Nas Fans Create Online Petition For Lost Tapes 2

[bigted]

Nas Fans Create Online Petition For Def Jam To Release "Lost Tapes 2"

by Allen Jacobs

posted December 21, 2010 03:42:00 PM CST | 138 comments

*
*

Nas Fans Create Online Petition For Def Jam To Release

Lupe Fiasco fans aren't the only supporters attempting to pressure major labels into action, and nearly 700 have already signed.

Earlier this year, Queens, New York emcee icon Nas said in an interview that he had plans to release a second installment of his Lost Tapes. The September, 2002 release featured previously unheard songs by Nas, produced by the likes of Alchemist and L.E.S.

Whereas the original collection of songs came by way of Nas' then-label Columbia Records, the emcee alluded that his post-2006 home, Def Jam Records, would be responsible to release The Lost Tapes 2. Based on leaked emails, and interviews since the first announced in June of this year, the project has been delayed by the label home to Kanye West, The Roots, Rihanna and Ghostface Killah.

Fans siding with Nas have created WeNeedLostTapes2.com, a petition side hoping to sway the New York-based label into releasing the collection of songs.

The site states, "We the fans of Nasir Jones, have been waiting for the follow-up to the 2002 classic Lost Tapes. This was a record of compiled tracks that did not make Nas albums, but put together for the sake of the fans. Since its release almost a decade ago, it has received critical acclaim and quickly became a fan favorite.

It has come to our attention that Nas has in fact completed the follow-up, titled Lost Tapes 2, and is waiting for you (Def Jam) to green-light the project and give it a release date. We do not like to go into speculation and rumors, but it seems as though you do not want to release Lost Tapes 2 because you don't want it to count as an official album since Nas only has 2 more albums left to fulfill his contractual obligation to Def Jam."

At press time, 677 signatures had been collected.

[VIsqo]

Ima check that to see how can I sign.

[fan 4ever]

Cool...just signed it! Let's hope they will release it!

[VIsqo]

Yeah, it would be good to see that peoples efforts are finally taken on account.

[Turntable]

They wont. You have to understand the label, they spent a lof of money on him so he has to release albums for them which they can sell, and a left-over abum wont do nearly as good as a new album. Next to that, everybody is releasing left overs on the internet these days, Nas could do that instead of making us pay.

[bigted]

New York rap veteran Nas has switched up his initial game plan for releasing a follow-up to 2002's Lost Tapes compilation album and said the project could ultimately be free.
Click to learn more...

Considering the option of packaging Lost Tapes 2, which consists of unreleased tracks, within his next solo LP, Nas also admitted he is unsure what label will house the album.

"Because I kind of lost time, I really wanted to release [the album] in December," Nas explained in an interview reflecting on his aim to drop Lost Tapes 2 last month. "But I'm starting my next album. So I feel like I'll probably give The Lost Tapes as a deluxe, maybe, on the next album for free. I'm trying to figure that out now. It's not safe to say that it's gonna be on Def Jam. You know, news at 11. We coming with the information on that soon." (MTV)

In late December, Nas fans created an online petition against Def Jam hoping to pressure the release of Lost Tapes 2.

"We the fans of Nasir Jones, have been waiting for the follow-up to the 2002 classic "Lost Tapes". This was a record of compiled tracks that did not make Nas albums, but put together for the sake of the fans. Since its release almost a decade ago, it has received critical acclaim and quickly became a fan favorite. It has come to our attention that Nas has in fact completed the follow-up, titled "Lost Tapes 2", and is waiting for you (Def Jam) to green-light the project and give it a release date. We do not like to go into speculation and rumors, but it seems as though you do not want to release Lost Tapes 2 because you don't want it to count as an official album since Nas only has 2 more albums left to fulfill his contractual obligation to Def Jam." (We Need Lost Tapes 2)

Recently, Nas said he was most focused on completing a solo follow-up to 2008's Untitled.

