Nas Reflects On The Impact Of "The Lost Tapes" 17 Years After Its Release

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Rapper Nas performs onstage during the Meadows Music and Arts Festival - Day 3 at Citi Field on September 17, 2017 in New York City.
Nas commemorates hip-hop witnessing an artist release an album of lost songs for the first time.

In over two decades, Nas has blessed fans with many pivotal albums and moments in hip-hop. Illmatic is undisputedly the best work of his career but in the years that followed, Nas failed to receive the same type of critical praise until the early 2000s when he was at war with Jay-Z. Following the release of Stillmatic, he dropped off a compilation project called The Lost Tapes -- an album filled with songs that were previously leaked online and recorded in between the release of 1999's I Am and Stillmatic

September 23rd marked the 17 year anniversary of the release of The Lost Tapes. Over the years, many have continued to champion the project as some of Nas' best work. He took to Instagram today to reflect on the project's release and some of the songs that made their way onto the project.

"The Lost Tapes. ILL Will Records/@columbiarecords Sept. •23• 2002. #purple #myway#drunkbymyself was one of the hardest joints on there. #doorags#noideasoriginal #poppawasaplayerand more 17 Years Ago this was the first time Hip Hop witnessed [an] artist release an entire album of lost songs. #blazea50 tells a mean story," he wrote.

The rapper released the long-awaited sequel to the compilation project earlier this year. To commemorate the anniversary, he dropped off the visual for "War Against Love" from The Lost Tapes 2. Watch it below. 


About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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