Think back to the year of 2001, which was a pretty eventful year. Of course, we had the tragedy of 9/11 and if you’re a hip hop fan like me, then you remember the Nas/Jay-Z beef. When Jay-Z released the Blueprint on 9/11, Takeover was on the album, which was a track he took aim at Mobb Deep and most notably, Nas. There was a buzz about how Nas would respond to Jay-Z as he kept things under wraps. With Nas prepping a new album, he released a response to Jay-Z with Ether and it has become one of the hardest diss tracks EVER. The track would appear on his album he released 15 years ago, Stillmatic. To me, Stillmatic is the most complete album from Nas behind It Was Written.
Got Ur Self A..
Nas Got Yourself A Gun by kilya
While Either was his street single, this was the single that got the ball rolling. He released Got Ur Self A about two weeks before his album dropped and I love how he killed this track. The video was really good where he recreated the deaths of 2Pac and Biggie. This definitely is one of the many highlights of the album as you can check out the video above. The actual first single from the album was Rule, which featured R&B singer Amerie.
One Mic
Stillmatic continued to do really good as it has sold over 2 million records. In the spring, he released One Mic as his next single. Besides Ether, this is probably my favorite track off the album. The song is great, but the video is that much better as you can see up above.
Ether
https://youtu.be/0ePQKD9iBfU
Fuck Jay-Z!!! That was the beginning of the song, which was taken from a 2Pac track. I still remember hearing this track on a mixtape back in the day and immediately took it to the barbershop. Everyone knew how much of a Nas fan I am so when Takeover dropped, they clowned me for it. With people thinking Nas wouldn’t respond or at least the way he did, Ether shut a lot of people down. Later on, it was said that Ether really hurt Jay-Z as he didn’t think Nas would respond the way he did. Nas and Jay-Z went on the throw more jabs at each other, but a few years back they became close friends and even appeared on each album.
Stillmatic is definitely a must-have if you’re a hip hop head. 2nd Childhood, The Flyest, Smokin, You’re Da Man and Destroy & Rebuild are among my favorite tracks off the album. You can purchase the album here. If you’re a hip hop or Nas fan, head to the comments section below and give me some feedback about the album or Nas.
