Nobody can deny Nas when he says, "It's like a holiday ... A rap holiday." Esco and his team scoured the entire country and found some of our favorite hip-hop legends that we haven't heard from in way too long for three remixes of his "Where Are They Now." The lineups read like the roster of a Fresh Fest concert or something.
"It was just me being real curious with the song [the original 'Where Are They Now']," he said of why he wanted to gather all these legends in the first place. "As the song goes, it's just my curiosity. I'm a fan. I had to go find these guys who were driving these cars and buying these planes before I even thought about it. It was about me being excited as a fan."
Below, Nas gives his take on all three remixes:
"Where Are They Now" '80s remix (featuring Dana Dane, MC Shan, Raheem of the Furious Five, Doctor Ice and Kangol Kid of UTFO, the Funky 4 + 1's Sha Rock, Just Ice, the Fearless Four's Devastating Tito, Grandmaster Caz of the Cold Crush Brothers, Kool Moe Dee and Lin Que, who's better known as Isis of X-Clan). "The first and second VH1 Hip-Hop Honors was mind-blowing. The last one, it could have been tighter. When it comes to awards, we never get the love. All of us new artists — new compared to them — it never gets shown in the right light," Nas said. "I love the '80s, especially because I'm a '80s baby. Them dudes made the '90s n---as wanna do it. Especially Shan, he was reppin' my 'hood before I could even stay out past 8 p.m. When I heard Sha Rock, I was blown out my socks. I love Sha Rock. I saw her in 'Beat Street' and started loving her. Then I found out about the Funky 4 + 1."
"Where Are They Now" '90s remix (featuring Redhead Kingpin, the Original Spinderella, Rob Base, Father MC, Monie Love, Mike Gee of the Jungle Brothers, EST of Three Times Dope, Positive K, Das EFX, Doitall of Lords of the Underground, Dres from Black Sheep and Chip Fu of the Fu-Shnickens). "The people we hear from, we know where they at. The KRS Ones, people like that will pop up here and there. That wasn't the point of my song," Nas explained. "The point of my song was about people who have not been talked about, that some people don't even know about, but were real serious on the scene. My team contacted them. I heard the verse of Redhead Kingpin, I was blown away. Das EFX? Blown away!"
"Where Are They Now" West Coast remix (featuring Breeze, Kam, King Tee, Candyman, Threat, Ice-T, Sir Mix-A-Lot and the Conscious Daughters). "I was a fan and I was paying attention to everybody on all coasts. It don't matter where you from. You could be MC Shy D from the South, MC Breed from the West. I'm a fan. My curiosity was so crazy."
So will we see a video for any of the remixes or all three? Nas is thinking on a much larger scale.
"First we wanted to get it out to people and just enjoy it," he explained. "Now we're thinking about going in on a TV show to find out where them n---as was at. I wanna see. These muthaf----s ain't old to me. And if they are old, that's nothing to take away from them. Man, these muthaf---s are interesting people. They're part of the whole foundation. They are the blocks, them big boulders underneath the pretty surfaces. They need to be looked at like that. Even if it's for a second, let's be real, you can't expect all these n---as to drop new albums, but it's good to see that they still here. They ain't gotta come out and go platinum, they can do different sh--. It's just good to show love."
Nas also says he's planning a tour, but it may not be what you think. There have been rumors going on for months about a tour called "The Takeover" that would include basically all the big dogs from Def Jam, including Jay-Z, Young Jeezy, Ludacris and Rick Ross. "I'm not on any tour called 'Takeover,' " Nas insisted. He did say he definitely is going out by himself though. "So far it's tentatively titled 'Nas: One Man, One Mic, One Night.' It's in every city and every country in the world." ...
SOURCE: MTV
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