Teaches Hip-Hop Storytelling

Contents
03 14 18
••• ••• •••
MEET YOUR THE NAS ASSIGNMENT
INSTRUCTOR METHOD Experiment with
The New York–bred rapper Eight ways structure
is a living monument to jump-start
to the power of words and turbo-charge
your songwriting 19
05
•••
THE
•••
A BRIEF
14 PRODUCER-
EMCEE DYNAMIC
•••
HISTORY OF SONGS OF Producers make rap
HIP-HOP SALVATION possible—but what
The rap saga is vast. A selection of exactly do they do?
This quick primer Nas’s most positive
will help you understand
19
musical moments
Nas’s role in it

15
•••
ASSIGNMENT
07 ••• Write a biography
••• WORDPLAY in rhyme
NAS’S SONIC A closer look

20
EVOLUTION at four of Nas’s go-to
linguistic devices
A journey through the
•••
artist’s creative
PRODUCERS:
development
15 BRINGING WORDS
••• TO LIFE
11 ASSIGNMENT
Start a song
Nas has worked
with some of rap’s
•••
with your senses greatest producers.
QUEENSBRIDGE
Meet six of them
ROYALTY
Four artists
17
from New York’s
Queensbridge Houses
••• 21
who inspired
HIP-HOP AS •••

a young Nas
STORYTELLING GLOSSARY
Four rap songs Eleven key hip-hop terms
with irresistibly

22
inventive storylines

•••
ASSIGNMENT
Complete one song

1
Nas, standing far right

2
 M E E T YO U R I N S T R U C TO R :

N A S
The New York–bred rapper is a
living monument to the power of words

Nas was born into music. His father, Olu Dara, Nas knew that words matter, that they
➔

is a cornetist who established himself as a could grab a listener’s attention and refuse to
respected member of the jazz community in let go. And he knew that he wanted to illumi-
the 1970s, but the roots run deeper than that. nate his world in all its violent and beautiful
Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones was born in 1973 complexity.
and raised in the largest housing project in the “The moment you press play,” he says, “I
United States: Queensbridge, a development want to take you through the sounds right
in Queens, New York, that stretches six blocks where I was at, right where New York was at,
and encompasses ninety-six buildings. He where Queens was at, where Queensbridge
showed some early promise on the trumpet; it was at, where America was at.”
didn’t stick, but his love of music was hard- As it turned out, the world was all ears.
wired. And while his education went no further Today Nas is one of hip-hop’s most respected
than eighth grade, his curiosity was infinite. and successful artists, often cited as one of
In the early 1980s, crack cocaine burned the greatest rappers of all time. He has collab-
its way through America. Nas lived at ground orated with American rappers and singer-
zero, where stabbings, shootouts, and rob- songwriters like Jay-Z, Timbaland, Alicia Keys,
beries were as commonplace as the rangy Dr. Dre, and Lauryn Hill. He’s sold more than 12
trees lining the walkways. At the same time, million albums, garnered fourteen Grammy
another phenomenon was sweeping through nominations from America’s Recording Acad-
the country: rap music. emy, and performed his debut album, Illma-
The mid-1980s birthed landmark albums tic—which American online music publication
by New York–based hip-hop artists like Run- Pitchfork, in a perfect-10 review, called “an
DMC, Whodini, Public Enemy, LL Cool J, Salt- example of how great rap can be”—at the John
N-Pepa, and more—and as young Nas fed F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in
his love of hip-hop, inspiration was right next Washington, D.C., with the city’s National Sym-
door: Producer Marley Marl and rappers phony Orchestra. He’s also an accomplished
Roxanne Shante, MC Shan, and Craig G all actor, a veteran film producer, and an astute
lived in Queensbridge. Their success lit the businessman.
way for Nas, who, at eighteen years old, intro- Nas wants to show you where he’s coming
duced himself to the world with a preternatu- from, how he creates, and what pushes him.
rally assured guest verse on a song called Inspiration can come from anywhere, but for
“Live at the Barbeque” by the New York/ him, it always comes back to one thing: ren-
Toronto-based hip-hop group Main Source. dering the world in words.
From the beginning, Nas’s verbal agility was “The universe is listening,” he says. “It’s
unmistakable. your world.

