For years hip hop has been getting shitted on, never being respected for the artform it is.  Instead they called it a "fad", they called emcees talentless, the music was meaningless. That may have been the case til 1994, when Nas dropped Illmatic.

"I drink Moet with Medusa, give her shotguns in hell
From the spliff that I lift and inhale, it ain't hard to tell"

The Dr. Seuss, simple rap days were officially over. His lyrics had meaning, the quote above paints a picture of Nas blowing smoke into Medusa's mouth, vivid images. Nas was bringing the art into hip hop, but that was just the beginning.

It Was Written back then was considered a sell out album, looking back now we can understand how ahead of his time he was.  'I gave you power' a first in its own right, which was later jacked by Tupac when he made 'me and my girlfriend'. (Pac stans, before you start sending me hate mail just know that i love him too....but the outlawz said he took the concept from Nas in the 'making of makavelli' edition of the Source)

Lets fast forward a little. I want to show you some real art that probably went right over your head.  We begin in 2001, during the Nas vs. Jayz beef.  You probably remember the stillmatic freestyle that sparked the whole beef....but let me shed some new light on it.

listen to the 1:56 mark:

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"My next few albums, instead of projects,
There'll be a difficult test inside the cover for the mind's optics"

If you recall, Illmatic and It was written had QB in the background. This freestyle dropped before Stillmatic was released, so lets take a look at the covers of the next couple albums and see what he's talking about.

Stillmatic

2001 was the bling era. Rocafella and cash money had the game in a choke hold, the art was removed from hip hop. It was all about singles, champagne, and jewlery.

Nas has on every single piece of platinum jewlery he every bought, including the infamous QB piece. The New york city skyline is in the background with dark clouds above, looking like theres about to be a bad storm.

Pay attention to his right hand, hes got 4 fingers stretched out.  These 4 fingers are representing his previous 4 official studio albums (Illmatic, It was Written, Nastradamus, I Am).

A pigeon stands next to him, looking right at him.  For now, we're still in the dark about what he's trying to say...but going back to the line he specifically said "my next few albums"

God's Son

Now the message is complete. In 2001 Nas was making a biblical reference with the Stillmatic cover. The dark clouds symbolise a storm is coming, particularly over NYC. That was the bling era when hip hop lost its essence.  Jayz and his Crystal raps were coming to an end.  It was time for a change.  Just as god sent Noah down to earth in desperate times to save Gods creations and start fresh....God's Son was sent down to save hip hop and start fresh.

Looking at the God's Son cover, there is a flood in the background. Noah had to build Noah's arch to save the animals during the flood, Nas made this album.  All the platinum he was wearing, the fly velour suit, is gone.  He is shirtless with 2 pieces of gold jewlery. This symbolises the end of the bling era.  Tracks like 'Destroy and Rebuild' show Nas' disgust with the state of hip hop.

Looking at the back of the cover, the Moses comparison is confirmed.  In the bible Noah was told to save 2 of each animal...Nas holds 2 doves with 2 pieces of gold on.  Doves and gold symbolising purity...bringing back the essence of hip hop.  Nas representing the leader and the chosen one.

This dude goes much deeper than rap.  He is too lyrical to spit anything meaningless in any of his songs, if theres something you dont understand then it has a deeper meaning. I took time to write this blog not only for you to appreciate the man, and learn something new...but to open your mind that Hip Hop is definetely an art. The Beatles had codes and messages in their music along with most Rock n Roll artists.  Hip hop is no different, just as with poems, and literature...there are deeper meanings that artists like Nas, Jayz, Ras Kass, Tupac and many others incorporate to make their music meaningful.

Appreciate bitches. Hope you enjoyed my first blog, there will be much more to come with similar material, videos, music, so bookmark my shit.

comments section coming soon...until then drop me a message, PEACE.

you know what to do

Scolla

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yoo  - what up     |2008-08-19 00:37:27 hock wow is all i can say that shit flew over my head

Naegurlshawty  - Meaning of the pigeon   |2008-08-19 01:10:13 Pigeons(wasnt a need for a real girl, real females should have seen that) like niggaz wit all that shit on

ghetto dove   |2008-08-19 01:24:40 nah, the pigeon represents the ghetto dove... in the bible Noah sent dove's out to search for land...so thats another way the doves tie in as well... this shit was insane...do your thing scolla

M Bizzle   |2008-08-19 21:31:47 People like me dream about finding articles like this lol...nah but seriously in all my time on nahright, missinfo, hiphopdx, ballerstatus, hhnlive, allhiphop, sohh, defsounds etc. etc. this and the Jay-Z lyrics article are two of the best I've ever read...bookmarking and registering for this site immediately...hats off so far things are looking seriously promising on this page..

