The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Nas - “King’s Disease III”

Episode Date: November 27, 2022

Grammy Award-winning rap legend Nas discusses his new album “King’s Disease III,” his past beef with Jay-Z, what he hopes for hip-hop in the future, and the reason he decided to dive into the documentary world. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to Comedy Central. Yes. Welcome back to the show. Thank you for having me. Yeah, man. Welcome back. Congratulations on a new album. You know, I was I was thinking about this today when we were talking about you coming on. I was like, you are a living hip-hop legend. And I think the significance of that for me lies in the meaning both ways. One, you are still in the game, you're still doing it, you're still contributing, you're still making great music, but also you are a living hip-hop legend.

We take for granted how many legends we've lost in hip-hop. We take for granted how many people aren't around who are part of that. Do you ever wake up in the morning and thinks yourself, damn, so many of the people I started with in this game aren't here anymore and I'm still here getting to be a part of it? All the time. All the time. Somebody, a friend of mine today called me and told me, you realize how long and you've been around and how much you survived you survived you survived you survived you survived you survived you survived you survived you survived you survived you survived you survived you survived you survived you survived you survived you survived you survived you survived you survived you survived you survived you survived you survived you survived you survived you. you. You've the the the the the the the the th. You're th. You're th. I, you're, you, you're, you're th. And th. And you're, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, th. And I, and th. And I I I I th. And I I I th. And I I th. and I th. and I th. and th. and th. and th. And I th. And I th. And I to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to ta. And I'm ta. And, I'm ta, I'm ta. And, I'm ta. And, I'm ta. And, I'm ta. And, I'm ta, I'm ta, I'm ts you've been through, you know, we just lost a hip-hop art, hip-hop artists the other week, man, take off and, you know, may you rest in peace.

And, you know, I lost so many friends even before I got into music. I didn't think I would get into music and then still see it going on, you know. Yeah, you've done that. You've done more, you've thrived in it, and I think what I love about this album is how it feels like you almost reminiscing whilst also writing a piece of the future. You know, you've always been, till this day, everyone will say one of the greatest lyricists that's ever lived. But the stories that you tell, you know, the way you've, I mean, for instance, everyone was familiar with like your beef with JZ, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, th, th, you, you, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, th, th, th, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the the, the the the the the the th, and, thi, thi, thi, thi, thoooooooooooooooooooooooooooo I loved how in here you talk about that beef, what it was, how it disappeared, but how you'll still text him saying, you know this isn't over, right? Well, when I released the track list for the album the other day, he released a pitcher

with all his Grammys. Yeah, shout out to him. And a shout out to, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, the, the, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, th, th,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, that, that, the, that, him and a shout out to a hip boy who produced this album the entire album He produced the other two albums and also the album magic. Yeah, we slipped in four albums in two years And the reason yeah Yeah, thanks man. Thanks, and the reason. I think it happened is because we started the first one in 20 20 20? Yeah Yeah, thanks. And the reason, thanks. And the reason, I think it happened is because we started the first one in 2020 when the pandemic hit. Yeah.

So at first I was scared to come outside and then hit boy was in the studio like, come on man. It's like a month, you didn't leave your house. He got me to come outside and had nothing else to do. Right. We finish the first one really quick and we said, you know, we should do this again and here we are with the third one on my label, Massipel. I would love to know, yeah, I'd love to know that. When you look at hip hop as a whole, you know, you were there when it was only seen

as gangster rap. You were there when it was completely ostracized from society. Now it's at the Super Bowl, now it is now. Super Bowl now it is you know at a hockey game. I remember that's when I was like wow okay hip hop is done It's you know, no for real I'd love to know you know where you would like to see the game progressing to now that it's it's you know It's not in the exact same place it was before I think it evolved and I think people can realize that you don't have to be scared of it it. You don't have to stay doing one thing that. You that. You th. You th. You th. You th. You th. You th. You th. You th. You th. th. th. the th. th. the th. th. the th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi the thi the the thi thi thi the the the the the the the the the the the the th. th. th. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the their their th. the. the. the. the the the the the the the thooooooooooooooooooooooooo the. the the our mistakes and then we can grow in it. We don't have to stay doing one thing. The ones who stay doing one thing unfortunately they fall off and we have to understand that like hip hop is now it's going on

50 years and we've been behind this whole 50 years will be next year hip hop's been alive so we've been behind trying to curate this museum that's coming up in the Bronx right now. And the mayor has even gotten involved. That's amazing. You know, and I noticed, yeah. I noticed one thing with the culture is like, artists don't think they can go past one way. Or we have to be all in one like area trying to fight for crumbs. And it's like, hiphop's a multi-sound genre.

