What was it like to be accepted by the mainstream via the film fest, moderator Gayle King asked Nasir Jones about his up-coming documentary, Time Is Illmatic making its debut during April’s TriBeCa Film Festival.
Last evening, the Tanning Of America: One Nation Under Hip-Hop premiere took place and along with King were panelists Nas, Al Sharpton, Fab 5 Freddy, Daymond John and Steve Stoute, author of he Tanning Of America: How Hip-Hop Created A Culture That Rewrote The Rules Of The New Economy.
While Sharpten thinks that mainstream fell upon Nas, Nas doesn’t doesn’t think that he’a mainstream at all.
“Nas never wanted to go mainstream,” Sharpton said during the discussion. “Instead, the mainstream went to Nas.” Find out the “Nasty” rapper’s response to the question, after the jump.
“I don’t see myself as the most mainstream around, I just see myself as, I’ve been around,” Nas said. So, a veteran? “I wanted to see what it was like…I definitely stepped into the mainstream stage for a little while, partied and had a good time, and then I went back to what I was doing.”
If Nas was mainstream, his career would have excelled beyond its current state. I see Grammy’s and Billionaire status if he was, but that’s just me.
Nas is like…mainstream, ME?!
