Hey Young World: Tyler, the Creator Interviews Nas, Pt. 2 [Excerpt From the November 2011 Issue]

Continuation from Hey Young World: Tyler, the Creator Interviews Nas, Pt. 1 [Excerpt From the November 2011 Issue]...

Tyler, the Creator: Did you ever think, like… Okay, you dropped Illmatic. How old were you? Like, 18?

Nas: When I started it, I was 18. I dropped it when I was 20.

Tyler, the Creator: So you was my age when Illmatic came out?

Nas: Yeah. The first thing I did was “Live at the Barbecue.” That was ’91.

Tyler, the Creator: So, right, when you was coming out, I wasn’t even born yet, basically? I was born in 1991, so I was probably just popping out. Did you think, 20 years later, you would still be, like, here? Like, you’re having a fuckin’ interview, about to do another magazine shoot. Like, did you think, 20 years from now, back then, that there was even a chance that you could still be doing that?

Nas: At that point, I only cared about making the biggest impact in rap. But I didn’t care about 20 years from… No, I got to say no. I didn’t. I didn’t really think that much on it. ’Cause at that time, dudes were peaking at, like, their fourth album, and that was it. Like, a lot of guys before us, they would, after their third or fourth album, that was it.

Tyler, the Creator: They was done.

Nas: You know what I mean? So I didn’t think I would be up to right here.

Tyler, the Creator: That’s ’cause you, Em, Jay, Snoop, like, you guys all started when you was exactly my age. So we could relate right then and there. But it’s just weird that you guys—’cause I even asked Snoop, and he was like, “I didn’t even think that I could go this far with that.” And the fact that you guys are still here makes me just always think, like, Fuck, could I?

Nas: Oh, you definitely can. People—someone like you is, you’re interested, for a lot of reasons. So someone like you, you can’t wait to see what’s next. You can’t wait to see how you’re going to deal with what you’ve been experiencing now that you’re in the rap game or in the music game. It’s going to be great and exciting for you as you go along.

Tyler, the Creator: This shit’s crazy. I have, like, a goal list in my head, and it gets checked off, like, all the time. And it’s just the weirdest shit. This game is crazy. It’ll drive you crazy, too. Like, I didn’t expect a lot of stuff. And it’s a lot to deal with, ’cause, like, people don’t know, but I’m running a business. Clothes, basically. Like, we got our own label. I didn’t just sign a regular little deal. I own that. Touring. I have a show with Cartoon Network that I’m writing and I’m starring in. Not only that, like, I have to put the whole team on my back. It’s a lot of us. And not just the music section. Like, I try to look out for everyone in my crew—even the photographers, niggas that skate. And I got my family. So it’s a lot to deal with. How did you deal with just, out of nowhere, people like, “Oh, shit, Nas! Oh, Nas! Nas!” Labels coming at you, and you just out of nowhere had fame. Like, how did you deal with that?

Nas: Well, for me, it was really easy in the very beginning, because only thing I was concerned about was not going to jail. ’Cause I was still not removed from the block. So when I first got a check, it was my check, but everybody around me was still in the grind. So we had plans to make moves with that check, you know? Street moves with that. And, you know, you had that thing, but, you know, you really can’t straddle the fence. You can’t have one foot in the street and then one foot in the light, where you can change your life for the positive. You can’t do it. It won’t work.

Tyler, the Creator: Yeah, that shit’s hard.

Nas: It won’t work, and it’s stupid to even attempt to stay in the street and then still think you’re supposed to get something out of this legit world. You know what I mean? If you’re going to get legit, go all the way. So it was simple for me, because I kept it normal. I kept it cool. I stayed around the way until I got too busy to be there.

Tyler, the Creator: That’s how it was with me. After a while, it’s like, you got people hitting you up, “Why you ain’t hit me up?” [And it’s like,] “I’m sorry, dude. I’m on tour, with 30 other things on my head.” It’s just, at first, it’s cool, with people finally recognizing you, and it’s like, “Oh, shit, I’m going to…” Oh, shit. “Okay, bye, Grandma. I’ll talk to you later.” And then it’s like, you kind of… I’m legitly in the rap game now. Not even in the rap game, just in the music industry. Like, I didn’t even, it didn’t hit me until a couple weeks ago. ’Cause I’m still me. I wear the same fuckin’ clothes I had. I’m still eating at fuckin’ McDonald’s, when I could go to a fuckin’ 30-star restaurant or some shit. So it’s just weird how even little things I say, like, it’s a big controversy on if I’m a homophobe or anything. And that’s just how me and my friends talk. So it’s just weird for me being myself, going into a world where everyone is watching you and critiquing every little thing that you’ve been used to doing for the past 20 years of your life. It’s a lot to deal with.

Nas: No one wants you to say what you wanna say, what’s really you. You can’t say what you really feel no more, ’cause they’re gonna kill you for it.

