21 Savage calls Nas irrelevant:
“I don’t feel like he’s relevant. I just feel like he got a fanbase & he makes good music.”
At first, the conversation surrounded Nas’ contributions to the culture. However, as the rapper and his cohorts discussed relevancy in the culture, the conversation led to controversial commentary on Nas’s status in hip-hop. Though he’s considered a titan with one of the strongest pen’s in the history of the genre, the Her Loss rapper suggested that God’s Son wasn’t relevant..
“I don’t feel like he’s relevant,” he said over the call. “I just feel like he got a loyal fan base. He still makes good music.” The comment then prompted the co-host to ask 21 to define relevance. “Mostly connected or appropriate to what’s being done to be considered,” he then said in response.
Though many began pushing back against what 21 was saying, another participant compared the reception to King’s Disease III to Jay-Z’s verse on “God Did.” The Hov verse had the internet in shambles while Nas’s King’s Disease III didn’t necessarily have the same impact. Nonetheless, the latest release from Nasir Jones proves that he’s still a master of his craft with plenty of things to say, nearly 30 years after the release of his debut album, Illmatic.
Of course, one could argue that Southern bias is to blame for 21 Savage’s comments or the fact that he’s coming off of the highest-selling rap album of 2022, Her Loss. His new collaborative effort with Drake shot to the top of the Billboard 200 with 404K units — an impressive feat for both the Toronto superstar and the Atlanta rapper.
Still, fans believe that 21 Savage might be gassed up due to the recent successes.
21 Savage was on club house talking about how Nas is not relevant… I swear this album he did with Drake is going straight to his crooked ass nose. As some of the participants brought up veteran rap icon Nas’ “relevance,” 21 — (who’s 30 years old and wasn’t even born yet when Nas made his debut in 1991 on Main Source’s “Live At The Barbecue”) had this to say: “I don’t feel like he’s relevant, he just has a loyal ass fanbase and he still makes good-ass music.” While the clip that has been circulating on Twitter doesn’t have much context, it’s probably fair to guess that Savage, whose own album just debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, is likely referring to the elder rapper’s chart impact..
Is 21 Savage right or wrong? I guess it all depends on how you look at it.
For reference, the first King’s Disease, released in 2020, won a Grammy and debuted at No. 5 on the B200, but only one of its songs charted on the Hot 100. Its follow-up, released a year later, sold 9,000 more units and landed at No. 3. This is impressive considering these were indie releases with little promotion, but given Nas has five No. 1 albums to his name (six, including The Firm album), this is something of a decline from his heyday. Fortunately, a loyal fanbase is all one needs to have an impact these days thanks to streaming and direct sales.
Nas is also something of a media mainstay, appearing in commercials for Hennessey and Nike that make use of his legacy as a hip-hop pioneer. But it’s not like he’s going viral on TikTok — which is where “the kids” do much of their music discovery and share their interests. It’s an interesting conundrum and not one that’s likely to be resolved anytime soon. While old-school hip-hop fans probably won’t take kindly to Savage’s comments, there are undoubtedly plenty of younger fans who will agree. As for Nas himself, he’s probably doing just fine either way as he keeps proving his impact and boasts on his new album that he’ll probably have 16-year-old fans in his sixties.
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