.
“Scarface let us know we could get money, like, fukk your rules, we can get money here in America,” Nas recalls. “And that was based on real shyt, but fiction. Pablo Escobar was the first time we’re seeing it for real, but even bigger than Tony [Montana]. That shyt was just mind-blowing. I didn’t read Fortune 500 when I was watching Scarface. The streets was our Forbes. The streets told us what Fortune 500 people were on the street side. And you come from places like where I come from, that type of thing is very appealing and interesting.”
He continues: “America is a violent empire. It loves stories of violence. And we love the underdog who makes it from nothing to something—to the top. No matter what it took to get there. That guy has heart, we all love that.”