Even though they had a highly publicized beef in the early 2000s, Jay Z was, and still is a big Nas fan. In fact, it was because of the admiration he had for Nas that pushed Jay Z to start throwing subliminal shots at Nas. Jay Z sampled Nas on his first single off Reasonable Doubt, on a song titled Dead Presidents 2. He invited Nas to come in and rap his part over, an also appear in the video, but Nas didn't show up. Even though Jay Z sampled him again on his second album, thinking Nas would reach out one way or the other, Nas never did return the shout-out or try to do songs with them. That would definitely hurt any grown man's ego, and the subliminal shots started flying from both rappers, which eventually lead to the two heavyweights throwing directs shots at each other in 2001, with songs like Takeover, Ether, Supa Ugly, etc.
People might find it hard to believe Jay Z is a Nas fan because he is obviously way richer than Nas today. But that wasn't always the case. When Jay Z was struggling to sell 500k copies with his debut album, Reasonable Doubt in 1996, Nas dropped his second album (It Was Written) the same year, and sold over 2 million copies in less than 3 months.
Nas released his first album, Illmatic in 1994, and got critical acclaim for it, receiving 5 mic rating from The Source magazine. At the time, Jay Z was still running around trying to get a deal. I say all that to say this; for many years before he became the Jay Z we know today, Jay Z looked up to Nas and his various accomplishments.
Now, I am going to proceed to list 5 reasons why I think Jay Z is a big Nas fan.
1. Jay Z Sampled Nas' Voice on his First Ever Single (Dead Presidents 2)
The first official single from Jay Z is titled Dead President 2, and it sampled Nas' voice. This was his first single from his first album, Reasonable Doubt, introducing him to the world, and he sampled Nas' vocals from The World is Yours (Illmatic). This is a clear indication that he is a Nas fan.
2. Jay Z Sampled Nas Twice
If you sample someone once, it can be overlooked, but when you do it twice, it is very clear that you are a huge fan of that person. Jay Z not only sampled Nas on Dead Presidents 2, he also sampled Nas on his second album (In My Lifetime), on a song titled Rap Game/Crack Game.
From the screenshot below, you can see that Nas is credited as a writer on both songs (because Jay Z used/sampled his vocals).
3. Jay Z Starts Messing with Nas Baby Mama
Now, this is where it gets a little creepy. Nas had a baby by his then girlfriend, Carmen at a young age of 20. Over time, they grew apart, and who starts messing with her when things between her and Nas get rocky? That's right, Jay Z. He even bragged about sleeping with her on Takeover and Supa Ugly.
In an interview from a few years back, Carmen (Nas' baby mama) said she was pregnant with Jay Z's baby at a point. That would have really been weird if Nas and Jay Z, two of the greatest rappers of all time, had a baby by the same woman.
4. Jay Z Kept Namedropping Nas in His Songs
Jay Z mentioned Nas name in his songs multiple times before the beef, and even after the beef ended. Even a couple of years ago, on a song with Beyonce, he still mentioned Nas. That's a real fan right there.
Some of the songs where he namedrops Nas are...
*Can't Knock the Hustle (1996)
"Me and my fam stay tight like the firm."
The Firm was Nas' rap group, which consisted of Nas, AZ, Foxy Brown, Nature, and an original member, Cormega.
*Where I'm From (1997)
On this song, he rapped, "I'm from where n*ggas pull your card, and argue all day about who's the best MC's, Biggie, Jay Z, or Nas."
*Sunshine (1997)
"A thing of beauty, watch me, body crazy, tits Firm like Nature, Foxy, Nas, and AZ."
*A Star is Born (2009)
"I had the Illmatic on Bootleg, the sh*t was so ahead, thought we was all dead."
In the lyrics above, Jay Z is referring to being blown away after hearing Nas' debut album, Illmatic in 1994.
*Mood 4 Eva (2019)
"I be feeling like Prince in '84, Mike in '79, Biggie in '97, '94 Nas."
5. Jay Z Copies Nas' Company Name
In 2014, Nas started a venture capital firm, QueensBridge Venture Partners, named after the projects he grew up in. In 2018, Jay Z started a venture capital firm, Marcy Venture Partners, named after the projects he grew up in. He could have
It is clear to any logical thinking person that Jay Z was, and still is a big Nas fan.
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