Although Nas loves his smoke…this dude is just so laid back and funny @ times! I know people say he has a boring personality but his lyrical pen game makes all those silly criticisms worthwhile! Nas is a Virgo most Virgos are very weird and private naturally…so Nas is no different! Nas is one of the GREATEST in the game today and GOAT IMO! Distant Relatives sounds very dope (beats and lyrics) from what I heard during the live streaming! May 18, 2010!!!!
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Rhyme & Reason Reply:
April 3rd, 2010 at 9:21 pm
Where da fuck did Stef Lover come from all out da bue an shit lookin all Dignified an shit
Like i dont even listen to Power 105 anymore I couldnt even tell you if it still exists right now or who’s on it
But she looks good though you can see the growth, its good to see
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April 2nd, 2010 at 1:15 am
someone needs to work up the courage to say: “yo Nas, I’m a fan of your work, but your beat selection is usually horrendous. WHATS THE DEAL?”
with that said, I’m sort of excited for this album. I really would like that boom bap sound to come back, but updated. Same principles, but with new technology. Few people seem to be doing that, which is a shame. But whatever Nas and Damian bring to the table… it’d better be funky and lyrically ill
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Mikey Fresh Reply:
April 2nd, 2010 at 9:38 am
yea man it takes a lil something. I mean this wasn’t Waka Flocka I was asking, it was Nasir…
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Flowdini Reply:
April 3rd, 2010 at 12:46 am
i co sign 100% man. i want that nasty nas but i like when he is socially conscious. lets hope this puts a fire under his ( Nas ) ass and we get a great number 10 thats just as good as # 1 ( which i doubt) for real…i still want a all preimo album…
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April 2nd, 2010 at 1:50 am
props on sneaking in that follow-up question through the haters.
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April 2nd, 2010 at 2:37 am
nas need to let marley marl or diamond d be executive producer for a whole solo album.
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April 2nd, 2010 at 6:29 am
Nas sound ON POINT right now! His verse on my generation! Wow
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April 2nd, 2010 at 8:41 am
Here are pics I took last night at this event.
http://www.rule4080.com/?p=15130
joey too fresh
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April 2nd, 2010 at 8:43 am
I’m one of the few I guess who really hasn’t been a huge critic of Nas’ beat selection because I feel like for the most part his beats have fit the mood of his songs…and though they are probably not beats that a lot of rappers could flow over, I think he has mastered flowing over unconventional beats. This listening session was cool…its good to see the funny side of these guys sometimes and the music thus far has exceeded my expectations…I’ll be copping on May 18th…retail.
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April 2nd, 2010 at 10:08 am
Yall Done have the right to tell him what beats he should use cause that how he sound good by takin thease weird beats and makin them a song, music, dope
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April 2nd, 2010 at 10:09 am
ah i dident bother to watch that video its just another wack album by nas i was rideing with him for a while as they would say in the hood no homo,but yea i was rideing with him till nastradomus came out, im a pretty bad speller,and who is that nasty looking manly bitch all the way too the rite i would like to meet her just to spit in her face…im bring the hate early,get down or lay down bitch…
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Exodus1214 Reply:
April 2nd, 2010 at 10:26 am
Do us all a huge favor and kill yourself.
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SmilemissnAtoof Reply:
April 2nd, 2010 at 10:57 am
If haten was crime ud do life up in the prison-
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cx Reply:
April 2nd, 2010 at 11:51 am
a i dont hate on people that are doing good shit, i only hate when some one is doing something horrible or in some cases looking horrible.your the type of person that cheers for the team thats doing bad rite? i hate on things that are not good but if its good im wit it, but wat you think is good might be dif from wat i think is good,so when it comes down to it your the hater cause you hate on wat i think is not good you hate the fact that i dont like wat you like or you hate the fact that i say when i dont like something,so folks who really is the hater,coffee anyone???
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anelka Reply:
April 2nd, 2010 at 3:22 pm
[edit] urself nigga. hw did u come to d conclusion dat dat aalbum is bad, u heard it yet, patheic lil [edit].
cx Reply:
April 2nd, 2010 at 6:23 pm
yea i heard the album at your moms house while me and her were talking about how many more names we can come up with that ends with the letter “a” that we can name your sisters……i came up with one mooteetha….
juelzs Reply:
April 3rd, 2010 at 4:21 pm
forget the empire state, go to the brooklyn bridge and take a swim
onpoint Reply:
April 2nd, 2010 at 8:05 pm
go on top of the empire state and kill yourself for that comment!
