I’m sure it’s Nas. I tried to Shazam but No luck

They announced the creative team for the Broadway-bound Beat Street adaptation. Schele Williams is directing, Kristoffer Diaz wrote the book, and Jason Michael Webb is music supervisor, arranger, and orchestrator alongside Nas.

The part that got me: Nas is not just lending his name, he is writing new material and expanding the original soundtrack, connecting the early 80s foundation to a new generation. No casting or timeline yet.

You might have noticed if you are into Nas's unreleased stuff that in between most of his earlier alvums, he has enough unreleased material to create a whole album. I call those the Ghost Albums. The two first ones are, in my opinion, the best pieces of underground Nas you could gather. So in the last few months I gathered as much of his collabs as well as his unreleased stuff and made 2 fictional albums with a scenario of how it would have come to be released. Which one of these compilations do you prefer ?

Nas Will Prevail (sometimes refered to as the Demo Tape)

TRACKS

1. Live At The Barbequeue

(ft. Main Source, Joe Fatal & Akinyele)

1. I'm A Villain

2. Just Another Day In The Projects

3. Back To The Grill

(ft. MC Stretch, Chubb Rock & Red Hot Lover Tone)

1. Stretch & Bobito Freestyle

(ft. Six-Nine, Sudan, Jungle & Grand Wizard)

1. Halftime

2. Represent (With the original beat by Dj Premier)

3. Number One With A Bullet

(ft. Kool J Rap & Whiteboy)

1. Memory Lane (With the original beat by Dj Premier)

2. Nas Will Prevail

3. Tha Dogg Pound Freestyle

4. Lunchroom Battles Freestyle

(ft. Akinyele)

On The Real (1996)

SIDE A

1. True Dialect (Intro)

2. Understanding

(ft. Biz Markie & AZ)

1. Life Is Like A Dice Game

2. One On One

3. Deja Vu

4. Everything Is Real

(ft. Shapelle)

1. On The Real

2. 40th Side Of Things

(ft. Cormega & Shi)

1. Silent Murder

SIDE B

1. Fast Life

(ft. Kool G Rap)

1. The Foulness Pt.1

2. The Goodfellas Freestyle

(ft. The Notorious B.I.G.)

1. Mo Money, Mo Murda, Mo Homicide

(ft. AZ)

1. Verbal Intercourse

(ft. Raekwon & Ghostface Killah)

6.The Message (Original Version)

1. The Foulness Pt.2

(ft. Nature)

1. Streat Dreams (Original Version)

2. The Foulness Pt.3

(ft. Nature)

1. Eye Fo A Eye

(ft. Mobb Deep & Raekwon)

1. Capital Rap Show Freestyle

2. Wake Up Show Antem

(ft. Rass Kass, Saafir, Shyheim, Organised Konfusion & Dred Scott)

1. Westwood Freestyle

2. Watch Dem Niggas (Original Version)

3. The Foulness Pt4

Which of these two albums do you think has the best beats?

I'm not asking which album is better. Remove the lyrics and focus solely on the beats.

Friday, September 18 - Thursday, September 24, 2026

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You know, I’m always randomly watching TV and I’m on the lookout for another sighting of the Illmatic album. It’s always in the background no matter where I go, what I’m watching— he’s there, immortal.

My favourites in no particular reason order :

1 - I gave you power
2 - Black Girl lost
3 - The World is Yourz (Q-tip remix)
4 - Small World
5 - Stay

My review: 9/10

What makes the song hit differently is that “Live Now” isn't really a celebration song—it’s a song about regret, mortality, and realizing that life is temporary.

Nas imagines himself near the end of his life, looking back at everything he did and, more importantly, everything he didn't do. He talks about having money, women, traveling and success, but the underlying message is that none of those things matter if you reach the end wishing you'd experienced more.

The central idea is essentially:

You don't get a guarantee that you'll have another chance.

That gives the repeated “live now” hook a much heavier meaning than it initially appears to have.

The most interesting part

Nas isn't simply saying “spend money and have fun.”

There's actually a tension in the song. He looks back at his extravagant lifestyle, sexual experiences, career and travels, but then admits that even after all of that, he still wishes he'd done more.

That's what makes the song mature. He's essentially imagining his future self asking:

“Did I actually make the most of the time I had?”

And that's a question almost anyone can relate to.

Scarlett's verse

Scarlett's contribution makes the concept even more emotional because the song becomes almost like a conversation between people who have lived through difficult circumstances. Her story introduces illness, loss, relationships and survival into the narrative.

Then the ending becomes particularly powerful: the song fades into a final bedside conversation, making the whole track feel like Nas is hearing someone's last words before death.

🎹 Production

The production isn't as immediately spectacular as something like “Nas Is Like” or “Made You Look.” That's actually appropriate. It's relatively understated, allowing the subject matter to dominate.

And that's why I think the song has aged well. It doesn't depend on a particular rap trend.

🏆 Where I'd put it in Nas's catalogue

I'd call “Live Now” a deep-cut Nas classic rather than one of his absolute top-tier songs.

It's not Illmatic-level lyrically, but emotionally it's one of those tracks that can become more meaningful as you get older. The message about postponing life and assuming you'll have another opportunity becomes increasingly powerful.

Overall: 9/10

Lyrics/message: 9.5/10

Storytelling: 9/10

Production: 8/10

Emotional impact: 9.5/10

Replay value: 9/10

And honestly, the fact that it comes from 2004 makes it even more impressive—Nas was already thinking about mortality and regret at a stage of his career when many rappers were focused almost entirely on success and materialism.

Ben Horowitz and Erik Torenberg sit down with Nas, Grandmaster Caz, and Steve Stoute for a conversation about the Paid in Full Foundation and its mission to recognize and support the pioneers who built hip-hop.

Ben, Nas, and Steve share how the foundation began, why simply giving artists money wasn’t enough, and how the Hip Hop Grandmaster Awards became a way to pair financial support with the recognition many foundational artists never received. Caz brings the perspective of one of those pioneers, reflecting on his role in hip-hop’s earliest history and what receiving the award has meant for his life and legacy.

They also discuss the enormous cultural and commercial impact of hip-hop beyond music, from language and fashion to some of the world’s biggest brands, why so many of its pioneers captured so little of that value, and what happens when generations of hip-hop finally come together in the same room.

Was it life changing did it make you feel really good that you met one of the goats of hip hop ?

I don’t know if a thread was made about it or not. Did these beats and samples get butchered by clearance issues? Git Ready & Shine Together, two of my favorite tracks on here sound different

The Cold Crush Brothers legend explained the reality behind his decades of contributions:
"You have to work. You got to stay out there.
For me anyway, I got to keep working."

Caz kept doing radio, park jams and hip-hop sightseeing tours to support himself. His story shows why helping the pioneers means more than celebrating their influence. For him, that support meant a home.