Common Claims That Nas Wrote One Of The Greatest Songs Of All Time

BYLavender Alexandria5.0K Views
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2023 Blue Note Jazz Festival Napa
NAPA, CALIFORNIA - JULY 29: Nas performs on the Black Radio stage during the Blue Note Jazz Festival at Silverado Resort and Spa on July 29, 2023 in Napa, California. (Photo by Richard Bord/Getty Images)
Common had high praise for one Nas song in particular.

It's pretty common for Nas to get massive praise from both rap fans and other rappers. Common became the most recent to do so in an interview with Men's Health. In the interview, he talks quite a bit about his history with hip-hop. “I remember being at a performance and then walking outside of the show, and this dude came up to me, and he said, ‘Common, I really love your music." He explained the meaning behind the song next, "I want to tell you that your song “Retrospect for Life” made me decide to have my kid,’” he began the interview. “I wrote that song because I had been through that experience. And there was a moment when I was on the way to the abortion clinic, and the mother of my child decided, ‘We can’t do this again,’."

That's what he circled back to Nas, whose influence he credited. “That’s why we related to when Nas talked about what he talked about on Illmatic. He experienced it, and the way he told it was just beautiful. In ‘One Love,’ he talks to his boy in prison. That’s one of the greatest songs ever written.” The song he's referencing appears on Nas' classic album Illmatic. Praise for the entire record is also easy to find. In a recent New York Times story they got 50 rappers to tell the story of hip-hop. Eminem specifically spoke about the influence of the album on his career and told the story of how he first found it.

Common Has Nothing But Praise For Nas

Nas just released his newest album Magic 2 last month. It's a follow-up to his 2021 album Magic. The project also features references to another ongoing series of projects he's working on with Hit-Boy called Kings Disease. Magic 2 sees Nas teaming up with 21 Savage and making a song with 50 Cent for the first time in decades. The album followed up last year's Kings Disease III.

What do you think of Common's feelings towards Nas' song "One Love,"? Let us know in the comment section below.

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About The Author
Lavender Alexandria is a music and culture journalist based in Los Angeles, California. She’s covered dozens of musical genres and styles from the most mainstream to the most experimental and underground on her blog and accompanying YouTube channel that looks at music, pop culture, and Billboard charts since 2017: Lav’s Music Corner. Lavender has produced editorial and listicle content both in written and video form over the past far years and has also interviewed up-and-coming artists like Censored Dialogue. Her experiences covering culture have taken her from Hyperpop parties in LA to underground rap shows in Atlanta, to DIY punk shows in Charlotte. Lavender has also written for iHeartRadio, covering some of the biggest artists in Hip Hop such as Ice Spice, Drake, Doja Cat and Cardi B. She also has bylines with ScreenRant and continues to write for Ringtone magazine. Lavender is a lifelong Charlotte Hornets fan and her favorite rap artists include Clipping, Little Simz, Earl Sweatshirt, and Kendrick Lamar.
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