3
4
 Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five The Notorious B.I.G. Run-DMC

A Brief History of Hip-Hop

The rap saga is vast. This quick primer
will help you understand Nas’s role in it

The Origins them including New York’s Coke La artists began bringing new ideas and
➔

In the early 1970s, New York City Rock and KC the Prince of Soul, technologies to the form, including
bore witness to the birth of a new whose improvised vocals renewed a drum machines (especially the
sound. Scholars and fans still debate long history of rhythmic talking over Roland TR-808), complex sampling
hip-hop’s precise origins, but most music in Black culture. (where producers incorporate snip-
agree that the foundation was built pets of existing recordings into their
by Black American youth at block Hip-Hop Spreads creations), evermore inventive lyrics,
parties: community gatherings that Across the United States and broader integration of genres
featured DJs playing dance music on In 1979, New Jersey–bred trio the like electro music. The 1980s also
vinyl. DJs had begun using turnta- Sugarhill Gang released the first saw hip-hop spread to a global audi-
bles like instruments: Jamaican- commercially successful hip-hop ence, especially across the U.K.,
American DJ Kool Herc is credited as song, “Rapper’s Delight,” which Japan, and Australia.
the first to extend percussive breaks reached the Top 40 on the U.S. Bill-
(called “breakbeats,” or simply “the board charts (America’s most New-School Hip-Hop
breaks”) using two copies of the prominent tracker of popular songs) In the mid-1980s, several hip-hop
same recording, and Grand Wizzard and propelled the genre into the albums—from American artists
Theodore and Grandmaster Flash national spotlight. Run-DMC, LL Cool J, the Beastie
are considered the original practi- Boys and others—helped introduce
tioners of “scratching,” or manipulat- Going Global what came to be called new-school
ing turntables to produce odd and By the early 1980s, hip-hop culture hip-hop, which employed drum-
unignorable sounds. DJs performed was gaining traction throughout machine beats, sonic minimalism,
with emcees, the earliest among America and beyond. Enterprising and pop-informed song structures.

5
 Public Enemy’s Chuck D MF Doom Megan Thee Stallion

The Golden Age The Commercial Revolution Contemporary Hip-Hop

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, By the late 1990s, hip-hop was firmly The rise of internet distribution and
many performers enjoyed huge established in the global pop pan- streaming services at the turn of the
mainstream success while bringing theon. This era was ruled by century created an explosion of art-
major innovations. Key U.S. artists high-profile American artists like ists, mixtapes, and experimentation.
include Public Enemy, Tupac Shakur, Timbaland, Nelly, Puff Daddy (now American rappers that have come to
the Notorious B.I.G., Boogie Down known as Diddy), Jay-Z, Ja Rule, prominence in recent years include
Productions, A Tribe Called Quest, DMX, Eminem, and 50 Cent. In 1995, Waka Flocka Flame, Cardi B, Future,
Queen Latifah, Wu-Tang Clan, and, of America’s Recording Academy Migos, Travis Scott, Megan Thee
course, Nas. The era also saw the rise added a new Grammy for Best Rap Stallion, and Lil Uzi Vert.
of gangsta rap, with American artists Album; New Jersey trio Naughty by
like Schoolly D, Ice-T, and N.W.A. Nature was the first to take home the
voicing the trials of inner-city youth. coveted golden gramophone.
Meanwhile, artists from other coun-
tries proved that rap wasn’t an exclu- Alternative Hip-Hop
sively American art form: In the late In the 2000s, many performers
1980s, English emcee Derek B had incorporated heavier influences
multiple singles on UK pop charts, from genres like punk, jazz, indie
and France’s MC Solaar guested on rock, and electronica. Notable art-
the internationally acclaimed 1993 ists include London-born rapper MF
album Jazzmatazz, volume 1, by Mas- Doom and American rappers Kanye
sachusetts rapper Guru. West, Kid Cudi, and Kendrick Lamar.

