Nas-Gate, or How a single tweet almost destroyed the very fabric of hip-hop
Whether or not Nas used a ghostwriter is irrelevant in the wake of the overreaction and disgusting behavior that's followed
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- Dream Hampton
“I think Jay writes what he believes. Nas' "Nigger" album was largely written by Stic of dead prez and Jay Electronica @JusAire...” — @dreamhampton
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That single statement, posted on Twitter by famed writer/journalist/filmmaker dream hampton set off a firestorm of controversy this week the likes of which hip-hop hasn't seen since Pac claimed he slept with Biggie's wife. To allege that Nasir Jones, a rhymer who's on many hip-hop fans' short list of the Greatest MCs of All Time, didn't write his rhymes on a bonafide hip-hop classic like Untitled was absolute blasphemy.
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C'mon ... really?
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Of course, Untitled is far from a classic. So it's not like this was a slam at some hip-hop masterpiece. Also, ghostwriters have been a part of hip-hop since Grandmaster Caz penned “Rapper's Delight” for the Sugarhill Gang, so its not like we haven't heard of this before. And sure, Nas is one of the most gifted rappers ever, but its not like dream claimed that he didn't write Illmatic; the most memorable thing about the Untitled album was its original N.I.G.G.E.R. title.
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For the record, both stic.man and Jay Electronica roundly denied dream's tweet — but whether or not Nas wrote those verses is irrelevant in the wake of the overreaction and disgusting behavior that followed.