Scolla   |2008-08-19 21:34:51 the kind words are appreciated my dude, like i said...ive been in the hip hop world for a minute, and its lacking this. My shit is gonna be all about staying up to date with the dope sh1t (no 106 and park garbage)...and im gonna add an article component with pure science

E Dubs   |2008-08-20 00:18:20 Couldn't agree more with M Bizzle, Iv'e been to most of those sites and have never come across articles that go that in dept. Props man, looking forward to seeing this site develop.

fuck you  - you fucked up     |2008-09-14 05:02:08 that was an amazing blog until you called us readers bitches in the third last line. So I will not be returning to your blog. I was gonna but you fucked it up/

david ball   |2008-09-14 08:47:33 I think this is a stretch cuz why would he do it for one or two albums. (i remember when he said that shit about puttin msgs on the album cover) It is possible but i think it is unlikely that we would find out 6-8 yrs later. Ppl like Nas want ppl to know shit like that, he wants to be recognized as over everyone head. I think he just used that background in stillmatic becuz he wanted you to see how grimey nyc is, the darkness and storm represent nyc, especially for a nicca from the hood. God son's cover is too easy.... he is calling himself God's Son so why would he have images that distract from that. The sky be clear could just be his state of mind... remember his moms died during that album so maybe he just felt like he seen things much clearly.....

Scolla  - re:   |2008-09-14 12:26:32 david ball wrote: I think this is a stretch cuz why would he do it for one or two albums. (i remember when he said that shit about puttin msgs on the album cover) It is possible but i think it is unlikely that we would find out 6-8 yrs later. Ppl like Nas want ppl to know shit like that, he wants to be recognized as over everyone head. I think he just used that background in stillmatic becuz he wanted you to see how grimey nyc is, the darkness and storm represent nyc, especially for a nicca from the hood. God son's cover is too easy.... he is calling himself God's Son so why would he have images that distract from that. The sky be clear could just be his state of mind... remember his moms died during that album so maybe he just felt like he seen things much clearly..... "My next few albums, instead of projects, There'll be a difficult test inside the cover for the mind's optics" never stray away from the facts...i didnt make that line up... he said the NEXT FEW ALBUMS...and this is before stillmatic dropped. By the way, Illmatic and the other albums do have meanings to them as well...just not nearly as indepth as these ones. Also, alot of cats been knowing about this...im just bringin it to the masses

Marvel   |2008-09-14 17:46:13 i love it openin up the minds of hip hop heads..

Anonymous  - re:   |2008-09-14 18:47:56 Marvel wrote: i love it openin up the minds of hip hop heads.. co-sign this site is crazy, i now view Nas differently...and Pac's the GOAT to me after the articles on him keep it coming!!!

Anonymous  - re: re:   |2008-09-14 23:14:26 co-sign this site is crazy, i now view Nas differently...and Pac's the GOAT to me after the articles on him keep it coming!!![/quote] nah i wouldn't say pac was the GOAT...don't get me wrong hes my favorite rapper but id say nas was GOAT pac was and still is the most relevant

Anonymous  - re: re: re:   |2008-09-15 00:36:07 that's because you haven't checked out the 'Gangsta's in hip hop' articles... check those and tell me who's GOAT under popular articles up top

Anonymous  - re: re: re: re:   |2008-09-15 02:51:08 Anonymous wrote: that's because you haven't checked out the 'Gangsta's in hip hop' articles... check those and tell me who's GOAT under popular articles up top[/quote] [quote=Anonymous]that's because you haven't checked out the 'Gangsta's in hip hop' articles... check those and tell me who's GOAT under popular articles up top Ive read it i don't see how its relevant all that tells me is Pac had a level of bravery/stupidity i cant even begin to understand...but pac didn't want it to get that far to pac it was just him and biggie but then all these other cats jumped on it...that for me is why pac started making raps that hold relevance today...anyone creating that much drama can expect to die he was calling out people who at the time were like what them Taliban muthafuckas is today just killing muthafuckas for fun...all im sayin is nas has kept it real for 15 years makin hits and telling the struggle as it still is...but its a pointlees conversation to be fair i mean ll cool j this hes GOAT this niggers been making music for little girls all his carrer

