The artist formerly known as Nasty Nas was, for most of 2002, up to his neck in more nasty beef than a British cattle farmer. In high hip-hop tradition, he'd been trading vicious yet safely lyrical barbs with fellow rapper Jay-Z, but the conflict escalated to unnerving proportions when a popular New York radio station nixed Nas' plans to lynch Jay-Z in effigy on stage at their biggest summer concert. Nas began publicly, and scathingly, criticizing not only Jay but also the station's most beloved on-air jocks and several other rap celebs. Egos bristled, snipes sailed through the airwaves, and soon much of hip-hop was taking sides. Just when it seemed there'd be blood in the streets for sure, Nas mellowed. In September, his label, Columbia, put out ''The Lost Tapes,'' a collection of unreleased material that was more introspection and insight than insult, and suddenly Nas had little else to say on the subject. With his seventh disc, ''God's Son,'' due in stores Dec. 17, Nas is, once again, upset. We interrupted him while he was screening the video for ''Made You Look,'' the album's gritty first single.
LISTEN2THIS How'd the video come out?
NAS It sucks. It looks glossy. It looks like we want to be on
TV, and it ain't about TV; it's about the streets.
Will hip-hop ever not be about egos? Okay, imagine there were a ban on rhyming about cars, money, jewels, clothes, girls, and yourself. What would you write about?
That would be a terrible thing because that's like saying ''Whatever makes you happy, all your dreams, don't rap about it.'' It'd be a good thing, though, because every song you hear would be incredibly creative and innovative.
Do you think you could write a hot verse about, say, a puppy?
I have a skit on my album [where] I'm a roach in the projects. I don't know if it's going to stay, but I have fun doing raps like that.
There was a rumor that you almost named your last album ''Nastalgia.'' What are your golden days?
The '80s. When you look back, you really find what [hip-hop]is; it was a sound that was at the park jams before there were any radio spins, before there were any videos, when it wasn't compromised, tampered with. It was a block party.
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