6
 ▼

▼
Nas’s father, Olu Dara Nas

Nas’s Sonic
Evolution
▼

A journey through
the artist’s creative
development via several
of his 13 albums*

James Brown

Illmatic (1994) Q-Tip, and L.E.S.—also hail from New On “Life’s a Bitch,” Nas weighs the
Nas’s debut album arrived smack in York, and the beats they contributed benefits of a drink against those of a
the middle of the American West hearken back to the stripped-down lottery ticket—a keen meditation on
Coast’s gangsta rap dominance. production that defined 1980s New a culture of bleak prospects and lim-
While Los Angeles superproducer York rap. ited options.
Dr. Dre delivered albums that paired With its sampling of early emcees
confrontational rhymes with crisp, and its embrace of new recording It Was Written (1996)
funk-driven production (his own The technologies, Illmatic served as an For his second album, Nas and
Chronic and Snoop Doggy Dogg’s update of rap’s so-called golden American producing duo Poke and
Doggystyle among them), Illmatic age—a period that began in the late Tone opted for a relatively clean,
evokes the danger and grit of New 1980s and saw the release of several radio-ready sound. “Street Dreams”
York’s streets both lyrically and soni- albums still considered to be among samples “Sweet Dreams” by British
cally. The album’s producers—DJ the genre’s best. Lyrically, Illmatic pop duo the Eurythmics, and “If I
Premier, Pete Rock, Large Professor, brought a reflective mood to hip-hop: Ruled the World” features vocals by

* In addition to the 13 albums credited solely to Nas,

the artist has also released collaborative albums,
7 collections, informal "mixtapes" and more.
 ▼
Nas with his father Nas’s daughter, Destiny Jones
▼

Kool Moe Dee Dr. Dre

Lauryn Hill, American singer-song- Ginuwine—whose smash hit “Pony” God’s Son (2002)
writer and erstwhile member of the was also produced by Timbaland. The death of Nas’s mother in 2002
Haitian American hip-hop group the informed the slower, more reflective
Fugees (whose smash-hit album The Stillmatic (2001) moments on God’s Son, which
Score came out the same year). As its name suggests, Stillmatic arrived that same year. The elegiac
proved that Nas could still summon track “Dance” features horns by
I Am… and Nastradamus (1999) the brooding power of his first album. Nas’s father, jazz cornetist Olu Dara.
Both I Am… and Nastradamus con- For standout track “One Mic,” Ameri-
tinued on the pop-leaning course set can producer Chucky Thompson Hip Hop Is Dead (2006)
by It Was Written. American hit- composed a symphony of gunshots, By the mid-2000s, the languid
maker Timbaland produced the sirens, and crashing percussion lead- sounds of Southern rap had been
Nastradamus track “You Owe Me,” ing into a whispered chorus—a bold ruling the airwaves for years, led by
adding guest vocals by platinum- choice that proved Nas wasn’t simply artists like Ludacris (representing
selling American singer-songwriter resting on his laurels. Atlanta, Georgia), Lil Wayne (New

8
 ❙❙
▼

▼
” Lauryn Hill

I felt like there had to be something

Q-Tip Amy Winehouse

out there. It was in my bones:

