It's foul what this money could do, cash corrupts the loyal.
NasRead
Hip-hop is the streets. Hip-hop is a couple of elements that it comes from back in the days... that feel of music with urgency that speaks to you. It speaks to your livelihood and it's not compromised. It's blunt. It's raw, straight off the street - from the beat to the voice to the words.
Interpretation
Hip-hop is an authentic and urgent expression of life derived from the streets.
In this quote, Nas emphasizes the essence of hip-hop as a cultural movement that originates from the streets and is characterized by its raw and unfiltered nature. He highlights how the music captures the urgency of life experiences, resonating with listeners on a personal level and reflecting genuine emotions without compromise.
In practice
During a music seminar discussing street culture and its influences on hip-hop.
It's foul what this money could do, cash corrupts the loyal.
It's a thin line between paper and hate,_x000D_ _x000D_ Friends and snakes, nine millis and thirty-eights,_x000D_ _x000D_ Hell or the pearly gates...I was destined to come,_x000D_ _x000D_ Predicted, blame God, He blew breath in my lungs.
I pledge allegiance to the fair and balanced truth._x000D_ _x000D_ Not the biased truth,_x000D_ _x000D_ Not the liest truth,_x000D_ _x000D_ But the highest truth.
Every time I get in the studio, I feel like I wanna have some fun. My fun is not doing the easy work. My fun is doing what's me.
If you scared to take chances, you'll never have the answers...
I don't respect killers, I respect O.G. knowledge,_x000D_ _x000D_ Codes of the streets got new rules, but no guidance._x000D_ _x000D_ Lessons, detrimental to a young disciple;_x000D_ _x000D_ Folks, take care of your brothers, niggas do as I do._x000D_ _x000D_ Keep your enemies close, where they can see you._x000D_ _x000D_ It's not your enemy who get you, it's always your own people.
I'd write of people and places like I knew, and I'd make my characters talk everyday English; and I'd let the sun rise and set in the usual quiet way without much fuss over the fact. If I had to have villains at all, I'd give them a chance, Anne--I'd give them a chance. There are some terrible bad men the world, I suppose, but you'd have to go a long piece to find them...But most of us have got a little decency somewhere in us. Keep on writing, Anne.
Lately I've been struck with how I really love what you can't see in a photograph. An actual physical darkness. And it's very thrilling for me to see darkness again.
Once I get onstage the tension explodes and I'm fine. I'm in another world - in a trance almost, doing what I love best, expressing myself through guitar.
It's more like you write what comes to you... You try to reflect the mood of the songs. Take 'Rearviewmirror', we start off with the music and it kinds of propels the lyrics. It made me feel like I was in a car, leaving something, a bad situation. There's an emotion there. I remembered all the times I wanted to leave.
The main reason for rewriting is not to achieve a smooth surface, but to discover the inner truth of your characters.
No person who is not a great sculptor or painter can be an architect. If he is not a sculptor or painter, he can only be a builder.
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