Nas wrote Men in Black and Miami?

[Rapmastermind]

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xny6gbQ-LkU[/ame]

3LW featuring NaS but he never dumbed it down?, lol.

 

[Never Broke Again]

Does that somehow make it not a great record? Why does a song being successful automatically make it wack?

no one said its wack

being commercial isn't necessarily always an insult, usually the best overall songs are actually commercial with more focus on putting together a good final product song-wise


with that said If I Ruled the World is definitely commercial, red hot Lauryn Hill feature comin off of Killing Me Softly with Trackmasters on the beat

 

[Rapmastermind]

Lyrically "If I rule the world" wasn't really commercial. I agree with people saying that. But the song itself was commercial. With the sample and L-boogie on it. It was like a complete 180 from anything off "ILLmatic" to most people at that time. "Street Dreams" is considered very commercial also.

 

[spliz]

So now if it's not NaS song he didn't dumb down? Remix or not he dropped a dumb down commercial verse did he not? I don't understand the debate here? Cause if you look throughout NaS whole catalog he has done some commercial tracks and some of those were dumb down like a lot of rapper's commercial tracks.

It's just NaS commercial tracks don't always do well on the charts but that doesn't mean he's never done them cause he has. I'm willing to say outside of "ILLmatic", he had a commercial-sounding song on every LP. Look at "Summer on Smash", was that even lyrical? Or what about "Make the world go round", he wasn't spitting like that on either of those tracks. So this idea that NaS never dumb down on a track is false.

If the track aint his song..it aint his song.. ..it was a guest feature..u cant count it..people only do cause they forget it isnt his song...period..how could a song that not the artist's song be an example of them dumbing down THEIR music?..explain that to me..lol...clear examples u coulda made woulda been Nastradamus single...the U Owe Me single...maybe...Make the World Go Round aint a single...it wasnt even his song..it was Game's...he just ended up taking it for his album...but I guess u can use that...all im sayin is that cats sayin the wrong shyt to make they point in here..lol

 

[spliz]

Lyrically "If I rule the world" wasn't really commercial. I agree with people saying that. But the song itself was commercial. With the sample and L-boogie on it. It was like a complete 180 from anything off "ILLmatic" to most people at that time. "Street Dreams" is considered very commercial also.

If I Ruled The World sampled 2 classic hip hop records...and was talking about going back to africa n shyt...the song was accessible...but VERY hip hop...no more commercial than Juicy...or a bunch of other singles nikkas was dikkridin at the time...in fact it had more content...

 

[nieman]

NaS co-wrote, "Men in Black, Chasing Forever, Just Crusing and Yes, Yes, Yall". He ghostwrote "Gettin Jiggy Wit It" which is why he wasn't on the credits to that song. Will was on Sony/Columbia just like NaS and as I said in my Source Awards post, Will fell off during the Gangsta Era cause nobody wanted to hear PG music.

So he went and got a Street Lyricist like NaS to help him with his rhymes which was hypocritical since he was dissing Hard Core Hip Hop at the time. But back then nobody really knew NaS worked on the album, it didn't really come out until a few years later even though you could read his name on some of the credits. Also NaS has done dumb down commercial tracks. It's just they never really blew up. It's a myth that NaS never went commercial lyrically cause he has.

"Oochie Wally" was clearly dumb down, there was nothing lyrical about that verse. The thing is NaS isn't really a "Commercial" emcee so though he's swam in those waters he never went to the deep end and stayed out there like most emcees. Big and Jay were more natural with the club records than NaS ever was. But Will owes a lot of the success of "Big Willie Style" to NaS. NaS lyrics helped keep a street element in a real Pop album. This song was hard:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WnzXaDFuNo

He wasn't even on Oochie Wally though. That song dropped on mixtapes, about 1 year before it even became a single. His verse was clearly something written in 2mins to attach his name on the song because sony would not push a song by Nas lil brother and them.

He did try doing the commercial things though with simpler lyrics (You Owe Me, Hate Me Now) actually I Am retail and Nastradamus were his attempt for commerically appeasing albums. He just doesn't sound right over the blatant commercial tracks.

 

[MustafaSTL]

There's nothin lyrical about most naS verses... "Oochie Wally" is a typical naS verse, he gets flack for it because the song is fukcin terrible.

He did not dumb down his lyrics...

