When you have as storied a career as Nas has, anniversaries can come and go without a th0ught but this plethora of landmark/groundbreaking music can’t be denied. It’s the 20th anniversary of “Live at the Barbeque”, the Main Source song on which he debuted a verse that led to “Illmatic”. (It’s actually the first verse you hear on “Illmatic”.) It’s also the 15- year anniversary of “It Was Written” and the 10-year anniversary of “Stillmatic”. XXL Magazine caught up with God’s Son to talk about some of the more notable moments of Nas’ 20-year career.

Here’s Nas on making the word ether a everyday word in the rap world:

That’s what hip-hop has always been. We have our own. It’s a culture thing. It’s a community thing, but it’s also a young people thing, and it’s also, it’s just the way. It’s the way things are. That’s how it’s always been in hip-hop.

On if he has ever discussed “Ether” with Jay-Z after squashing their much publicized fued:

Not really. I mean, I think right now anybody who’s made it from the ’80s era, the ’90s, got into hip-hop and still stickin’ around and still here, still feelin’ great about life… I think that’s enough. I think anybody today, any peer of mine is just appreciative of the life that we’ve made for ourselves. We didn’t know anything. We didn’t know that this was gonna be the outcome, that we’d be around at this time doing what we’re doin’. I think everybody’s just on that page.

If he had second thoughts about using the “Iron Butterfly” sample (“Thief’s Theme”) of back to back albums:

No, that was the joke. Hip-hop is dead. I’m gonna do the same beat again from my last album that was my last single. This is gonna be the shit again. And will didn’t even know it at the time, will.i.am when he played it for me and I told him that’s why I have to do this record. For me it was perfect. I know people didn’t get it, but it was my little joke.

And finally, making “Black Republicans” with Hova:

It was a party. Not like tons of people. Easy party. That was actually us warming up to working together. We never got a chance. Maybe I over-thought it. I needed the beat. I mean, we needed the beat to be crazy. We wanted Dre to do it, then we wanted ‘Ye to do it. And I had a timeline and shit. It never would have came out, so I go back to the thought of, “This is rap music. This is bangin’ on the lunchroom table and makin’ a freestyle, so, don’t over-think it. Here it is. Take it, guys. This is what it is.” We wanted to get off a crazier joint, but never got around to it.

You can read the whole interview here.

via [XXLMag.com]

With