Nas Recounts The Time Prince Shut Down A Request For A Feature

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Nas performs at the 2019 Governors Ball Festival at Randall's Island on June 02, 2019 in New York City.
Nas sits down with NORE & Drink Champs for an insightful conversation.

With over 25 years in the rap game, Nas undoubtedly has some stories. NORE's podcast, Drink Champs is undoubtedly the best place for rappers to share some unheard stories from the past. Fresh off of the release of Lost Tapes 2, he sat down with NORE and DJ EFN for an in-depth conversation where he shared the time that he unsuccessfully asked Prince to collaborate with him.

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Nas has collaborated with a lot of artists in his time but he never managed to get a collaboration with Prince. He did try, though. The rapper opened up about the time that he ran into the late singer and asked for a feature. Unfortunately, he was denied the verse but Prince also provided some valuable insight to Nas' future as an artist.

"I sought him because he came to by I Am album release party," he began. "I pulled a NORE move. I said, 'Yo look, man. Let's do this. Let's do this song.' And he said, 'Do you own your masters?' But he blew my shit because I was like, 'I don't.' And I'm far from it 'cause I owe this label four, five albums."

Ultimately, Nas was denied the feature but Prince did say that there were possibilities in the future. "He kind of helped me see the future. And he was like, 'when you owe your masters, give me a ring.'"

Peep the episode below with the Prince bit coming at the 48:55 mark. 


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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