Photo: Hippolyte Petit/Getty Images for Tribeca Festival
Nas recently reflected on other artists around his age, and he spoke on how—as many have “slowed down”—he has to look to other rappers for inspiration.
Specifically, he joked that he’s “hooking up [his] jumper cables” to younger artists in the game!
The “If I Ruled the World” rapper made his comments during a recent appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
When asked about what other artists “inspire” Nas, he dished on how he feels as though he can’t turn to artists his age “as reference” anymore, as many of them “are not putting out a lot of material.”
“I’m really trying to figure out what my next move is, and I feel like a lot of hip hop artists my age are not putting out a lot of material, so I can’t look to them as reference. They kind of slowed down, for whatever reasons.”
However, when it comes to Nas, he says that he “got bit by the bug.” As the 49-year-old is still steadily cranking out albums, he is definitely still doin’ his thang in the rap game.
“I understand it’s a tough thing—but I got bit by the bug, man.”
We should also add that he’s been linking up with younger artists—including 21 Savage, as they collaborated on a single called “One Mic, One Gun” late last year.
While speaking with Stephen Colbert, Nas also gave a shoutout to record producer Hit-Boy, as they’ve worked together on numerous projects, including the King’s Disease trilogy.
“I collaborated with this cat Hit-Boy who’s, like, the best, and he’s produced all of those albums—King’s Disease 1, 2, 3.“
Regarding his working relationship with Hit-Boy, Nas commented, “We’re kind of inspiring ourselves at this point. It’s really interesting.” He also noted that he sees “youth” in Hit-Boy before humorously commenting, “I’m hooking up my jumper cables to him.”
However, it’s definitely not one-sided, as the rapper notes that he’s providing Hit-Boy with “some kind of wisdom” as well.
“He’s younger than me. I’m hooking up my jumper cables to him, and it’s reciprocal because he’s getting some kind of wisdom from me, and we’re just a perfect match.”
You can check out the interview down below.
What do you think about Nas’ commentary on fellow rappers of his generation, and would you be here for him working with other Millennial (or even Gen Z) rappers?