I knew that I was here for something.
I think we all are.” ­—Nas

Orleans, Louisiana), and UGK (Hous- Life Is Good (2012) King’s Disease and King’s Disease II
ton, Texas). Nas reasserted his love Nas’s more-recent work suggests an (2020, 2021)
of old-school rap with Hip Hop Is artist who has freed himself from Nas partnered with California-bred
Dead, whose single “Where Are expectations. Life Is Good has a rela- millennial producer Hit-Boy for King’s
They Now” features shout-outs to tively optimistic feel, even as Nas Disease and King’s Disease II. Made
rap forefathers like Kool Moe Dee expresses such real-world concerns mostly without samples, the songs
(New York), King Sunny Adé (Oso- as his daughter’s social-media hab- on both albums are shorter than a
gbo, Nigeria), and Lakim Shabazz its. The soulful “Cherry Wine” fea- typical Nas track, a reflection of the
(Newark, New Jersey). On the title tures posthumous vocals by young genre’s drift toward tighter arrange-
track, American producer and Black British chanteuse Amy Winehouse, ments that had begun in the early
Eyed Peas member will.i.am sam- who had died the year before. 2010s. Such choices prove that Nas
ples classic 1970s funk recordings can seamlessly incorporate fresh
while Nas charts rap’s evolution ideas into his singular style—inno-
from a street culture to a pop fixture. vating and integrating all at once.

9
 ▼
▼

▼
Illmatic, 1994 It Was Written, 1996 I Am, 1999
▼

▼
Nastradamus, 1999 Stillmatic, 2001 God’s Son, 2002

❙❙
▼

Hip Hop Is Dead, 2006 Life Is Good, 2012 King’s Disease, 2020

10
 Queensbridge
Royalty
▼

Meet four artists

from New York’s
Queensbridge Houses
who inspired
a young Nas

21st Street-Queensbridge subway station

11 
Marley Marl Craig G Roxanne MC Shan
One of rap’s first A master of impro- Shante An early rap lumi-
superproducers, vised “freestyles,” This fierce battle nary, Shan cele-
Marl made ground- Craig G recorded his rapper became a brated Queensbridge
breaking, sample- “Shout” single when superstar in 1984 on his 1987 single
driven beats, work- he was in seventh with the Marley “The Bridge.” He
ing with neighbors grade. He appears on Marl–produced track bemoaned the dangers
Roxanne Shante, MC “The Symphony,” a “Roxanne’s of drug abuse on
Shan, and Craig G. Marley Marl track Revenge.” The song “Jane, Stop This
He also teamed up that also features is an “answer” Crazy Thing” and
with American art- seminal American record to New York probed heartbreak on
ists Big Daddy Kane, rappers Masta Ace, hip-hop group UTFO’s “Left Me Lonely,”
Kool G Rap & DJ Kool G Rap, and Big “Roxanne, Roxanne,” displaying a gift
Polo, and Biz Daddy Kane and is in which the for vivid storytell-
Markie, and at the widely considered “stuck-up” titular ing that would even-
end of the decade he one of the first and temptress snubs tually be taken up
coproduced New York best “posse” cuts UTFO’s members. In by Nas. Shan was
rapper LL Cool J’s (essentially, a song reality, Shante also known for wear-
blockbuster album featuring verses by wasn’t that Roxanne, ing sporty clothes
Mama Said Knock You a number of rap- but she jump-started whose popularity
Out. pers). A sample of her career by assum- would soon spread
his voice is used on ing the role. The far and wide—a sign
the Illmatic song 2017 Netflix biopic of hip-hop’s emerg-
“Memory Lane (Sit- Roxanne Roxanne ing role as a fash-
tin’ in da Park).” tells her extraordi- ion bellwether.
nary life story.

12
 You need to
describe the
emotions of
whoever’s in
your story.
You need to
describe
their goals,
their
setbacks.”
—Nas

13 
 The Nas Method
Eight ways to jump-start and turbo-charge your songwriting

After thirty years in the music busi- whenever you need to make a relat- you’re off and running toward a new
➔

ness, Nas still craves creating. “I’m able reference. composition.