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cx Reply:
April 2nd, 2010 at 9:36 pm
oh i was joking give me a break but it seems like when someone like chris rock makes songs like crackers or when katt williams makes fun of mexicans its all funny haa haa but as soon as someone says something about blacks they want me to jump off a building, let me tel you something and pretend im looking dead in your eye were all the f>>cking same meaning everybody can joke with each other no ones special no ones has more rights than another just cause blacks were slaves doesnt mean you cant joke about their color and let them do wat ever they want. look up world history every color has been slaves at one point the first slaves were roman and their white, theirs 6 year old asain girls in china makeing shirts for 5 cents hour for your fav rappers line as i type.but its ok if people make fun of asains rite??? no one should get a free pass to not be made fun of cause of wat peoples great great great great grand parents been threw, if that was the case nobody could be made fun of.and if you think other wise your the racist,have a good day….
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roc Reply:
April 3rd, 2010 at 10:02 am
yo forget the building, stand outside and tell your man to throw a brick on your head :/
onpoint Reply:
April 3rd, 2010 at 10:10 am
For that nas comment body your self!
cx Reply:
April 3rd, 2010 at 6:02 pm
nah i would never body by self over a nas comment or a comment that other people dont like, but tel you the truth ive thought about it towards other things like love,but at this point im over love ive figuared it out allready.sometimes we get mad at things we cant figuar out that we see others figuar out easy.and we also get mad at people that dont like the samethings as everyone else,kinda like when chris rock or kat williams makes fun of whites or mexicans but if someone would to make a joke about chris rocks color he would faint or his fans would faint with him,your the type of person that would stab and kill people while screeming its “its not good to kill”..or your the type of person that would wear a yellow shirt while telling people you hate yellow,you give the heat or support people that do but when you feel the heat you cant take it. and @ roc why do you want me ded do you want to kill me? would you like to see me ded.would you like too se me in a casket with my mom and my girl crying,because i make the same jokes as chris rock but towards other colors, or because i simply dont like nas new music,hmmm…tel me your thoughts im waiting
WAYLOW Reply:
April 3rd, 2010 at 6:54 pm
im nigga to heart but i agree wit dude to sum degree cuz i hate all da tired black comedians whose whole act is about the difference btween the races. richard pryor…eddie murphy…chris rock..they r da reel kings. evrybody else shut da fuk up yer not original. plus im smashn these white birds
Lac Reply:
April 4th, 2010 at 8:27 pm
Yo my man im sorry but ur WAY off.. nas too a slide at Nastradamus but he been holdin it down w ev album since that besides maybe Streets Discliple.. How u gonna talk ish when u aint even heard the album with marley?? At the very least hes doin something these Generic azz rappers out today are doin.. Same sh*t over and Over.. Tats Y u get no love from noone.. Think before u speak Son
anelka Reply:
April 5th, 2010 at 2:14 pm
who d fuck is this nigga, wat u waiting for, just end it, u are a dead man walking already.
April 2nd, 2010 at 10:43 am
Nas’ beats never bother me. I never get that complaint. Ah well, I’m really excited about this project. These 2 have great chemistry.
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April 2nd, 2010 at 11:16 am
i was blessed to be raised in a family that had different taste in what they thought was quality music. My sister enjoyed hip-hop and R&B…my brother was a big salsa and old school Spanish baladas…father had a big admiration for flamenco, and classical music, and my mom enjoyed good old early 80′s American pop..(occasionally The Crests. shout to our neighbor)i learned to appreciate a little from all my family members but when ever i felt like i needed something that defined me, i always seemed to turn to one person, N. i look forward to listening this album, its going to be interesting to see Damian in action again…shout to A.C
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April 2nd, 2010 at 1:40 pm
YEAH WHEN HE MADE NASTRADAMUS HIS MUSICAL SELECTIONS WENT DOWN HILL BUT HE CAN SPIT BUT I NEED A “COMPLIMENITIVE” ALBUM
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April 2nd, 2010 at 4:04 pm
I like how he waltzes around the question.