"I record a lot of sh*t. I have recorded a lot of sh*t over the years, and the sh*t that I ain't put out on albums should be on the Lost Tapes," Nas said in an interview. "Because my album, my studio album, my new album is a priority for the label and of course me. To find the time to put out Lost Tapes and then my record, my real record, is what we're up against. It's all this material and trying to get it out...I got no release dates right now. Nothing to tell people about, just inner workings hopefully to get the sh*t out right and get it out soon -- I'm in the studio, taking it step by step. It's not ready yet. I'm taking it step by step because it's so important for me and myself. I'm in a huge fight with me, so it's important that I get this one right. I don't want to leave no stone unturned on anything I say on this sh*t." (The Boom Box)

Last month, Nas discussed his conflict with Def Jam and the company's unwillingness to release Lost Tapes 2.

"You record a lot of records, and things that don't make the album, they get put to the side and you don't know what to do with them," he explained. "They sit around and they start taking on a form of their own and it belongs [on] an album. That's what I'd like to do. So of course my new album is priority for the record company people and even me, but [i'm] just trying to find time to put Lost Tapes and then this out--'cause everybody drops mixtapes and stuff like that and they don't have a problem with it, but my sh*t comes and it's like they're holdin' it with gloves...I'm like, come on, guys, I just wanna go out and play with the rest of 'em; with the n*ggas out their putting their sh*t out...We're working that out." (XXL Mag)

[VIsqo]

If it is released im cool with it no matter if its free or charging. Just do something about it NAS!

[bigted]

Yeah as long as Nas does something I'm wit it:

Rap veteran Nas has reflected on previously contemplating if he should hang up the microphone as a solo artist and only focus on collaborative projects.

According to "QB's Finest", his recent studio time alongside reggae artist Damian Marley inspired his contemplation.

"Sometimes, you can approach a record and can think, I got to take care of this person and I got to take care of that person, but you really got to take care of you," Nas explained in an interview. "I look at Michael Jackson, and before he passed away, I can only imagine the pressure he had to live up to for the next Moonwalk. And the reality is physically, he wasn't able to live up to that. I would have loved to see him come up with the next level, without even dancing, just using his creativity. It's all about evolving and that's what I want to do, evolve. I been so caught up into me and [Damian's] thing that I started to get used to it. Like, I didn't want to do the solo thing for a while. Me and D have just been doing our thing, reaching millions of people, but it's that time." (MTV)

Last spring, Nas opened up about their Distant Relatives album's theme.

"Reggae and hip-hop are cousins,'' he said in an interview. "Go back before the '90s and think about the music that was playing on the ghetto blasters and you'll hear it...The whole world is like family, split up all over the place. It's overdue, and I want to help build whatever we can [in Africa]. I've worked with a lot of reggae artists, like Sizzla and Supercat, but not until [2005's] Jamrock did I get a chance to work with Damian. I love his music and I'm a big fan of Bob Marley and the whole family. We haven't worked out any tour dates yet. But I'm sure Damian and I will do something soon." (Miami Herald)

In 2009, Nas admitted to worrying over fans' reception of the LP.

"I feel good about it," Nas said about the album and his legacy. "So I can't say how it's gonna affect my musical legacy. I just think that with everything I do, I want it to mean something. Like ['Tony Montana'] said, 'I tell the truth, even when I lie.' What he was sayin' is, he never lies. He's honest, even when he makes mistakes or misjudgements, he did it in truth. Everything I'm doing is because I feel right about it. The benefit of it [is] we contributed something to the world. Something like this...I don't know who's gonna like it, who's gonna hate it or whatever, but it's another contribution to the world. One more thing to just listen to." (Hip Hop DX)

Upon its release last May, Distant Relatives debuted within the Top 5.

Hip-Hop duo Nas and Damian Marley's Distant Relatives leads the way this week at No. 5 as Glee: The Music tops the chart with 135,800 sold albums. According to Nielsen SoundScan, the duo's new collaboration album has sold 57,500 records after a week in stores. (SOHH Sales Wrap)