The Daily Show With Trevor Noah doesn’t yet have a reputation as a go-to stop for hip-hop artists with albums to promote, but it’s certainly become a place for insightful, enthusiastic reviews from a bonafide hip-hop head in Trevor Noah. Last night, Nas, who is promoting his new Hit-Boy-produced album King’s Disease III, sat down with the South African host to talk about the new album and his longevity in the rap business, and to offer some advice to aspiring rappers who look up to him.
“Artists don’t think they can go past one way, or we have to be all in one area trying to fight for crumbs,” he observes. “Hip-hop’s a multi-sound genre. In rock, you don’t compare Kiss to The Rolling Stones. But in hip-hop, for some reason, we’re fighting for the same thing and you feel like you have to be the number one guy all the time… I think that we should all, as writers, get out of your comfort zone and spread your wings and expand with your sound.”
That’s pretty sound advice, and it’s seemingly worked for Nas with the King’s Disease albums, which buoyed his career after lackluster final efforts on Def Jam. Now, he’s running his own label, Mass Appeal, and despite what 21 Savage appears to believe, he seems to be just as relevant as ever, standing out as one of the few early pioneers of the genre to still be making an impact 30 years later.
You can watch Nas’ full interview with Trevor Noah above.