As Nas once said, “War Is Necessary.” The Queensbridge rap legend has just about seen it all in his more than three decades as a hip-hop dignitary, but he feels that the genre’s fabric has eroded compared to the formative era he was raised in.
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Nas posted a letter to Instagram on Thursday (Oct. 15) voicing his frustrations with the current state of rap and the music industry’s tendency to cast aside its foundational luminaries, which has fueled him in the studio.
“For the past year I’ve been watching so much happen in the culture while working on music,” he began. “I think about how it started, I think about the Mississippi Delta to New Orleans to New York. I think about Robert Johnson at the crossroads, how he changed music, and how we can’t even find his grave.”
Nasir Jones continued: “Sometimes I look at all artists, creators and executives the same way. The music game forgets or doesn’t compensate the foundation. Our greats have been stolen from and ripped off of. We can’t keep creating music for the sake of a ‘trend.’ We have to remember the purpose and our contribution and how many things we created. Where’s the love for each other at… We gotta take a stand as one.”
The 53-year-old is looking to make a statement, paying homage to hip-hop’s roots and pillars with his next project. “It’s time for a celebration of the music,” Nas proclaimed. “No Knowledge of self is certain death! It’s time to address it.”
Peers like Fat Joe, AZ and DJ Premier were among the thousands saluting Nas for speaking up on IG.
Nas’ last studio album came with his Light-Years collab effort alongside DJ Premier, which arrived in December 2025. The reunion reached No. 5 on Billboard‘s Top Rap Albums chart.
Find Nas’ full statement below.