Tyler, the Creator: And after a while, it’s like, I don’t really care what anyone say. I’m just gonna do me regardless, ’cause that’s just how I was brought up. But after a while, when you have just so many fuckin’ people, like,
the world just coming onto you, you kind of sit back, like, Wait for a second. Am I doing something wrong? No, I’m not. I’m good. I’m fine. And they just keep coming. You’re like, Wait a minute. You kind of look back, like, Fuck, maybe I am doing something fuckin’ wrong. And that shit’s a lot to deal with.

Nas: Yeah, it is. It is. But you can only do what you can do, man. You’re a human being. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself, you know what I mean? No one is going to be totally satisfied. You can’t please everybody. You’d be crazy if you’re trying to. So take some time out to do some things for yourself. Remember, always take time out to do things that you enjoy. Got to. ’Cause then, why else you out here doing these amazing things, and you’re taking care of everybody else? But if you’re not taking care of yourself…man.

Tyler, the Creator: There’s no point.

Nas: It’s refreshing to see you do that, because everything else is just the same thing over and over. Shit is lame. Everybody’s doing the same shit. Even me. I’m caught up in some of the same shit. It’s just the shit I grew up loving, so I keep doing a lot of the same things. ’Cause I love what that is, but it’s still a hundred, a thousand people doing the shit.

Tyler, the Creator: That’s different, though. You love that shit. Like, I’m stuck in 2006. Pharrell is, like, my idol. So I’m fuckin’, I listen to In My Mind, his album, every fuckin’ day and watch his videos. Like, I have a fuckin’ bookcase of BBC Ice Cream and Bape shit from 2006 that I just put on, and listen to fuckin’ Clipse. That’s because you love that shit. You grew up on it, so it’s shit that you love. Like, when you was in the phase where you had your fuckin’ big gold ropes and shit.

Nas: Yeah, I’m total opposite of what you was listening to. [Laughs]

Tyler, the Creator: Yeah, but you grew up on EPMD and, like, Rakim. And shit where that’s what they did. And that’s what you grew up on, so that shit stuck with you and shit. But that’s, like, organic. Like, you love that shit. That shit makes you fuckin’ smile.

Nas: Right. And we share that culture with the world. When we do our records, it’s in us. Whatever you grew up on and whatever I grew up on, it’s in us, it’s a part of our culture, and we keep reproducing it. That’s a good thing. It keeps it alive. And we interpret it in new ways, which is nice.

FOR MORE OF TYLER, THE CREATOR'S INTERVIEW WITH NAS, GO TO PAGE 2

Tyler, the Creator: That shit’s cool. Like, I listen to some rock and shit. I like jazz, too. And I like rapping. So songs that I have might have fuckin’ hard-ass fuckin’ drums that make you wanna hit someone in the face. But then I have really pretty chords in the background, because of my jazz influence. But I like to rap, so I rap over the rock drums with the jazz influence and shit. And it shows people a different—people think I just listen to fuckin’ hip-hop.

Nas: I don’t get that from you. I get that you listen to everything.

Tyler, the Creator: Yeah, I listen to total other shit. And it’s cool I can bring people into a world of different music. Like, I’ve had so many kids come up saying they weren’t into hip-hop and they were only into punk rock but I kind of bridged the gap between that for both of them. Now they go back and listen to other music.

Nas: And they realize that punk rock and rap is really not that different.

Tyler, the Creator: The things that they’re seeing, the popular rap music that they see—which, I’m not one of those dudes, like, “Fuck mainstream,” or nothing—but whenever they turn on the radio, what they hear, they’re like, “This is the gayest shit that I ever fuckin’ heard in my life.” But I bridge the gap between, like, “Whoa, it’s not all like that.” I had one dude, like, “Yo, I fuckin’ love Ludacris now because you introduced me to the hip-hop world, and I was just being biased because of my punk-rock roots.” It feels cool to introduce other people to shit like that.

Nas: Definitely. There’s a new generation born every five minutes. You gotta keep your ear to the streets. That’s how I look at it, too. At the same time, I don’t really pay attention too much to what’s going on. I can’t take all the shit in. It’s overload.

Tyler, the Creator: Yeah, it’s too much. I don’t get on the Internet as much anymore. It drives me crazy.
The Internet is Satan.

Nas: Dude! I said the same thing! I hate Tumblr. You know what Tumblr is? I fuckin’ hate Tumblr! That shit is evil. I’ve seen that shit turn people crazy.

Tyler, the Creator: I don’t even know what that is.

Nas: Don’t. I’m all over that muthafucka, and it’s just—it’s some shit, man. It goes crazy. Because the Internet gives people who don’t have a voice a voice. And it just drives you fuckin’ crazy. Like, my Twitter, I get on there sometimes to promote shit and say whatever I feel. But I don’t check my mentions anymore, ’cause that shit drives me fuckin’ crazy.

Tyler, the Creator: No, I never look at it. I have a team that operates that shit for me. They’ll send me questions, and I answer them. That’s it. I was a prank caller when I was a young kid. You get that moment where it’s, Oh, I can just call anybody up and say whatever! This is before caller ID, before *69, all that shit. I look at the Internet as prank callers. You don’t know who they are. They’re having fun. Actually, I’m not mad at that.