So like in rock you don't have, you don't compare kiss to the Rolling Stones, you know, but in hip hop for some reason we're fighting it for the same thing and you know you feel like you have to be the number one guy all the time. So hip hop is multi sound genre. You can have multiple things going on at once. Doesn't matter how if you're 20 years old or 40 years old or whatever, it's a beautiful culture and I love all of it. So I think that we should all, as writers, get out of your comfort zone and spread your wings and expand with your sound.

Yeah, I really like that. Before I let you go, I want to talk about that idea of being more. You know, we know you for the music. We know you for being in the restaurant business and doing extremely well, being successful with that. We also know you, you know, getting in. Somebody said it to me. Yeah, yeah.

It's phenomenal. People love it. You know, I remember eating and someone was like was a weird way that someone said it to me. But you're also getting involved in a different type of storytelling, which is in film. You know, I know that you directed a documentary, you know, that talks about the supreme world of like, it was this underworld in Queens. And I know you also involved in a really fascinating story about the civil rights icons, everybody, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., etc. Yeah, what is it about that world that entices you? Why are you stepping into documentaries, filmmaking, etc., and doing well at it? I'm a movie buff, I love films. For real? Yeah, I love films. I love them, love

I was Halloween. I was going Friday 13th crazy. I was going Halloween I went to see Halloween ends and all of that. It was a whole thing. Wait, wait, what is like the movie that you can never get enough of? You watch it over and over and over. Beach Street, the old school hip hop film. That's my favorite. Then it comes the Godfathers and all of that stuff.

Okay. You know, Godfathers a family movie You know Beautiful thing, you know, but yeah, I love films. I love Steven Spielberg I rapped about them on one of my first raps and I always wanted to get into it. So the Supreme team was one about a Underworld organization and Queens long ago. We hear about the Goddies and all of those John Gatties and stuff, but we never really hear about this so I like the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the things, things, things, things, their their their things, their things things things things things things things things things things things things things things things things things, things, things, things, their. their. their. their their their their. things. their. I I I things. I things. I'm their things. I'm they. I'm they. I'm they. I'm. I'm. their their things. things. things. thing, but we never really hear about this. So I like to uncover things, the good, the bad, the ugly, in America. And this story was some innocent people and some people are guilty. Some are innocent, probably. But the new one, the invaders that just came out. You can check it on Apple. Amazon Prime. It's about this organization of musicians musicians musicians musicians musicians musicians musicians musicians musicians got together who were trying to strike against a garbage truck company where someone was killed in this faulty truck and then there was no pensions, the money was bad and Martin Luther King came down there and he stood

with the Memphis people, the people that was striking and he found out who the invaders were and they wanted to protect the march because the first that was striking. And he found out who the invaders were. And they wanted to protect the march, because the first march was bad. Yeah, yeah. Of course, we know the end, how Martin Luther King, you know what happens. But there's another look into that story through the eyes of the invaders.

And most of them are still alive. And it's a really good picture and it's 1967 and it's amazing. So there's so many stories to uncover all over the world and here's my world I want to talk about it. Another one besides Sweet Chick I got a tag is Coke. Michelin Star restaurant, Coke, you gotta go. You got it. That's you? Yeah, it's not me, but I'm a part of it. Yeah, but still that's you. Yeah, that's me. that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's not. Yeah. Yeah, that's not that's not that's not. Yeah, the that's not. Yeah, the the the that's not. Yeah, that's not. Yeah, that's not that's not that's not the the the the the the the the that's that's that's the that's the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th. Yeah, th. Yeah, th. Yeah, th. Yeah, th. Yeah, the. Yeah. Yeah, theat. Yeah. Yeah, th. Yeah, th. Yeah. Yeah, th. Yeah. Yeah, th. Yeah, th. Yeah. but still that's you. Yeah, that's me. Wow. Yeah. Man of many talents, I appreciate you.

Congratulations again. Thank you so much to come on on the show. King's Disease 3 is out now. Nars everybody. Watch the daily show, weeknights at 11, 10 Central on Comedy Central. And stream full episodes. tho. This has been a the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th. th. th. the. the. the. the. the. This has been a Comedy Central podcast.