J. Cole Says Nas Approves of ‘Let Nas Down’
J. Cole's Born Sinner features some very personal moments for the North Carolina emcee. One of those moments is the song called "Let Nas Down," where Cole talks about how Nas was disappointed with "Work Out," the lead single off his debut Cole World: A Sideline Story. According to the story, a few days after "Work Out" came out, No I.D. called J. Cole to inform him that Nas had heard the song and was not feeling it at all, expecting more out of him. Cole uses "Let Nas Down" to express the emotions that ran through his mind when he found out about Nas's critique, saying "Long live the idols may they never be your rivals."
In an interview with BET, J. Cole reveals that Nas got to listen to the song addressing him less than a week after it was recorded in 2012. Apparently, Cole bumped into Nas at an airport in Houston, with both emcees on first class of the same flight. According to Cole, Nas listened to the track and thoroughly enjoyed it, validating it and putting his stamp of approval on it. At least that's one less controversy Cole will have to deal with as he promotes "Born Sinner."
Last night, Cole took to Twitter to unleash a rant where he called out publications for their reviews and attempted album sales projections, and shortlisted a few artists who he believes are "saving hip-hop." This list includes Drake, Jay-Z, Chance The Rapper, Kendrick Lamar, and Ab-Soul. Nas has yet to comment on the song publicly.