Nas Is Like

"Nas Is Like"
Single by Nas
from the album I Am...
Released	March 2, 1999
Format	CD single
Recorded	1998
Genre	East Coast hip hop
Length	3:57
Label	Columbia
Producer	DJ Premier
Nas singles chronology
"Escobar '97" (1997) "Nas Is Like" (1999) "Hate Me Now" (1999)

"Nas Is Like" is the first single from Nas' third album I Am.... The song is the sixth collaboration between Nas and producer DJ Premier. It was critically well received as it was a change from the more commercial and pop-oriented singles from It Was Written and Nas, Foxy Brown, AZ, and Nature Present The Firm: The Album. The song contains a combination of braggadocios and introspective lyrics over a choppy string sample.

Content

The Lyrical presence of Nas was clearly evident from the first lines: "Freedom or jail, clips inserted,/ a baby's bein' born Same time my man is murdered,/ the beginning and end"
In the third verse of the song, Nas uses similes to describe his prowess. These include: "I'm like a whole lot of loot, I'm like crisp money / Corporate accounts from a rich company / I'm like ecstasy for ladies, I'm like all races / combined in one man; like the '99 summer jam."

Production

In the 14 Deadly Secrets by DJ Premier^[1], Primo said:

“

This shit is crazy : the day I made this record, I was at my house in Long Island, and I found this old record that I was gonna throw away. It was a ten inch record from a Lutheran church, and it was pink with a black fish on it. And I was gonna throw it in the garbage, 'cuz it didn't look like it had anything hot on it. But somethin' told me "before you throw it away, put it on the turntable, see if you can find something on it". And I found that sample of "Nas Is Like", and I broke it into 3 parts, scratched it live to the drumbeat that I already had, with the little chirpin' birds and from there, "Nas Is Like" was born, man...

”

Samples

The song is also notable for featuring one of the most sought-after samples by cratediggers. For almost a decade since the track's release, the main sample used by DJ Premier remained unknown. However, April 2008 an unnnamed MP3 file featuring the original sample used was uploaded to the Internet by Dusty Kid from Strictly Breaks. Right after, the sample was identified as "Cantata of New Life" by John Rydgren. However, it was later revealed that the track was actually John Rydgren and Bob R. Way's 1966 song "What Child Is This?"^[2], from their record Thoughts on the Carols.

Other than this, the song also contains scratched vocal samples from Nas' previous songs "It Ain't Hard to Tell" from 1994 and "Street Dreams" from 1996. The song also samples bird chirps from Don Robertson's "Why" and a vocal sample from Biz Markie's "Nobody Beats the Biz".

Music video

The song's music video directed by Nick Quested shows Nas rapping in the Queensbridge projects and features cameo's by NBA player Ron Artest and fellow Queensbridge rappers Nature and The Bravehearts

Reception and Influence

"Nas Is Like" was positively received on a commercial and critical level. It reached number 86 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 14 on the Canadian Singles Chart.^[3] M.F. DiBella of Allmusic justifies the success of "Nas Is Like" stating: "Superproducer Premier comes to save the day...["Nas Is Like" is] nothing short of Illmatic perfection. "Nas Is Like"'s symphonic composition is the perfect complement for an MC of Nas' supreme vocal quality and precise lyrics."^[4]

The song's popularity caused various songs to borrow "Nas Is Like"'s beat, structure and lyrics:

• During his brief feud with Nas, Memphis Bleek recorded a song named "Memphis Bleek Is..." which stylistically mimicked "Nas Is Like".
• On Royce da 5'9"'s 2007 mixtape The Bar Exam, he freestyles over the "Nas Is Like" instrumental and forms a song with a similar structure.
• Lyrics from "Nas Is Like" were later sampled in Braille and Rob Swift's 2008 song "The IV".

Track listing

A-Side

1. "Nas Is Like" (Main) (3:50)
2. "Nas Is Like" (Clean) (3:57)
3. "Nas Is Like" (Instrumental) (3:57)

B-Side

1. "Dr. Knockboots" (Main) (2:25)
   • Produced by Poke & Tone
2. "Dr. Knockboots" (Clean) (2:25)
3. "Dr. Knockboots" (Instrumental) (2:25)

Charts

Chart (1999) [3]	Peak position
Canadian Singles Chart	14
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	86
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks	30
U.S. Billboard Hot Rap Singles	3

References

1. ^ Tre The Boy blog
2. ^ Ultragraphik.com: "Nas Is Like"
3. ^ ^{a b} "Nas > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p44732/charts-awards/billboard-singles. Retrieved 2008-08-13. 
4. ^ "I Am...The Autobiography > Overview". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r400739. Retrieved 2008-08-13. 

External links

• Nas - Nas Is Like Official Hip Hop Music Video