Nas is a hip-hop purist at heart. The idea of going mainstream and becoming a fixture on radio was never appealing to the Queens legend. Instead, he was all about hip-hop in its purest expression, something that never made sense alongside pop hits on music video countdowns. Consequently, when he did have a big hit, it would usually be on his terms.
That’s what made “If I Ruled The World” with Lauryn Hill such a hard sell for him. For a while, he saw it as far too shiny, feeling like it detracted from the rest of It Was Written. In a 2016 retrospective from Complex, Poke and Tone of The Trackmasters recalled working with Nas on his classic sophomore effort. At the time, “If I Ruled The World” was the first song they played for him. Admittedly, the Illmatic MC wasn’t feeling it.
“He was definitely resistant. The thing about Nas is, he’s pure hip-hop,” Poke explained. “We were trying to cross him over, trying to give him a broader appeal in the marketplace. He got flak for that because everybody was saying that we were trying to water him down. So when we played him the record, he was like, ‘I don’t know.’”
Nas Almost Didn’t Record “If I Ruled The World” With Lauryn Hill
Because he was initially squeamish about “If I Ruled The World”, The Trackmasters switched strategies. They knew that he would immediately fall for harder records on the album. That way, easing him into more mainstream sounds would be a lot easier. After a while, Nas grew incredibly comfortable, and It Was Written blossomed from there.
“It was kind of like a spoon-fed system to get him comfortable with the strategy that we had and put him out there. After three or four records, he was like, ‘We’re in the zone, right now. Let’s get busy,’” Poke continued.
When it came time to find a singer for the hook on “If I Ruled The World”, they knew they couldn’t sneak a pop singer past Nas. They figured R. Kelly would fit the bill, but they hadn’t created a working relationship with him yet. With “Killing Me Softly” by the Fugees taking off, Nas ended up making the call.
“The Fugees were label mates and friends of mine who used to open up for me in the beginning. I opened up for them once they made The Score. I called Lauryn Hill up, like ‘Yo, can you rap this out?’” he recalled.
The post Why Nas Initially Didn’t Want to Record One of the Biggest Hits of His Career 30 Years Ago: ‘He Was Definitely Resistant’ appeared first on VICE.
