Nas is one of the most gifted rappers of all time. VH1 certainly seems to think so, as they have
bestowed upon him their greatest honor.
Mr. Jones will be the focus of a brand new Behind the Music episode, the opening ten minutes of which have
been posted on VH1’s website. It
promises to touch on many of the highlights of his 21 year long career.
From the outset, it’s obvious that the production design has
been made to suit the mood of Nas’s music: hazy and introspective. As “Queens Get the Money” plays on the
soundtrack, Nas’s scratchy, weed addled vocals provide narration. Onscreen, a brief travelogue of NYC unfolds via
washed out photography. Nas is showing
viewers his family album, much like how he used Illmatic as an audiobook version of his private journal.
Such an opening will surely be gripping for any Nas
fan. Unfortunately, things soon settle
into an all too familiar groove. The
usual Jim Forbes voice over narration inevitably kicks in. It’s a little disheartening, since Nas could
probably tell his own story just as good if not better, thus continuing the feeling
of intimacy emanated by those opening moments.
What seemed like an intimate portrait of a gifted artist threatens to
become yet another hour of fan-friendly, glossed over fluff.
The commercial bumper at the tail end of the clip teases at
other notable events in Nas career, including his infamous meeting with Tupac
and Suge in Central Park. Though Nas
makes himself sound a lot more confrontational than he likely was at that time,
it will be good to finally get his take on what happened between him and Pac. That pretty much sums up my attitude toward
this episode of Behind The Music. I am cautiously optimistic, but I know many
of my questions will remain unanswered.
Either way, I’m a Nas fan for life.
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