Anonymous  - re: re: re: re: re:   |2008-09-15 08:56:25 Anonymous wrote: Anonymous wrote: that's because you haven't checked out the 'Gangsta's in hip hop' articles... check those and tell me who's GOAT under popular articles up top[/quote] [quote=Anonymous]that's because you haven't checked out the 'Gangsta's in hip hop' articles... check those and tell me who's GOAT under popular articles up top Ive read it i don't see how its relevant all that tells me is Pac had a level of bravery/stupidity i cant even begin to understand...but pac didn't want it to get that far to pac it was just him and biggie but then all these other cats jumped on it...that for me is why pac started making raps that hold relevance today...anyone creating that much drama can expect to die he was calling out people who at the time were like what them Taliban muthafuckas is today just killing muthafuckas for fun...all im sayin is nas has kept it real for 15 years makin hits and telling the struggle as it still is...but its a pointlees conversation to be fair i mean ll cool j this hes GOAT this niggers been making music for little girls all his carrer not how i see it, like u say tho...he was brave as fuck. This whole Nigger shit that Nas started and all this political stuff he's talkin about...is just some recycled wanna be Pac shit to me. Delores Tucker and all that....that was Pac with his passionate stance....standing up to who ever opposed him EVEN the taliban! Nas aint built for that, his arguements are weak and all over the place...he has no cause....his lyrics and voice are dull....he is out of his league in what he's tryin to do

Anonymous   |2008-09-15 09:37:15 nah i don't think hes trying to recreate any PAC shit i think hes just trying to reach out and tell it like it is i agree Tupac did do this but there isn't anybody other than nas doing it right now all these other cats wanna rap about is money clothes and hoes..its weak and its tired i mean that's all jay z been talking about since reasonable doubt...he gave in to consumerism..where as nas talks about life on the streets its spiritual its like poetry..now whats jay z still talking about the hustle the only thing jay z hustle is his fans hes been dropping the same tried and tested shit for years this nigga been releasing the same album for 15 years with different titles and track names but again its all about what hes got he isn't talking about the struggle that 80/90% of all black people in this country go through i don't wanna hear about his mansion in the hills and his flash cars cause that shit isn't real to me and don't get it twisted i aint hating but why aint he telling the the story of what goes on on the streets today...that's what pac did and that's why pac was hated on by all these suit wearing muthafuckas and all these Delores C Tucker type bitches...and nas is just trying to spread the same message cause shit aint changed since pac said it..and if no one says shit we aint got a voice so nothing will change

Anonymous   |2008-09-15 09:58:06 ive just read over both out steatements you saying nas using recycled pac shit and me talking about jay z nas was right hip hop is dead

Anonymous  - re:   |2008-09-15 14:19:15 Anonymous wrote: nah i don't think hes trying to recreate any PAC shit i think hes just trying to reach out and tell it like it is i agree Tupac did do this but there isn't anybody other than nas doing it right now all these other cats wanna rap about is money clothes and hoes..its weak and its tired i mean that's all jay z been talking about since reasonable doubt...he gave in to consumerism..where as nas talks about life on the streets its spiritual its like poetry..now whats jay z still talking about the hustle the only thing jay z hustle is his fans hes been dropping the same tried and tested shit for years this nigga been releasing the same album for 15 years with different titles and track names but again its all about what hes got he isn't talking about the struggle that 80/90% of all black people in this country go through i don't wanna hear about his mansion in the hills and his flash cars cause that shit isn't real to me and don't get it twisted i aint hating but why aint he telling the the story of what goes on on the streets today...that's what pac did and that's why pac was hated on by all these suit wearing muthafuckas and all these Delores C Tucker type bitches...and nas is just trying to spread the same message cause shit aint changed since pac said it..and if no one says shit we aint got a voice so nothing will change thats cool and i ride with you on that, i dont know how people bunch Nas and Jay together...but the statement we disagree at is Nas and Pac. Nas wasnt doing all that political stuff when Pac was alive...its really no point in arguing the obvious that he in someways is trying to fill Pac's shoes with a movement... The reason i really wont see it any other way is simply because Nas is not a leader, never was, never will be...he's forcing this shit cause he seen the effect Pac had on the world. Even if you dont agree with that...it still doesnt shut down the fact that Pac is bigger than rap...his voice touched the world...came from the gut. Nas is cool and clever, smart and all that...but hes not reaching the globe and never will...cause his voice and message isnt that powerful... Nas = legend Pac = icon

