Nas also known as Nasir Jones is considered to be one of the greatest hip hop lyricists of all time but he is also considered one of hip hop’s greatest thinkers. No, he wasn’t educated at a college or university but he is a byproduct of Queensbridge "Houses" or projects in New York City. Nas entered the rap game in 1991 when he appeared on the track Live at the Barbeque with fellow rapper, Main Source. His longevity in an industry that has the attention span of a chihuahua amazes me but if you seriously listen and try to understand his lyrics, you might undertand why he's been in the game for so long.
Since Live, Nas has survived the oversized hoodie wearing, blunt smoking, street corner standing, Jansport backpack wearing early 1990’s, the west coast gangster rap fad of the mid 1990's, and the glitzy shiny suit wearing, obscene bling-bling, hyper-sexualized, post Biggie Smalls period. (Although, Nas fell into the P. Diddybop trap with "Hate Me Now!") Now, Nas is back full circle. He's doing what Nas does best, speaking the truth about what’s going on in the gritty city streets and what’s going on in the rest of the world.
Recently, Nas stirred up a bit of a controversy because of the original title of his new album, NIGGER. Nas and his record label nixed the controversial album title due to pressures within the recording industry and financial threats from politicians and decided to call his soon to be released album, Untitled.
As a long time hip hop aficionado, I don’t always agree with the lyrics and messages of Nas or any other rapper but I think that his point about Fox News should be heard. I’m going to warn you that the lyrics are a bit profane but the message is clear. Here’s the video of the song "Sly Fox":
Here’s Rick Cordero, the director of "Sly Fox" explaining the concept of the video:
Oh and here’s a snippet of the lyrics from the untitled unreleased album that is already called a classic:
The sly fox, cyclops
We locked in the idiot box, the video slots
Broadcast the Waco Davidian plots
They own YouTube, Myspace
When this ignorant shit gon' stop?
The fear factor got you all riled up
O' Reilly, oh really? No rally needed, I'll tie you up
Network for child predators, settin''em up
Myspace pimps, hoes, and sluts
Y'all exploit rap culture, then yall flip on us
And you own the post, and yall shit on us
This is my favorite verse besides the hook:
Fuck if you care how I write a palm
Only fox that I love was the Red one
Only black man that Fox loves is in jail or a dead one
Red rum, political bedlam
Don't let the hype into your eyes and ear drum
Murdoch on Fox, not 18 with barracas
And he hate Barack cause he march with the marchers
Thank you for taking the time for reading my post and Nas said "the streets is watching!!"