Mr Hate Coffee
Veteran
Walk with me for a sec... and older heads please chime in (because I could be wrong... it's just a theory)
Illmatic came out in 1994. It was universally heralded as a classic and Nas was on his way. One of the standout tracks was "Life's a bytch", featuring Brooklyn rapper AZ. It could even be argued that AZ outshined Nas on this track.
While Illmatic was a critical success, it didn't really catch on mainstream. There's no record of any of the singles charting.
In 1995, AZ releases his debut album featuring the hit single "Sugar Hill". "Sugar Hill" topped at 25 on the Billboard Hot 100, higher than any Nas song at that point in his career.
Enter 1996. Nas drops "It Was Written" with his breakout single "If I Ruled the World" "If I Ruled the World" topped out at 53 on the Billboard Hot 100, while "Street Dreams" peaked at 22. [It must have been a timing situation because IIRTW is clearly the more popular song]
From that point on their careers go different directions, but they did collab on the failed Firm project and numerous songs in the future. For some reason, AZ is relegated to underground rapper status while Nas becomes a superstar.
Here's why I think Nas wanted AZ to stay in his shadow.
Questions I have for NY/older cats:
Why didn't Sugar Hill launch AZ into superstardom? I remember hearing it all over the radio. It's about a good of a single one can ask for in their career.
Why wasn't AZ seen on Nas' level? He's got the lyrics, flow, and even has the look.
Has there ever been any public beef between the two? (i.e. Did Nas feel some type of way about AZ being in Jay-Z's "Dead Presidents" video.)
This is all just theory and an attempt to get some real hip-hop discussion going. Nas is my favorite rapper alive but I always wondered why AZ was underrated.
Illmatic came out in 1994. It was universally heralded as a classic and Nas was on his way. One of the standout tracks was "Life's a bytch", featuring Brooklyn rapper AZ. It could even be argued that AZ outshined Nas on this track.
While Illmatic was a critical success, it didn't really catch on mainstream. There's no record of any of the singles charting.
In 1995, AZ releases his debut album featuring the hit single "Sugar Hill". "Sugar Hill" topped at 25 on the Billboard Hot 100, higher than any Nas song at that point in his career.
Enter 1996. Nas drops "It Was Written" with his breakout single "If I Ruled the World" "If I Ruled the World" topped out at 53 on the Billboard Hot 100, while "Street Dreams" peaked at 22. [It must have been a timing situation because IIRTW is clearly the more popular song]
From that point on their careers go different directions, but they did collab on the failed Firm project and numerous songs in the future. For some reason, AZ is relegated to underground rapper status while Nas becomes a superstar.
Here's why I think Nas wanted AZ to stay in his shadow.
- Over the years, despite fans CLAMORING for the AZ/Nas collab project, it's never happened. This is largely due to Nas. He's the bigger star and dictates what happens. Nas has never really had a good excuse for the collab not dropping either.
- AZ blew up commercially before Nas, Nas probably felt some way about it. Especially after putting AZ on.
- Nas kept delaying the collabo album and now nobody wants that shyt.
Questions I have for NY/older cats:
Why didn't Sugar Hill launch AZ into superstardom? I remember hearing it all over the radio. It's about a good of a single one can ask for in their career.
Why wasn't AZ seen on Nas' level? He's got the lyrics, flow, and even has the look.
Has there ever been any public beef between the two? (i.e. Did Nas feel some type of way about AZ being in Jay-Z's "Dead Presidents" video.)
This is all just theory and an attempt to get some real hip-hop discussion going. Nas is my favorite rapper alive but I always wondered why AZ was underrated.
Last edited:
stupid ass thread
