Los Angeles [US], October 10 (ANI): Rappers Jay-Z and Nas may have had one of hip-hop’s most talked-about rivalries, but the two have moved past their differences and are now “really good friends,” Jay-Z has said.
According to PEOPLE magazine, the 56-year-old rapper spoke about his past rivalry with Nas, 53, during the seventh episode of the docuseries ‘JAY-Z in 8’, which aired on Friday. Looking back at their early years in the music industry, Jay-Z said their feud was largely driven by competition rather than personal differences.
The two rappers rose to fame in the 1990s, with Nas releasing his debut album in 1994 and Jay-Z following with ‘Reasonable Doubt’ in 1996. Jay-Z said they had always respected each other, even when their rivalry became more intense.
“It got personal, but it wasn’t really personal,” he said, explaining how the competition between them grew over the years.
Jay-Z also recalled an incident that added to the tension between them. He said Nas had agreed to join him at a recording studio for a collaboration but never showed up. The experience left Jay-Z unwilling to ask him to work together again, although he said the two did not have a personal problem at the time.
Their rivalry later grew after Nas released songs that Jay-Z took as a dig at him. What followed was a series of exchanges between the two rappers that became one of hip-hop’s best-known feuds.
However, Jay-Z said the two eventually put their differences behind them and moved on without any violence.
“It just escalated to a point where it was like a full-on battle. But no violence. Then we just moved on. And now we’re really good friends,” he said during the episode, as per PEOPLE.
The rappers later joined forces on DJ Khaled’s 2022 track ‘Sorry Not Sorry’, putting their past rivalry behind them. Khaled had earlier told PEOPLE that bringing the two together was a long process. He said the idea came to him after seeing them having a good time together at a dinner.
Khaled said it took him around four to five years to gather the courage to ask them to work together. However, he felt it was possible after seeing the bond they shared, and both rappers agreed to be part of the project.
Jay-Z also spoke about how their rivalry may have pushed both of them to do better in their careers. He credited Nas for rising to the challenge and said the competition helped keep him focused as well.
“To his credit, he really rose to the occasion,” Jay-Z said of Nas.
He added that their rivalry may have encouraged Nas to release music more regularly, while it also kept him on his toes during a successful period in his career.
“I’m not saying I was the cause of it, but you’re asking the question, I’m sure it lit a fire under him. For me, I was rolling at the time. This is Blueprint, Vol. 2 era, I was selling five, six million records, going on tour, I was unstoppable. It definitely kept me sharp in that space,” he said. (ANI)
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