The Big L project, which dropped Oct. 31, features unearthed lyrics from the Diggin\u2019 In the Crates crew standout who was killed in a drive-by shooting at the age of 24 on Feb. 15, 1999. In addition to the aforementioned Nas feature, there are also newly recorded bars from Method Man<\/a> and Joey Bada$$<\/a>, a throwback \u201890s Jay-Z freestyle<\/a>, and an appearance by hardcore Big L fan and late multi-hyphenated artist Mac Miller<\/a>. <\/p>\n The collection is part of Mass Appeal\u2019s Legend Has It<\/a> series, which kicked off last June with the surprise full-length album return of rap icon Slick Rick (Victory), the British-born lyricist\u2019s first LP in 26 years, since his 1999 release The Art of Storytelling. Along with MC Ricky D and Big L, the Legend Has It roster includes acclaimed Wu-Tang Clan spitters Raekwon (The Emperor\u2019s New Clothes) and Ghostface Killah (Supreme Clientele 2) and the return of Mobb Deep (Infinite), headlined by the posthumous (and heavy!) vocals of rhyme behemoth Prodigy.<\/p>\n There\u2019s also De La Soul\u2019s Cabin in the Sky (out now), the first official album from the seminal group following the 2023 death of beloved member Dave \u201cTrugoy the Dove\u201d Jolicoeur. The release, which features appearances by Killer Mike, Nas, Common, Black Thought and Q-Tip, is led by the Pete Rock-produced single \u201cThe Package<\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cWe gotta do this for Dave\u2026 the project is for him and for us,\u201d Posdnuos explained during a recent interview on The Breakfast Club. \u201cWe\u2019re doing this album with him rhyming from heaven.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Last up? Nas is reportedly finishing his long-in-the-making collaboration with pioneering Gang Starr producer DJ Premier. It\u2019s due out in December. <\/p>\n The Legend Has It series is an ambitious statement, for sure. It\u2019s an exclamation point in a year that has seen a run of albums by grizzled hip-hop vets, as detailed in our Ghostface feature<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cNas is lowkey,\u201d Ghostface said of his friend who has seemingly been on a one-man mission to elevate hip-hop\u2019s oftentimes unsung contributors. \u201cJust to have him be right by my side and to be supported lets me know that I\u2019m in the right space where I need to be.\u201d<\/p>\n Shareif Ziyadat\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Yet back in 2006, Nas, who took lyricism to new heights with such acclaimed albums as his landmark 1994 debut Illmatic, and multiplatinum followups It Was Written (1996); I Am\u2026 (1999); and Stillmatic (2001), was viewed by many as a polarizing figure. The celebrated MC-turned-Wall Street investor received push back from some of his peers, particularly the Southern rap contingent, after declaring that hip-hop was dead. Young Jeezy bristled at the notion.<\/p>\n \u201cWho is [Nas] to say hip-hop is dead?\u201d the Atlanta rapper said in a contentious radio<\/a> interview with Monie Love. Of course, that\u2019s all water under the proverbial bridge for the respected rap statesman who would go on to appear on Jeezy\u2019s classic 2008 Barack Obama shout-out \u201cMy President.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re all one hip-hop family,\u201d Nas said at a packed Oct. 15 event for the Hip-Hop Museum<\/a> in Manhattan, where he pledged $1 million to the Bronx site. The figure was matched by Resorts World New York City (in September the Nas-backed casino won a $5.5 billion bid to build a Vegas-style gambling and entertainment hub in Queens) to assist in the museum\u2019s on-going construction.<\/p>\n That same month, Nas\u2019 co-founded Paid In Full Foundation<\/a> held its third annual Hip-Hop Grandmaster Awards gala in Las Vegas, headlined by honorees Kool G Rap and Grand Puba. It also honored inaugural Quincy Jones Award winner, Parliament-Funkadelic mastermind George Clinton. Recipients, which have included Scarface, Roxanne Shant\u00e9, and Rakim, receive $500,000 in acknowledgement for their musical and cultural contributions. <\/p>\n But if watching venture capitalist Nas and his billionaire supporters cut big checks isn\u2019t your thing, perhaps Dr. Funkenstein\u2019s and the Microphone Fiend\u2019s viral impromptu rendition<\/a> of Rakim\u2019s 1988 classic \u201cFollow The Leader\u201d will get you hyped.<\/p>\n Nas\u2019 barnstorming Legend Has It feature verses on Slick Rick (\u201cDocuments<\/a>\u201c), Raekwon (\u201cThe Omerta<\/a>\u201c), and Mobb Deep\u2019s (\u201cDown For You<\/a>\u201c) albums continue his rejuvenated run. \u201cI hold your skull with my fingers in your eye sockets\/I won\u2019t even snitch to God, I\u2019ma die solid. \u2026\u201d Nas boasts, matching Big L\u2019s sneering energy on \u201cu aint gotta chance<\/a>.\u201d This does not sound like a man who has grown soft hobnobbing with corporate titans.