It was one of the bitterest beefs in hip-hop: Jay-Z and Nas taking it in turns to call each other big girls on their CDs. But now we can all rejoice! The hip-hop war between Jay-Z and Nas is over!
Perhaps because it was starting to look a bit ridiculous for two men in their mid-thirties to still be calling each other names like cranky old neighbours shouting at each other over the garden fence, Jay-Z and Nas have patched things up for good – Nas has even signed to Def Jam, the label run by Jay-Z. So lets all have a jolly good celebrizzle.
Jay-Z (CDs)
is a busy man, what with all those trainers to sell and Beyonce to look
after and everything. The last thing that he needs is to have to keep
thinking up rhymes for "smelly wanker," to hurl at other rappers that
he doesn’t like. He’s not out of the woods yet – Cam’ron has just taken issue with Jay-Z’s sandals – but he has managed to make his peace with former rival Nas.
Jay-Z and Nas were once involved in a very nasty little feud, with
Jay-Z attacking Nas’ ability to sell records in Takeover, and Nas
retaliating by accusing Jay-Z of copying Notorious BIG in Ether. Very personal
stuff, and not at all a ploy just to sell more records. But now The New
York Times reports that the two rappers have put the jibes behind them
to get into business together, with Nas signing a record deal with the
Jay-Z run Def Jam label:
As part of the deal, Nas’s longtime record company, Sony Music, and
Def Jam will split the profits – or any loss – from his next two
albums, the sources said. Def Jam is expected to lay out the cost of
producing and marketing the recordings, and to divide the profits after
recovering its expenses. The two music companies will jointly plan and
oversee the albums’ marketing campaigns. The agreement pays
Nas about $3 million, including a recording budget, for each of the
first two albums, and provides for two additional albums with Def Jam,
the sources said. Sony also retains the right to release a Nas greatest
hits album, they added.
The
deal has been speculated about since Jay-Z and Nas performed together
onstage in New Jersey in October, but now it has finally paid off. Now
we can all look forward to the new Nas album, tentatively titled
Cuddlez N Hugz With Jay-Z and Nas.
Read more:
Rapper Nas Is to Join Label Led by Former Rival Jay-Z – New York Times
[story by Stuart Heritage]