excited every time I’m about to cre-
ate a song,” he says. “It’s like this Group Your Ideas Challenge Yourself
world that I step into.” Young Nas would organize his ideas If you get stuck, try to build a verse
So how does he do it? And how are by theme. Take a page out of his out of the first crazy thought that
you supposed to do it? Here are book: In your journal or smartphone, comes to mind. That’s how Nas con-
some practical suggestions drawn try grouping your observations as ceived “Rewind,” which famously
from Nas’s life and career. romantic stirrings, money woes, tells a story backward.
aspirations, and so on.
Imitate Cull
As a kid, Nas and his friends would Compose on the Go Once you have some lyrics going,
sing and rap along with the hits of Nas says that “words need to taste take a step back. Which lines excite
the day. From there, they could like clear, fresh water in your mouth.” you, and which ones leave you cold?
start to plug in words of their own, Your phone’s voice-recording app (or Could your favorite line become the
drawing inspiration from their lives. an old school tape recorder) is handy first line of the song? Keep selecting,
Pick a favorite song of yours and when you’d rather recite than write. cutting, and shifting until you’re
give it a try. happy with every line. For Nas, this
Pick a Word process continues even when he’s in
Observe Sometimes an unusual word choice the vocal booth.
Gather cultural artifacts—movies, can birth a song. So try this: Think of
brands, overheard conversations, a word that’s at least three syllables; Connect
bits of jargon—as you go through now think of a word that rhymes Remember the goal: vivid stories and
your days and jot them down in a with your first word (the second emotions. Make sure your song has a
notebook or your smartphone. Once word can be any number of sylla- beginning, middle, and end—even if
you sit down to start writing a song, bles); now string those rhymes you change up the order. Keep your
all of these observations will be at together with two lines that make lyrics connected to your five senses
your fingertips, a treasure trove for sense out of the word pairing, and and your heart.

SONGS OF “THE WORLD IS YOURS” “I CAN” “BYE BABY”

▼

SALVATION In this popular cut Backed by a chorus of Nas reckons with the
He may be have made his from Illmatic, angst- girls delivering an end of an intimate
name depicting stark filled verses lead to affirmative chant, Nas relationship in this
urban landscapes, but the titular refrain, encourages young track from the 2012
Nas has always deliv- offering the hope of female listeners to album, Life Is Good.
ered uplifting lines. agency even amid great eschew drugs and take It’s brutally honest,
Here are a few of his struggle. Nas extols care of their bodies. but he still manages
most positive moments— present joys like writ- The God’s Son track to end on a high note
keep them in mind when ing lyrics and looks generally invites kids that plays off of the
you’re writing your hopefully to the hori- to live their dreams, album’s title.
own music zon, imagining a better adding that everything
life for his future son. worth doing requires
hard work.

14
 Queensbridge Houses

Wordplay
A deeper look at four of Nas’s
go-to linguistic devices

1
Metaphor and Simile Double Entendre and Homophones
ASSIGNMENT
A metaphor is a word or expression For Nas, words often carry two
that invites comparison between meanings at once. In the line “Bullet
two different things. In the Illmatic holes left in my peepholes,” also from Start a Song
song “It Ain’t Hard to Tell,” Nas envi- “N.Y. State of Mind”, the last word With Your Senses
sions his head as a juicy breakfast sounds almost identical to peoples. Review Chapter 2: Telling Your
favorite with the line, “Wisdom be Life Story Through Music, in
leaking out my grapefruit.” Later in Proper Names which Nas instructs you to
the song, he offers a double sim- Citing brands and works of art is a “find the details in everything.”
ile—essentially a metaphor with the quick way to make points about cul- Draft a single verse of a new
addition of the word like: “Begin like ture and class. In a few brief lines from song that touches upon all five
a violin, end like Leviathan.” the 2006 song “Hip Hop Is Dead,” senses. Start to tell a story in
Nas references the 1984 breakdanc- rhyme—it can be dramatic or
Slang ing film Beat Street, McDonald’s fast mundane, real or made up—
“I use slang to speak directly to the food, and the popular cosmetic injec- and as you do so, sketch a
audience that created hip-hop,” tion known as Botox. world that your listeners can
Nas says, “the audience that loves see, hear, taste, smell, and
hip-hop.” To cite one classic exam- touch. Don’t worry about the
ple, Illmatic’s “N.Y. State of Mind” music for now, but if it helps,
contains the popular phrase, “Y’all search YouTube for instru-
know my steelo,” where steelo is mental hip-hop beats as
slang for style. accompaniment.