Dog, do you think we forgot the thread on SOHH about "They say if you mention Nas in a thread" and then right on que you popped in and got caught. Everybody laughed, you got exposed, and all was good. Nobody respects your opinion on here except for your fellow anti-Nas coalition. Just shut the fukk up and stop seeking so much attention like a female. shyt is gay.

 

[TheJet]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xny6gbQ-LkU

3LW featuring NaS but he never dumbed it down?, lol.

Boy did his thing on that verse tho

 

[intilectual recipricol]

Dog, do you think we forgot the thread on SOHH about "They say if you mention Nas in a thread" and then right on que you popped in and got caught. Everybody laughed, you got exposed, and all was good. Nobody respects your opinion on here except for your fellow anti-Nas coalition. Just shut the fukk up and stop seeking so much attention like a female. shyt is gay.

who are you nicca, you work for the building?

 

[spliz]

Can someone explain how Nas being asked for a damn feature on SOMEONE ELSES track is HIM dumbing down HIS music? ..that's like sayin Rakim dumbed down cause of his Truth Hurts feature...

 

[Black Miller]

nas also wrote the watcher for dr. dre

 

[Rapmastermind]

Can someone explain how Nas being asked for a damn feature on SOMEONE ELSES track is HIM dumbing down HIS music? ..that's like sayin Rakim dumbed down cause of his Truth Hurts feature...

So if Backstreet Boys asked NaS to be on a track and he did it that's not dumbing it down? He can always say no you know. Nobody forced NaS to do a song with 3LW. Plenty of rapper's turn down collaborations. That was his choice there for he dumb it down to work with them. Also people have already given examples on NaS albums where he basically dumb it down on certain songs to sound more commercial.

I think people are getting to caught up with the words "Dumb it down". That's just basically saying your mailing it in lyrically so the masses can understand it better. NaS isn't going to be spitting hard body on a 3LW track, that's obvious. Jay was the one who said he did it for dollars and admitted it. But NaS has had his share of spitting average to weak verses when he's on a commercial track.

 

[Gravity]

How the hell could u say an album that has tracks like I Gave You Power and Take It In Blood is dumbed down?..that is NOT the reason IWW got hate...ur wrong...IWW caught flack because people called it commercial...the nikka is even spittin on If I Ruled The World...dumbed down?...smh..u dont know what u even talkin bout g...if anything..his style was more polished and less raw...and alotta people liked that rawness of Illmatic as well...u nikkas dont even know how to hate Nas right..smh..

I really don't know why you Nas fanboys are so bytchmade. I stated an opinion and we can debate it since you disagree but there's no need to come at me with limp wrists sucking your teeth and rolling your neck. I'm not hating on Nas, I'm simply stating a fact of the matter. Dumbing down doesn't just consist of simplifying lyrics or being lyrically "wack". Dumbing down is also about subject matter and the kinds of songs that one makes. Nas went from "Nasty" the young intelligent street poet, to "Escobar" the fake flossy drug dealing kingpin and he did it in an attempt to crossover. Lyrically Nas was ill on all of the songs on the album, that doesn't stop some of those tracks from being dumbed down though. That whole escobar alter-ego was about nast Nas dumbing down to crossover.

Even if you just want to talk lyrically, there's plenty of examples of Nas dumbing down. See dumbing down doesn't automatically mean wack, it just means making your style more accessible to a larger audience. It's all about balance. You can be too technical and complex the same way that you can be too simple or dumbed down. Made you look is one of my favorite Nas records, but it's obviously dumbed down. That nastradamus song is a clearly dumbed down record. Ooochie Wally, Dr. Knockboots, Firm Biz, and I could keep going but the point has been made. Nas has clearly dumbed down throughout his career.

 

[MustafaSTL]

who are you nicca, you work for the building?

Thanks for dodging the truth and proving my point.

 

[intilectual recipricol]

Can someone explain how Nas being asked for a damn feature on SOMEONE ELSES track is HIM dumbing down HIS music? ..that's like sayin Rakim dumbed down cause of his Truth Hurts feature...

See how I feel...

I see you though... they not even lookin at what the music actually is sayin, they just assuming some shyt is dumbed down because he's on a mainstream or pop track... same shyt happened with LASERS. Niccaz heard those garbage ass beats and just ran with the "dumbed down" comments ignorin that the content and spittin was on par with what niccaz were used to.

Its like Jigga said, "do you fools listen to music or do you just skim through it?"

Rakim could be on a mufukcin 98 Degrees track, if he spit flames then he aint dumb down his lyrics.