You might know her as a radio personally on Hot 97 FM, or even know her blog (missinfo.tv), but I bet you would never guess that she was writing reviews for The Source Magazine as far back as the early 90s. Using the pen name, Shortie, she was responsible for reviewing, and awarding Nas 5 mics for his debut album, Illmatic. In this recent interview with NPR, she was asked by Frannie Kelly about the first she heard Nas.
At the time I was a Stretch and Bobbito fanatic, so I would stay up — I believe it was on Thursday nights, three o'clock in the morning, and listen to college radio 89 Tech 9. I'm sure Columbia University was not happy that that was the name of the show, but it was a college radio show done by two guys who were not at college. Stretch and Bob, along with their cast of characters, they would talk a lot, they would make fun of each other a lot, but in-between that, there were these gems. Songs that you could never hear anywhere else, freestyles that you would never get anywhere else. I remember them playing the early Nas songs which were "Live at the Barbeque" and "Back to the Grill Again" and "Halftime," which was off a movie soundtrack for a movie that no one had ever seen — and no one has seen since — calledZebrahead.
At the time I was a Stretch and Bobbito fanatic, so I would stay up — I believe it was on Thursday nights, three o'clock in the morning, and listen to college radio 89 Tech 9. I'm sure Columbia University was not happy that that was the name of the show, but it was a college radio show done by two guys who were not at college. Stretch and Bob, along with their cast of characters, they would talk a lot, they would make fun of each other a lot, but in-between that, there were these gems. Songs that you could never hear anywhere else, freestyles that you would never get anywhere else. I remember them playing the early Nas songs which were "Live at the Barbeque" and "Back to the Grill Again" and "Halftime," which was off a movie soundtrack for a movie that no one had ever seen — and no one has seen since — calledZebrahead.
That show was known for lyrics. There were MCs going up there and spitting bars and bars and bars. But I don't think that there was anybody listening who didn't stop everything that they were doing or thinking and just pay attention to that little box on their desk with the antenna that they were probably holding just so, to get the right frequency. It was like it cut through the air. So this was Nas' voice — and you didn't really know who Nas was. He was rapper Nas, he was Nasty Nas, he was Nasir. And it just sounded so different but familiar at the same time.
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