bigted Posted February 8, 2006 Report Share Posted February 8, 2006 http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1523876/2...?headlines=true Jay-Z, Nas Say They're Out To Show An Alternative To Battling 02.07.2006 8:57 PM EST It's January in Connecticut, and although a few hundred people are all seeing the same thing, none of them can believe their eyes: Jay-Z and Nas — the two men who once engaged in arguably the greatest lyrical battle of all time— are Literally, the two are standing on a table in the Foxwoods Resort Casino's Hard Rock Cafe while a DJ plays songs by both hip-hop legends. "Girls, Girls, Girls" comes on and everyone is dancing. When "Made You Look" follows, nobody stops partying. The record spinner drops Jay's "Streets Is Watching," sending everyone into a euphoric frenzy. "Hate Me Now" comes on and shakes the building. With smiles spreading and liquor flowing, Jay throws what appears to be a few thousand dollars into the crowd. Unbelievable. Jay and Nas went public with their behind-the-scenes animosity for each other in 2001 when Hov dropped "The Takeover" and Nas came back with "Ether." Although in recent years both have said they were done with the feud, they haven't exactly been eating Thanksgiving dinner of each other's houses. Last October, Jay-Z and Nas were seen publicly together for the first time in almost 10 years, coming together twice onstage to declare unity. But this time it's different. It's been a couple of months since they first shocked the world, and now the alliance has become official: Nas is signed to Def Jam, and he and Jay are on the same team. Tonight at Foxwoods, they actually look like friends. "We was there and vibing on the table," Jay recalled of his night of revelry with Nas and Island Def Jam employees and executives. As he spoke to MTV News' Sway, Nas was sitting right beside Jay. It was the first time the two had ever sat together for an interview. "It was so surreal," Hov continued. "I was looking at the crowd, and they was in shock. It wasn't planned. I didn't say, 'At 12:45 we're gonna get on the table and wild out together.' " And while it's impossible to plan a special moment like that one, you also can't plan out the course of a relationship, he pointed out. "It's not a date you can say, 'We're friends today,' " he explained, getting a big chuckle from Nas. "But you can say it's respect , and from respect, anything is possible." Nas agreed that even though he and President Carter were each other's toughest opponents in a war of words, they never lost respect for one another. "In the midst of a battle, you never know how it's gonna turn out," Nas explained. "All you know is that you're gonna fight to the finish. In the middle of it, that's how it was. It was always respect, it wasn't that he wanted to gun me down or I wanted to gun him down. It was never that. That's not how real bosses move or real men move." Now that Nas is officially partnering with Jay-Z, the two said, they'll definitely be working together — a duet at the very least is imminent. "It's bigger than both of us," Jay said. "It's not really about us. I mean it is, but it really isn't. It's more about the culture, about showing people another way, because we staged was something that stopped the world. Now everyone emulates the battle. 'If I do that, I can get attention drawn to me.' Now everyone is emulating the end result. So now we have to show them another way." See more of this historic in-depth interview Wednesday night on MTV News' "All Up in the Grammys," which begins at 7 p.m. As this year's Grammys approach, you can get all the latest news on the show, the scene and the nominees in our Grammy news archive. On the big night, February 8, be sure to tune in to MTV at 7 p.m. for our "All Up in the Grammys" preshow. Plus check out videos of the nominees and more right here on MTV.com. — Shaheem Reid, with reporting by Sway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fan 4ever Posted February 8, 2006 Report Share Posted February 8, 2006 Thanx 4 posting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpinJack AJ Posted February 9, 2006 Report Share Posted February 9, 2006 I could never really get in 2 Jay-Z after 1998...and even tho' i respect alot of Nas' stuff, i can't say i follow him that closely. But it is refreshing 2 read something like this. At the same time, am i the only one who is having "The Best of Both Worlds" flashbacks?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigted Posted February 9, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2006 I think the other rappers who are beefing like the G Units and Murder Incs of hip-hop need to look at this and get inspired to come together instead of continue beefing with each other, especially after Busta's bodyguard got shot, hip-hop needs another "Stop The Violence" movement, rappers need to put their differences to the side and just make music together 'cause that's why they got deals... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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