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April 2nd, 2010 at 6:24 pm
How do people figure what is a good beat for someone just because they say it is…hip hop is so fucking one dimensional and hypocritical and bias! Ask you dopest beat selector in the game can he fuck with nas lyirically and I bet you his answer would be HELL NO!!!!! Beats are all people care about… sickening!!!!!
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dj tech Reply:
April 2nd, 2010 at 8:13 pm
what are you talking about hip hop started on the beats , back in the day the djs would pick breaks in a song and bring it back over and over so the beat is very necessary part of any hip-hop song
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Ebonics To TheQueensEnglish Translator Reply:
April 2nd, 2010 at 9:54 pm
Co-sign… Nas said he picks weird beats because he wants people to pay attention to the content not the window dressing…the GOAT always has some knowledge to drop
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cx Reply:
April 3rd, 2010 at 4:28 pm
oh so he picks wack beats so they wont outshine his words, kinda like a girl thats will go to the club with a ugly girl so guys wil pay more att. to her,ok so heres the real challenge wont nas start picking hot beats again and have people hear his words over the hot beat even if the beat is super hot so he cant think in his own mind like wow i spit over a hot beat and they stil liked my words.if thats the case hes jelous of the beats?? thats crazy his best album was the first album an those beats were the best and more people new and understood the words to his first than any other,now i never said nas was wack hes my fav ,but his older shyt if why hes my fav im not feeling his new stuff,not saying hes a bad dude or anything i might not just be on his level,doesnt make him make better than me,just like im not on the same level as a killer or a bank robber,but wat ever it just seems kinda of the reason y hiphop is dead is because the ones that brung life to it ant good anymore,just think if nas kept coming with banging albums if wu kept coming with banging albums thats half of the reason y hiphop hasent been good the other half is payola and ceos signing family members but thats another story.like wu had so many hot albums back in the day its crazy but now i dont feel the same energy from them its not the same,people xpect the best out of people when their a artist and if you have the time an money to make a good album y cant they??? its cause they dont kno how to anymore and a lot of people are skard to say that, i give them respect cause of things they did,but come on,how do you forget how to rap or forget how to make a good album?? its cause for some reason their love isent in it no more, witch bring us too this,how can you love something thats fucked up??? witch is the other half y hiphop is ded, cause their signing wack artist and makeing hiphop seem like something it never was,so its a back and forth thing,when will it stop??? as soon as the plane lands……..and when will the plane land?? never…
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EastNY Reply:
April 4th, 2010 at 12:49 pm
omg brotha get a life lmao
this guy types essay responses
MarshalMatters Reply:
April 4th, 2010 at 8:11 pm
for that comment you need to Swallow A Bottle Of Sleepin Pills !!!
anelka Reply:
April 5th, 2010 at 2:22 pm
get ur long ass laughable essays off this site, and still do dat “thing” to urself, u aint no comedian, think b4 u type dem keypads nxt time, hw u gon knock an album u havnt heard.silly kid.
April 4th, 2010 at 10:30 am
to everyone saying they stopped listening to Nas after Nastradamus and were fans..then you missed out on Stillmatic and The Lost Tapes. Its like Jay-Z threw cold water on Nas, and woke the beast up.
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April 5th, 2010 at 6:40 am
Nas is the GOAT!!!!!!!!! His beats are what separeates him from the mediocre music being displayed in hip hop today! Same beats and same topics being played on the radio! Nas ain’t worried about his critics because truth be told they are his BIGGEST fans!
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April 8th, 2010 at 9:34 am
I think NAS has created some pretty unique stuff over the years. He’s a real artist in a sea of imitators in my opinion. I think he’shad some hits and misses but over all he experiments and pushes to reinvent himself.
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October 14th, 2010 at 8:16 am
after illmatic, sorry i forgot the name of the album.. i dont wanna google it..
all rite.. after that album i never bought nas shit anymore.
cos the productions suck ass!
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August 7th, 2011 at 4:31 pm
I agree with “truthfully”. NAS is the GOAT! I still bump Illmatic to this day and Stillmatic is a five mic’er in my book. Don’t know if we’ll get another NAS out of this next generation. We’ll see.
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