Idolator

...at what point can we point out that he's become a caricature of his former fire-breathing self?

um, yesterday?

I thought we established that there's no such thing as selling out anymore.

Yeah, one solitary deal with something he definitely grew up wearing and probably did bury his man in, one that was probably based on Fila approaching him, rather than the other way around, and I'm going to call Nas the biggest sell-out ever.

Nah, right. He's the last one I'm really worried about going mainstream; on the N----r Tape, he mentions the (rather inscrutable) "Thief's Theme" as something to "shake off his pop fans." He doesn't care about how many records he sells; he cares about what's on however many he does sell.

Can we focus on the fact that he's, as a lyricist, finally approaching the heights of his powers again? Nas' is one of the albums I'm legitimately excited about this summer.

@GhostOfDuane: My problem's not with selling out. I'm talking about the product...

@cosmiclove: Have you heard his new mixtape? I urge you to find it.

@Rock You Like An Iracane: Wait, so whether you initiated the deal or not is the new measuring stick for something being a good idea or not? That changes everything.

If you really don't believe Nas cares about how many records he sells, I'm not sure where you've been or what you've been doing since 2002 or so, but all evidence has been to the contrary. Just a hint for your future use: when the executive interviewed says your connection with the company is about extending the brand, it's going to at least seem like a sellout. Whether he gets paid or not, or designs a line for K-Mart, I couldn't care less, but the guy can't have it both ways.

@Dan Gibson: Actively seeking stuff like this (Rihanna) and taking it when it comes (Nas) is different. I don't really like either one, but I'll take the opportunist before the straight-up sellout any day.

I was not a fan of whatever the albums were that came in between Stillmatic and, well, now, and I'll agree that he doesn't come off as the revolutionary firebrand he once was.

But even though he's certainly made more money than critical hay in those years, I'd say he's had a few hits here and there and those have helped to make up for the fact that he's not been at full speed.

@Dan Gibson: I'll agree on not having it both ways, but, hey, if you're going to endorse something, make it something you actually spend time using. Ol' S-Dot hasn't been wearing S-Dots too often of late...

@Rock You Like An Iracane: Will do!

What is this "selling out" you speak of?

"Even a few years ago, it would have been hard to picture Nas signing an endorsement deal since part of his persona was of the idealist, offended by encroaching commercialism."

Your whole thesis is fucked up. I have a magazine from the mid 90s with a Nas ad for a clothing line.. I don't remember if it was Karl Kani or if that deal came later.

@Oh Word: I take it back. Based on that info, he's always been full of shit. Happy now?

It was Willie Esco.. The Karl Kani deal came later.

So whats the point of this post again?

Nas promotes yet another clothing line and in doing so betrays the anti-endorsement persona imagined by this blog poster, which somehow threatens to kill hip-hop the way run dmc did with my adidas?

Yes, thanks.

Really, I don't think he is the one who is full of shit here.

I don't drink haterade whe/it comes to these partnerships. It's the new paradigm since the promotions departments at labels have been decimated in order to pay the salaries of executives like, say, L.A., Lyor and Edgar aka. Junior Miles Jr. I guess the point here is that Nas is a long ways away from Illmatic and Stillmatic. I do believe there is a deeper wiser man inside, whi/is why I gotta get ma hands on the mixtape, yo. But I gotta remember that the intervening years of Carmen (ack!), Kelis (ack!) and living the good life doesn't pave the way for as much poetry as coming up out of the Queensbridge Houses and mixtape battles with Jigga. Well, I guess Carmen was part of those early years. Whateves...

@Oh Word : If I'm the guilty party, then it's basically the entire internet that's commented on this deal riding along with me. I think there's a significant difference between appearing in a Kani ad and a major cross-promotional with Fila using your dead pal as part of the justification, but maybe I'm looking for nuance where there is none.

Three comments in four minutes, however...I gotta give you credit for that.

Back when I had a forum on the internets, when that Jack White Coke song came out, I argued that endorsement deals like this, or what conventional wisdom calls "selling out", is the true path to artistic purity.

A viable musician has to answer to a benefactor one way or another. I'd much rather see a favorite artist sing for an apparel maker with a connection to hip hop's past (or at least trying to desperately reclaim its minimal connection) than a major record label, for whom units moved is the sole metric. At least with a product tie-in, they actually want you for your, uh, for wont of a better phrase, brand equity.

Also, I hope the Braveheartz guys get a deal with Li-Ning or something.

Who comes into your work every day and wags their finger in your face for getting paid to write for Idolator? You're a sellout. I'm a sellout. Nas is a sellout. Who gives a shit. As Maynard James Keenan said "I sold my soul to make a record, dipshit, and then you bought one".

Really? Who comes into Idolator and wags their finger in your face for drawing a paycheck for writing?

You want to save hip hop? Make an album.

@gmeluski: No one said Nas didn't deserve to make money from his "craft", idiot. When I make a few bucks off the memory of my dead friend, feel free to scold me then.

Look, when did Nas say he wasn't commercial? If you think he's an intelligent, conscious rapper that cares about social issues, that's one thing. Endorsing a product is not mutually exclusive of that.

Regarding Ill Will, who he's spoke of on record numerous times and was obviously very close with, do you think he would belittle his existence to make a dollar? Or is more likely that Fila is a sacred brand, to him personally as well as to hip-hop. If you don't see the connection, it's obvious you weren't there at the beginning, nawmeen!

@Dan Gibson: Brittle, punchdrunk, overly defensive, underinformed...Step away from the comments thread.

I think the_j took the words right out of my mouth.

Check the name of his imprint. Check the liner notes of Illmatic. Get your knowledge together, you're coming off like someone who's offended over the bastardization of hip hop history, but you still have to go to school.

Spin some records. I wasn't in New York when Nas was growing up, but there's a good sense of the history and vibe back then when fellas like KRS and Nas kick a story, including the fashion. The hip hop section of a record story is like a history book.

To boot, Nas isn't making money off of Ill Will. Nas is making money off of Nas.

Isn't this sorta what we were prattling on about on the interweb yesterday? [online.wsj.com]

@Bob Loblaw: Go back to your Lykke Li EP and put down the thesaurus, pal.

@Dan Gibson: Oh just shut up already. Does Maura pay you per comment post?

Long time reader of Idolator, love the site, but you need to stop getting in pissing matches every other day. Nas, the new Beck album, it never ends.

I look forward to your sarcastic, holier-than-thou response.

here's the deal...none of you will buy the album, you will download it (cool, me too). Not many of you will wear Fila (i quit in 7th grade). If, however, this brings Nas anywhere near Detroit where he will perform "The World is Yours", I will be more than willing to continue not buying Fila and listening to stolen Nas tracks on the way to his live show.

g3