15 
YOU’RE STILL A SOLDIER,
I’M LIKE SLY STONE
IN COBRA
PACKIN’ LIKE A RASTA
IN THE WEED SPOT
—“IT AIN’T HARD TO TELL”

METAPHOR/ SLANG DOUBLE PROPER

SIMILE ENTENDRE NAMES

16
All images: Nas in Queensbridge in the early 1990s

Hip-Hop as
Storytelling
Four rap songs with
irresistibly inventive
storylines

Nas has always been known as an “Rapper’s Delight” “Nightmares”

exceptional storyteller. It’s a reputa- On this, the first-ever commercially This 1985 selection by larger-than-
tion that goes beyond his gift for successful rap song, American hip- life American rapper Dana Dane
vivid descriptions that engage all five hop group Sugarhill Gang’s three takes the form of a therapy session.
senses: In some of his best work, emcees deliver playfully boastful Dane tells the female Dr. Slumber
classic narrative structures are both rhymes for more than fifteen min- about a recurring dream in which he
wielded and deconstructed. Take “I utes. But they don’t stop at bragga- is pursued by the shape-shifting and
Gave You Power,” in which Nas raps docio: They spin hilariously detailed extremely tenacious Anita the Beast.
from the perspective of a gun, or yarns about hitting on girls—and By the end we don’t know whether
“Rewind,” whose plot runs backward then there’s that legendary verse the rapper is still sleeping or trapped
in time. about a meal so foul that the narra- in a living nightmare.
As a hip-hop fabulist, Nas is in tor flees by busting through a
good company. Here are four more closed door.
classic tracks that make masterful
use of narrative structure.

17 
 2
ASSIGNMENT

Experiment With Structure

What is your favorite movie that
uses unconventional storytell-
ing? Is it American auteur
Orson Welles’s 1941 master-
piece Citizen Kane, told almost
entirely in flashbacks? Is it
2000’s Amores Perros, in which
Mexican writer-director Alejan-
dro González Iñárritu juggles
three primary plotlines? Is it the
“You Must Learn” “Stan” Matrix saga, kicked off in 1999
Bringing some U.S. history to the This epistolary 2002 classic from by American filmmakers Lana
form, Bronx emcee KRS-One high- American rapper Eminem is mostly and Lilly Wachowski, in which
lights the accomplishments of Black narrated by a die-hard Eminem dev- the very nature of reality is
inventors Benjamin Banneker (who otee who descends into madness called into question? Pick one
created one of America’s first alma- after his fan letters go unanswered. such film and meditate on why
nacs), Granville Tailer Woods (who The twist delivered in the last few its narrative methods interest
made groundbreaking contributions lines is worthy of film legend Alfred you. Now start another verse,
to the invention of the telephone and Hitchcock. Following the song’s and this time adopt your cho-
was often referred to as the “Black release, stan quickly became part of sen movie’s unconventional
Edison”), Lewis Latimer (who devel- the common lexicon—a way of say- structure. This won’t be easy; if
oped an evaporative air conditioner, ing “obsessed fan” that ranges far you get stuck, just revisit Nas’s
among other things), and others on beyond the hip-hop community. “Rewind” and observe what he
this 1989 single. was able to accomplish via one
simple structural twist.

18
 The Producer-Emcee
Dynamic

3
Producers make rap possible—but
what exactly do they do?
ASSIGNMENT

According to Nas, “The role of the pro- melodic element of “I Can” is Beetho- Write a Biography in Rhyme
➔

