Rap Radar

During last night’s Gig-It launch party at New York’s Capitale, MTV caught up with Khaled, who spoke on our president walking out to his hit record, “All I Do Is Win”.  Looking forward to that skit.

“‘All I Do Is Win’ is one of the biggest anthems of all time, I think, and it’s a timeless record. It represents winners, and Obama’s a winner, I’m a winner, you’re a winner. And it represents the people, and it’s love and excitement, so shout-out to Obama. I gotta utilize that with We the Best brand is just getting bigger. I got some things up my sleeve, so be ready for my new album.”

After the jump, Miss Info.TV recaps the evening’s performances from Nas, 2 Chainz, Busta, DJ Khaled, Fabolous, French Montana, Miguel and more.

(more…)

Kicking off Complex TV‘s Combat Jack Show, Black Thought recalls meeting ?uestlove and breaks down how his past beef with Nas came about.

UPDATE: Ep. 2 l Ep. 3

For 2012, life was certainly good for Nasir. And with one of the top Rap albums of last year, Esco holds the numero 4 spot on MTV‘s Hottest MCs List.

Not only did Nas drop potent stick-to-your-rib singles like “Daughters,” “The Don” and “Bye Baby,” he went to great lengths to craft memorable story-driven videos to match. ” ‘The Don’ was a great visual, ‘Daughters’ was a great visual, ‘Nasty’ was great and I think with this record coming off of Distant Relatives, nobody expected this,” pointed out MTV Programming VP Yomi Desalu while referencing the mixed reviews surrounding Nas’ Damien Marley collaboration album in 2010.

With the Grammys taking place this Sunday, Nirvana co-founder and Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl interviewed Nas on Chelsea Lately. Esco says he’s been nominated 18 times and explains the tom-foolery of hip-hop beefs.

nav

After the Ravens’ victory Sunday, Hennessey’s new spokesman, Esco toasted to the champs at New Orleans’ Republic for Hennessey’s Super Bowl afterparty. Here’s a few clips from his performance.

(more…)

Nasir celebrated his involvement with Hennessy’s Wild Rabbit campaign last night with a performance at NYC’s R Bar. Here are a few rips from the live stream. Official recap coming soon.

Sidebar: TechieNYC Photos

(more…)

Prior to 2012, life wasn’t always so good for Nasir. After the lackluster work on his previous release, Nas shocked the world with his formidable tenth album. As if one is needed, Esco re-introduces himself on the J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League-assisted “No Introduction”. Nas can’t pick good beats? On this go-round, the quality behind the boards took a giant leap forward. Nas’ go-to producer Salaam Remi provides the foundation behind the boards on the well-narrated tale of his borough (“Queens Story“), the farewell bid to the ex-wife (“Bye Baby”) and the street buzzer (“Nasty”). No ID tries his hand on the reminiscing track (“Back When”), his parental misstep guide (“Daughters”) and the hard-driven “Loco-Motive” with Large Pro. To “Reach Out” on this joyous ride, Mary J. Blige lends her soulful voice on the DJ Hot Day-inspired track and Rozay vigorously empties his clip on the menacing “Accident Murderers”. From obsessions (“World’s An Addiction”) to lustful fantasies (“Cherry Wine”), and the struggles one goes through (“You Wouldn’t Understand”), Nas eloquently tells his stories and receives redemption in the end. If his life is truly as good as this album, he’s winning.

Nas’ seed is a big girl now. And for his single “Daughters”, he reflects on his own child’s growth and development. Backed by No I.D.’s soul samples, Esco  evaluates his parenting skills with honesty (“Plus she’s seen me switching women, pops was on some pimp shit”), confusion (“One day she’s ya little princess, next day she talking boy business”) and even a lil’ regret (“I’m too loose, I’m too cool with her”). Carmen would disagree, but hey, father knows best.

On Angie‘s born day today, Esco visited Hot 97′s rush hour drive. He discussed his NYE show, his 4 Grammy nods and making amends with Kelis. He also weighs in on CNN awarding him as the best lyricist of all time and mentions he’s already working on his next album. Yup, life is still good.