Nas and Talib Kweli set out on small-venue tour

Sit back and press play on this video.And let the epic ride of Nas' 2001 single "One Mic" engulf you: the internal build-up, the sirens, the street scene. Now, the verse where Nas, poised as ever, has his message down to a whisper, saying "All I need is one blunt, one page, and one pen, one prayer - tell God forgive me for one sin." Picture the build up as he becomes so empassioned he has to shout over the frantic beat, searching for some sort of metaphorical balance until he finds "the right track" and his voice is once...  read more

Nas: Untitled

Hip-hop godfather brings controversy, stumbles with mixed messageAfter pronouncing an entire genre dead, the progenitor of New York hip-hop turned his eye to a broader horizon: race relations. To that end, Nas originally intended to name Untitled an unprintable epithet, and though the moniker has changed, the album it represents is still blazingly incendiary. ...  read more

"Nas" and other words that begin with "N"

Maybe you've heard about it, whispered under someone's breath. "Did you hear?" A chuckle. "Nas, man, his new album! Did you hear what it's called?" Well, we here at Paste would like to remove all of the rumor and innuendo surrounding the title of the upcoming Nas record. It is not - we repeat - not called Nigga. Rather, it is entitled Nigger. Will you all please calm down now? Nas himself has reported the follow-up to last year's Hip-Hop Is Dead will drop on Dec. 11, though his label Def Jam is understandably mum on the topic. The Queensbridge...  read more

Nas To Make Rare West Coast Appearance

Nas will be making a rare West Coast appearance at the Rock the Bells festival on July 30, at the NOS Events Center in San Bernadino, Calif. Other acts confirmed for the one-day event include Redman, Hieroglyphics, Sage Francis and many others. ...  read more