ducer is to take the artist, what he or ven’s timeless classical piece “Für In 2004, Nas celebrated one of
she is going through or what’s heavy Elise.” his favorite rappers—pioneering
on their hearts, and bring it to life.” More recently, Nas formed a potent New York emcee Rakim—with
Producers are responsible for creative partnership with Hit-Boy, who the song “U.B.R. (Unauthorized
placing a rapper’s rhymes in the right hails from Southern California and is Biography Of Rakim).” Who is
landscape. Some create full backing fourteen years younger than Nas. your favorite musical artist? Your
tracks in advance of the vocal ses- Regardless of their age difference, the challenge is to write the first
sions; others work in tandem with two feed off of each other’s ideas, cre- verse of their unauthorized biog-
rappers, shaping sounds while the ating and refining in real time. raphy in rhyme. “U.B.R.” is loaded
vocals are recorded. Their tools are with facts, and yet it seems to
analog and digital, live and pro- Producers and You flow effortlessly. Songwriting
grammed, melodic and ambient—in If you’re an aspiring emcee, you can involves a lot of free association,
other words, unlimited. connect with producers by mingling but this assignment is about
at concerts and record stores, scour- processing information lyrically
Branching Out ing music sites where independent and rhythmically.
Early in his career, Nas worked with artists post their work, and sending
New York City rapper and producer direct messages to people whose
Large Professor, who produced the tracks you like. It’s a process that
1992 single, “Halftime,” and three often involves false starts and dead
tracks from Illmatic. Once that album ends, but don’t lose hope—you need
established Nas as a major presence only one person to believe in you and
in the rap world, his horizons your music.
expanded: For his sophomore album, Of course, most producers won’t applications with their built-in soft-
he worked with Los Angeles’s Dr. Dre, work with you without hearing you ware. Or go even simpler: Use your
who at that time was arguably the first. That may sound like a paradox, phone or a basic recording device to
most successful and acclaimed pro- but consider that many rappers are track yourself beatboxing (simulat-
ducer alive. As Nas’s star rose, he con- their own producers. If you want to ing beats using your mouth) or bang-
tinued to choose among the top explore that route, start by creating ing on household items. It doesn’t
names in the producer pantheon. your own soundscapes using what- have to be fancy or high tech; it just
ever resources you have. Many com- has to anchor your lyrics.
Collaborative Efforts puters include home-recording Once you have a decent record-
The nature of the artist-producer ing, you can share it with the produc-
relationship is especially pronounced ers you meet—if you haven’t discov-
on the songs that American pro- ered that the dream producer is you.
ducer Salaam Remi worked on for
Nas’s 2002 album, God’s Son. Remi,
who has also worked on major pop
albums by Haitian-American hip-
hop group the Fugees and American
singer-songwriter Fergie, knew just
how to complement the introspec- Nas and Hit-Boy
tive lyrics Nas was writing: The main

19 
 Clockwise from top right:
Q-Tip, Large Professor,
Pete Rock, DJ Premier,
Dr. Dre, Hit-Boy

PRODUCERS: BRINGING WORDS TO LIFE

Nas has worked with some of rap’s greatest producers. Meet six of them

LARGE PROFESSOR most acclaimed songs. PETE ROCK For Nas’s 1996 album,
The Queens, New York “N.Y. State of Mind” In the early 1990s, the It Was Written, Dre
producer featured Nas stands as one of his Mount Vernon, New York- produced (and lent
(then known as Nasty best Nas collabora- bred producer was known vocals to) “Nas Is Com-
Nas) on Main Source’s tions. as the King of Remixes: ing.”
song “Live at the Bar- His versions of popular
beque” in 1991. He and Q-TIP singles from American HIT-BOY
Nas worked on the lat- The front man of Ameri- hip-hop groups House Of After crafting the
ter’s pre-Illmatic solo can hip-hop group A Pain, Public Enemy, and 2004 hit “Trophies”
material and Illmatic, Tribe Called Quest pro- others were often as for Canadian superstar
plus several standout duced Illmatic’s “One revered as the origi- Drake and 2011’s
selections on Nas’s Love,” which features nals. Pete Rock crafted “Ni**as in Paris” for
2001 LP, Stillmatic. Nas writing letters to the Illmatic single American rappers Jay-Z
incarcerated friends. “The World Is Yours.” and Kanye West, this
DJ PREMIER Q-Tip also worked on California rapper-pro-
The Texas native was American hip-hop duo DR. DRE ducer teamed up with
one-half of the Mobb Deep’s lauded 1995 The prolific Califor- Nas for his albums
revered rap group Gang LP, The Infamous, as nia beatsmith’s King’s Disease (2020)
Starr and has produced well as his own solo bouncy, hook-heavy and King’s Disease II
several of Jay-Z’s and material. work has helped define (2021).
the Notorious B.I.G.’s rap for generations.