Nas: That’s what the Internet is for, though. To drive you crazy.

Tyler, the Creator: You could do some good with the Internet, of course. But it’s, like, a man with horns. Not even a man—a dark force with horns—behind the whole shit.

Nas: Yeah, but it could do some good. It helped me out, for sure. But at times, that shit is, like, I can’t fuck with you. Nah, no way.

Tyler, the Creator: Yeah. “Hate Me Now” is one of my favorite videos. I like Belly a lot, too. Hype Williams is awesome. I just want to be a video director when I’m older, and, like, not really rapping as much anymore. And, like, those two really, like, the angles and just… It’s really cool.

Nas: Yeah, man. The Hype era was a muthafucka. He was a genius, man. He was before his time. And, like most directors, they’re nuts. He’s nuts in a good way. Crazy.

Tyler, the Creator: He was awesome. He was legit. When it comes to videos, those shits are reall important to me, ’cause that can make or break a song. Plus, it sucks when you, like, have a favorite song and then the video sucks. It’s like, Aw, fuck. Then when you hear the song, you’re like, Fuck, they have a shitty video for it. Shit like that is important for me. So I just wanted to tell you personally.

Nas: Aw, man, thanks. I’ve made some shitty videos to some shitty songs. It happens. So that happens, too. So I really appreciate you, bro.

Tyler, the Creator: Is there any song that you cringe when you listen to?

Nas: I would never tell. There’s plenty. There’s one thing where I say…“Blaze a 50”—a song I call “Blaze a 50.” It’s a story, and I say “Palm Springs.” I say, “I was at Palm Springs, at Al Capone’s suite.” I thought in Palm Springs there was a hotel and a suite that Al Capone always stayed at. I misread, or I was too high back then. But he had a home on Palm Island, in Florida. But “Palm” tripped me up. Palm Springs is the more famous, I think. So I cringe at that because I made that mistake. But fuck it. So what? Chalk it up to the blunts. The song is called “Blaze a 50.” Blaze a $50 bag of weed. So shit like that happens. But I don’t really cringe about it. I just won’t say it, so people don’t fuck with me about it. But it’s honestly you and your thoughts. So to you, you hear it now, and you say, Damn, I made a mistake. Nah, it’s the way you saw it. It’s just the way you saw it. It’s fresh from you. It’s nothing wrong with it, at the end of the day. It’s nothing wrong with it. It’s like an artist when he’s painting, and he doesn’t like what he did, and he wants to throw it away, so he starts a new canvas. That’s just the way you felt like expressing it that day. That’s it. So it’s nothing to beat yourself up about.

Tyler, the Creator: So, deep down inside, somewhere you still like it, ’cause you made it.

Nas: Exactly, man. You know, and you know what you meant by it. It’s what it is. It’s a little glitch.

Tyler, the Creator: That’s cool. Do you draw or anything?

Nas: I used to. I used to. And what fucked me up is in Michael Jackson’s Thriller album. Where he writes, he drew himself on the couch, watching television with the girl. He was an artist, too. And I thought it was more personal of him, rather than just have an album with liner notes and all of this stuff. And that’s it—it’s just perfect. No, he has his little sketches inside the sleeve, with the wax album. He drew some shit. I thought that was cool. So I think about drawing sometimes. It’s personal.

Tyler, the Creator: Are you into art? Or is there any artists that, like…

Nas: I’m not into it for the sake of just saying it. Like, everyone says they’re into Basquiat. I’m not.

Tyler, the Creator: Yeah, I’m not really into that stuff. Like, I have artists that I love. But I’m not, like, “Oh, shit, Warhol!” “Oh, Basquiat!” Or some other fuckin’ famous muthafucka that I wanna sound cool.

Nas: It’s cliché shit these days. Of course, they got great Warhol pieces, some great Basquiat pieces. I actually would like to own some Basquiat shit I saw. And I remember him when he was alive. I remember his name; I remember his work. So I am familiar with his shit. I do like his shit. Am I crazy about art? Yes. But am I crazy about going out to buy it, and all of that shit? No. I love it. I love the art world, I love art galleries, I love what it means—I love art. But do I wake up and say, I gotta have some art? Fuck, no.

Tyler, the Creator: That’s tight. I want a big-ass house so I can buy canvases…

Nas: Paint your own shit.

Tyler, the Creator: And just draw my own shit…

Nas: That’s what I wanna do.

Tyler, the Creator: You should fuckin’ do it.

Nas: Yeah, yeah.

Tyler, the Creator: Go get canvases and the three colors you like for the fuckin’ day—which would probably be orange, burgundy and a mixture between that shit: purple. And then fuckin’ just draw.

**FOR MORE OF THE TYLER, THE CREATOR INTERVIEW WITH NAS, PICK UP THE NOVEMBER 2011 ISSUE OF XXL, ON STANDS NOW**