(ThyBlackMan.com) Once, long ago, in a record industry far, far away, Nas was a universally respected rapper. Hip-hop purists will likely put his debut album ‘Illmatic’ in their Top 25 list of all-time greats, and Nas himself 
in the upper echelon of rappers. Sadly, Nas’ reign as a commercially viable artist ended right around the time that he recorded the godawful ‘Oochie Wallie,’ and now he finds himself low on the totem pole at his current label Def Jam.
With the release of his new album somewhere down the priority list between Shyne & Lil’ Scrappy (yikes!), Nas took to the streets (aka: The Internet) to voice his beef with label President LA Reid. While logical arguments like sliding release dates, lack of promotion, and tepid airplay might have been better ways of making his case, Nas decided to just skip the formalities and use the ultimate trump card to get his point across.
Yep, he compared his plight as a recording artist to… wait for it…. Slavery!!! Clutch magazine has the scoop:
A letter penned by hip hop king Nas to Def Jam executives is circulating the Web. The 37 year-old rap artist isn’t happy with how his album has been handled and in a letter addressed to executives LA Reid, Steve Bartels and others, Nas titles the subject ‘PUT MY SHIT OUT!’ and proceeds to go in. Nas tells the executives that he’s nobody’s slave and this is not the 1800’s. “With all due respect to you all, Nas is NOBODY’s slave. This is not the 1800’s, respect me, and I will respect you.” The 10-year industry veteran tells the executives that people connect with the artist and that they are standing in the way of creative artist’s dreams and aspirations.
Mr. Jones says he could have taken to Twitter or New York’s HOT 97 to round up 100,000 protesters at the Def Jam building, but he decided not to.”
Nas does have a couple of valid points. He’s an artist with a solid fan base that consistently supports him, regardless of the (recently) inconsistent quality of his work. He’s also right that Def Jam has little clue about how to market rap artists. If they had a clue, and Nas by some miracle could make another ‘Illmatic,’ all involved parties would probably be very happy with the end result.
Still, come on Nasir — slavery? F’real son?
Nas is certainly no slave. Sure, he owes the IRS about $4M in back taxes, and his child’s mother a staggering $51,000 a month in combined spousal and child support a month. That’s a pretty effed up financial situation, but court documents also show that he rakes in around $152,031 a month. He’s sold somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 million albums worldwide since dropping ‘Illmatic’ in 1994. The crux of the letter is him complaining about the label’s measly $200K advance for his yet-to-be released album. Call me nuts, but that’s hardly slavery.
Between this guy, Glenn Beck comparing ObamaCare to indentured servitude, and Redskins defensive tackle “Fat” Albert Haynesworth, there sure has been a lot of playing the slave-card here lately. I wish we’d just cut that out. When will these black millionaires learn? Slaves did not earn a damn thing! (Glenn Beck, I have no comment for.)
Slaves worked eight days a week, 25 hours a day, contributed immeasurably to the economy of the United States, created created the wall that named “Wall street,” built the White House, raised the U.S. Capitol and not once did one receive a royalty check or platinum plaque. Nas, comparing their plight to that of a middle-aged rapper who can’t sell enough albums to keep the IRS off his back is just plain ignorant.
Smarten up, Nas. Work on that protest in front of Def Jam instead of insulting the sacrifices of your ancestors. They faced a truly unjust situation with heroic strength. Think about it.
Written By Jay Anderson