20
 Bronx Park jam, 1984

Glossary:
1. Bars
Bars refer to rap lyrics, but they can
also be part of a compliment: If an

11 Common
emcee has “got bars,” they have tal-
ent in rhyming or improvisation. The
word is derived from the music the-

Hip-Hop
ory definition of bars, which are seg-
ments of time in a composition that
contain a specific number of beats.

Terms
2. Battle
A hip-hop contest in which two or
more rappers, dancers, or DJs show-
case their improvisation talents
before an assembled crowd; the
crowd then determines a winner
based on skill and prowess. Rappers

21 
display their creativity with sponta- ence in favor of stylistic flair; also the
neous lyrics, especially put-downs act of improvising lyrically. Freestyl-

4
(“disses”), while dance battles involve ing in the latter sense can be
break dancing in one-on-one or team observed at live rap battles, where
face-offs. In DJing battles, opponents emcees demonstrate their skills by ASSIGNMENT
show off their turntabling techniques. trading verbal jabs in rhyme.

Complete One Song

3. Beat 8. GOAT
By now you should have written
The rhythmic element of rap. Beat An acronym for Greatest of all Time.
three verses: one that engages
can refer to a song’s percussive part, The term, often used in rap debates,
all five senses, one that uses
such as the drum pattern that gives has been applied to many prominent
unconventional story structure,
the track its particular rhythm, or the rappers—including, of course, Nas.
and the beginning of the unau-
track’s broader rhythmic structure,
thorized biography. Review
including some melodic elements. 9. Lyrics
them now. Which one feels the
Rap lyrics often include a rhyming
most alive? Which one feels like
4. Break element, and the pattern in which the
“clear, fresh water in your
An instrumental element—usually lyrics rhyme is the rhyme scheme
mouth,” to quote Nas? Take
sampled from another recording— (see below).
that verse and build two or
that repeats or “loops” throughout a
three on top of it. Practice per-
hip-hop song. Breaks are typically 10. Rhyme scheme
forming them, and then record
isolated drum or percussion parts, The cadence of rhyming words. Rap
the whole thing—with or with-
also known as breakbeats; the most rhyme schemes can be simple four-
out a beat, on your phone or
famous of these is American drum- line patterns, in which the first and
using recording software on
mer Clyde Stubblefield’s riff from second lines form a rhyming cou-
your computer. Congratula-
American soul powerhouse James plet, as do the third and fourth lines;
tions: You have written a song.
Brown’s single “Funky Drummer.” you can write this pattern as AABB.
Breaks can also refer to any repeti- Different rhyme schemes include
tive element of a song, such as the the alternate rhyme (ABAB), in
bassline from American R&B group which the first and third lines rhyme,
Chic’s “Good Times” as used in and the monorhyme (AAAA), in
American hip-hop trio Sugarhill which all lines rhyme.
Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight.”
11. Verse
5. Emcee The fundamental building block of a
Synonymous with rapper, emcee rap song. A verse is frequently com-
represents the pronunciation of MC, posed of sixteen rap bars, or rhym-
which stands for master of ing lines, followed by a chorus or
ceremonies. “hook” that reiterates the song’s
main theme or furnishes an atten-
6. Flow tion-grabbing moment. Some
The interplay between rhyme and songs also contain a bridge: a link-
rhythm in a hip-hop vocal perfor- ing element in the song structure
mance. Flow also refers to the rap- with a different delivery or rhythm
per’s skill at delivering the song’s that follows some verses.
verses within its rhythmic structure.

7. Freestyle
An approach to rap wherein the
emcee disregards thematic coher-

22