A Foolproof Deal

From the moment Jay-Z called out for Nas to join him on stage at the Power 105.1's "I Declare War" concert , I knew these two would work out a deal to get Nas on Def Jam, but then again, so did everyone else. Once Nas inked the deal with Def Jam it officially became apparent that all the "what ifs" would become reality. Of course seconds after the announcement was made, hip-hop forums all over the internet filled with 14 and 15 year old hip-hop know-it-alls began to take this incredible reconciliation of two hip-hop greats and made it into a who "won" and who "lost" argument. I just want to make this point clear; Nas won, Jay won, and we as hip-hop fans won.
All the talk about who did what with who and how can Nas forgive Jay is a whole different matter that we shouldn't get involved in, and shouldn't even care about. As hard as it is for me to believe, there are people who are actually against the two rappers coming together mostly for the same reason that has been blown up by 50 Cent saying,

"Jay-Z slept with his baby's mother! There is a difference between writing a punchline and being competitive, from running into an artist's daughter's mother and having sex with her. That could never be fixed, that can never be repaired. For the rest of his life, every time he looks at his daughter, he has to see Jay-Z. No way in the world would I sign...But at this point, Nas' career is so damaged that he's desperate."

Surprisingly, even Fat Joe feels the same way 50 does,"I don't even really respect what he did. How do you become a friend to a person who disrespects your baby's mother? It's too much ugliness. I almost died, as a hip hop fan, when I heard they were together."

Regardless of what 50 and Fat Joe say, we shouldn't look down on Nas for making this deal with Jay. Whatever soap opera drama they had between them has obviously been resolved, either through the motivation of money or just a genuine reconciliationation. Why would anyone not want to hear the two together on the same track? And to be honest, this may be the smartest move Nas has done in his career. Def Jam will only bring Nas to an even higher status than before. The only real problem I see is that Nas is signed to do four more albums. This might not be a smart move on his part only because I'm sure his first album under Def Jam will will be hot, maybe even to the point that there will be no where to go but downhill from there. Only time will tell whether Nas did the right move and this year will be the start of his new chapter. If you ask Nas, he would say "I'm ready to kick ass". as he recently told MTV in a sit down interview with both Jay-Z and Nas.

Here is the sit down interview with MTV which aired yesterday: All Eyez On: Jay-Z & Nas


If you guys need a refreshment on why these two started beefing in the first place, check out this video MTV aired a few years ago. Jay-Z vs. Nas