Anonymous  - re: re:   |2008-09-15 15:39:35 Anonymous wrote: Anonymous wrote: thats cool and i ride with you on that, i dont know how people bunch Nas and Jay together...but the statement we disagree at is Nas and Pac. Nas wasnt doing all that political stuff when Pac was alive...its really no point in arguing the obvious that he in someways is trying to fill Pac's shoes with a movement... The reason i really wont see it any other way is simply because Nas is not a leader, never was, never will be...he's forcing this shit cause he seen the effect Pac had on the world. Even if you dont agree with that...it still doesnt shut down the fact that Pac is bigger than rap...his voice touched the world...came from the gut. Nas is cool and clever, smart and all that...but hes not reaching the globe and never will...cause his voice and message isnt that powerful... Nas = legend Pac = icon yeah i can agree with all of what you wrote about nas taking what pac did just cause pac aint here but like i said if nas wasn't doing it no one else would all rappers today want to talk about is possessions and that shits tierd now has been for a long time

Anonymous   |2008-09-15 15:49:48 oh and i agree nas voice doesn't travel as far as pac's but pac would have died for what he believed in now im not say nas is talking just for the sake of talking but he obviously doesn't believe it as much as pac..but we need anyone to speak up at the moment and only nas is doing it so i guess thats why it reaches me and i dont really see anyone else who could do it..they all sold out long ago...i mean pac went thru it..with all tha police when he got beat for no reason all his lawsuits was all for his beliefs maybe if nas wasn't just a rapper like tupac that muthfucka was a revolutionary..but back to our original disagreement over who was The real GOAT i say nas just for the amount of time hes been around and he still keeps it real..maybe if pac had lived longer i would look at it differently but there you go the good die young

ceelo brown  - symbolism     |2008-09-17 23:12:40 yo, so whats was this ras kass symbolism u discussed. I'm not too familiar with his videos and stuff. but im familiar with a lot of his songs. I first got into him in high school, so i know now if i go back to songs like ordo abchao and such, it'll be a lot more. I know that nas and prodigy and ras all discuss the illuminati. this is the most interesting subjects to me. and keep up the good work scolla. I'm really quickly becoming a fan. and yes bookmarked I'ma make sure to register as well. ceelo brown

Scolla  - re: symbolism   |2008-09-17 23:15:58 ceelo brown wrote: yo, so whats was this ras kass symbolism u discussed. I'm not too familiar with his videos and stuff. but im familiar with a lot of his songs. I first got into him in high school, so i know now if i go back to songs like ordo abchao and such, it'll be a lot more. I know that nas and prodigy and ras all discuss the illuminati. this is the most interesting subjects to me. and keep up the good work scolla. I'm really quickly becoming a fan. and yes bookmarked I'ma make sure to register as well. ceelo brown Ras is super heavy with the knowlege...it deserves an article... nature of the threat this one track with chino xl im forgettin the name his entire career basically....illuminati, anything to do with whites manipulating blacks...conspiracy...he been covered it all

Ceelobrown  - ras again   |2008-09-18 00:04:30 yah cuzzo, i beeeen studied nature of the threat back in high school. but i didn't know a lot. there was a LOT of gaps still. but wuts good wit ras now, I'm feelni dat new b.i.b.l.e. track he did.it addresses a bit. but he don't seem to get deep into it like before also interview with a vampire is a serious track

cornercommission08   |2008-09-30 17:34:56 god damn that was a pretty good breakdown never figured his covers were that detailed big props for this article www.myspace.com/mikaeldwp

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