I had a conversation with a co-worker earlier about why he didn't like rap. His exact words were:"I had a thought the other day about rap music and why it generally doesn't appeal to me. It's an extension of things I've said before, but I think it's an important one: I can't recall that I've ever heard rap music tell a story in the third person, or even in the first person but with a bit of humility thrown in instead of arrogance."This really came as no surprise because he really only hears what's mainstream now and what was mainstream around the time Snoop and Dr. Dre were killing it in the early/mid 90s. So he loves Snoop and Dre nostalgically and he finds contemporary rappers unauthentic and arrogant.
I was glad he made that point to me because it forced me to think about who was a creative hip-hop storyteller. Immediately NaS came to mind. So I forwarded him the songs below:
1. Rewind
2. I Gave You Power
3. Sekou Story
4. Undying Love
5. Unauthorized Biography of Rakim
There are more, but I was too lazy to dig them up...You can listen for yourself below. I think there are pretty good examples of one rapper (and there are definitely more) that has a penchant for telling stories creatively.
NaS is definitely one of the most creative rappers who has managed to stay relevant for most of his career and straddle the mainstream/street line pretty well. I think you would be hard-pressed to find a hip-hop fan (that is not Jay-Z STAN) that does not like NaSiR Jones.
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