Nas har senaste veckorna åter hamnat i blickfånget trots att det gått hela fem år sedan senaste albumreleasen. Efter att förra året arbetat hårt med numera nedlagda Netflix-serien “The Get Down” kunde han i april månad bekräfta att ett nytt album äntligen kommer under 2017. Nyligen kom även uppgifter i amerikanska medier att Nas dejtar Nicki Minaj, något hon delvis bekräftade vid en intervju med Ellen DeGeneres.
På tisdagen kom nyheten att Nas drar ut på en omfattande USA-turné med Lauryn Hill (se datum nedan) och senare publicerade Nas även ett öppet brev med titeln “Action Speaks Louder Than Words”, via Mass Appeal där han kommenterar politik, Donald Trump och rasism. Läs utdrag här:
The Creator put us here to do our thing, so I do my thing. And I don’t pay attention to politics at the moment. For what? There’s no reason. For me, it doesn’t make any sense. We all know a racist is in office. People can talk their shit. Comedians can sound racist. People can go through their moments of that shit, but when you have the responsibility of being President and you carry on like that, you send a strong message to people outside of your group that they ain’t worth shit.
So why would I focus on that unless I’m in the political game? Unless I’m running for office I don’t have to pay attention to know that. If I ever vote again—when it’s time to vote again, and I feel like voting again—I don’t have to follow the news to know who I’m voting against. But then you wind up saying “Who’s the next motherfucker coming in, and how does that help?”
My way of addressing these issues is through my work. Whatever president may be in office doesn’t affect my work directly. The way he affects people is what affects me. I observe what’s going on and that goes into my creative process. The person himself, I’m not caught up with. I don’t even have time for Trump or Pence. I don’t give a fuck.
My focus is on what’s happening with real people in their everyday lives. How they behave, the decisions they make, and how that affects families. I grew up in a single-parent household, so I was affected by that life. But it didn’t stop me. So I speak to the everyday people. I speak to everybody. If the people are bothered by it, I speak on it. If the people are bothered and want change, I speak on that.”
Nas + Lauryn Hill-turné 2017:
Sept 7 – ^Chicago, IL @ Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
Sept 8 – ^Sterling Heights, MI @ Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill
Sept 10 – ^Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage
Sept 12 – ^Boston, MA @ Blue Hills Bank Pavilion
Sept 14 – +Camden, NJ @ BB&T Pavilion
Sept 15 – +Bristow, VA @ Jiffy Lube Live
Sept 20 – ^Raleigh, NC @ Red Hat Amphitheater
Sept 22 – +Miami, FL @ Bayfront Park Amphitheater
Sept 23 – ^Jacksonville, FL @ Daily’s Place
Sept 27 – ^Houston, TX @ Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land
Sept 28 – ^Dallas, TX @ The Pavilion at Irving Music Factory*
Sept 30 – ^Austin, TX @ Austin360 Amphitheater
Oct 3 – +San Diego, CA @ Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre at SDSU
Oct 5 – ^Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl
Oct 7 – +Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
Oct 10 – +Seattle, WA @ WaMu Theater
Oct 11 – ^Vancouver, BC @ Pacific Coliseum
^with Chronixx
+with Hannibal Buress and Chronixx