<\/p>\n \u201cThe music I listen to mostly is you (Havoc), it\u2019s Raekwon. It\u2019s Ghostface, it\u2019s Slick Rick, it\u2019s De La, it\u2019s Big L, it\u2019s Biggie, it\u2019s Pac\u2026and on and on,\u201d Nas said in an interview<\/a> with Havoc of Mobb Deep. \u201cSo that\u2019s just a natural thing, for me to wanna rock with my guys. So it was not really that deep of a thought. It was more about how to make it happen\u2026 can it happen? Because this would be like a dream.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n For Havoc, the pairing of the two Queens luminaries was kismet. \u201cIn my mind, I asked who could I trust this project with?\u201d he told Andscape, recalling the arduous task he and studio collaborator Alchemist faced in finding the best home for Mobb Deep\u2019s first studio album since 2014\u2019s The Infamous Mobb Deep.\u00a0<\/p>\n Havoc takes his role as a staunch preserver of the legacy of Mobb and his late partner-in-rhyme Prodigy very seriously. \u201cThere were a few labels out there that offered deals to work with us,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I said, \u2018Why would I do that when I got Nas right here?\u2019 He\u2019s in position. Working with him was like working with a brother. I trust Nas with this project.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIncredible!\u201d Slick Rick told me when asked to describe what it has been like having the Illmatic MC in his corner. \u201cNas is a kind spirit,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n In this cut-the-check era, such flowery talk can easily be construed as brazen back slapping. But there\u2019s a welcomed sincerity that permeates throughout the Legend Has It project, even when it comes to its brazen promotional push.<\/p>\n Last September, Mass Appeal announced a partnership with Marvel Comics for an exclusive, limited edition comic book series<\/a> celebrating the hip-hop immortals. Indeed, it\u2019s not every day you get to see rap greats share the same universe as Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Hulk and Black Panther.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cArtists, in a sense, are superheroes because they help people get through tough times,\u201d Nas said of the theme behind the team-up in an Oct. 7 Rolling Stone chat. \u201cThey lift people up. It\u2019s the music in the gym when people are becoming superheroes. \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Havoc is downright giddy. \u201cIt made me feel like a kid again,\u201d he mused. \u201cThe 7-year-old me never thought that I would have my own comic book. Never in a million years.\u201d <\/p>\n Yet such high profile cross-branding would come off as a nostalgic cash grab if the artists didn\u2019t care. <\/p>\n \u201cEverything about my visual album Victory began with Idris Elba in London. \u2026 [He] created a safe space for me to step back into my artistry,\u201d Slick Rick said of his surprising collaboration with the British thespian and longtime DJ.<\/p>\n It\u2019s quite inspiring watching Slick Rick, 60, stare down father time in an artform that has been quick to discard its vets. <\/p>\n \u201cWe all grew up taking a few pages from your book so to be on a song [with you] was an honor,\u201d Nas said<\/a> in a June sit-down with Slick Rick at the Tribeca Film Festival (Victory was accompanied by a short film shot in the United States, the U.K. and Africa and starring Slick Rick, Elba, Nas, and British rapper Giggs).<\/p>\n For Nas and countless other artists, fans and serious hip-hop heads that came of age listening to the charismatic, eye-patch-rocking, jeweled-out MC, Slick Rick just as well may have been a real-life superhero. Not only did he look cool<\/a>, Rick added layered, cinematic weight to hip-hop storytelling, influencing everyone from Snoop Dogg<\/a> and OutKast<\/a> to Kendrick Lamar<\/a> and Doechii<\/a>.<\/p>\n Yet even before he dropped his 1988 platinum solo opus, The Great Adventures of Slick Rick, anchored by the classic single \u201cChildren\u2019s Story<\/a>,\u201d Richard Martin Lloyd Walters was already among rap\u2019s earliest mainstream acts. He\u2019s a storied lyricist who celebrated the 40th anniversary of his seminal hit \u201cLa Di Da Di<\/a>,\u201d a collaboration with Doug E. Fresh and the Get Fresh Crew.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you\u2019re young and creating from a place of purity, you\u2019re not thinking 10, 20, or 40 years ahead, you\u2019re living in the moment,\u201d Slick Rick recalled of those early days. \u201cDoug and I were just teenagers in the mid-\u201980s, caught up in the joy of the now. That\u2019s where \u2018La Di Da Di\u2019 was born.\u201d <\/p>\n Jamie McCarthy\/Getty Images for Tribeca Festival<\/p>\n Now Rick, along with his Legend Has It compatriots find themselves navigating a scene where TikTok songs and hot-take podcasters are the new arbiters of taste. Can the kids possibly understand the meticulous work that went into constructing Big L\u2019s \u201cu aint gotta chance.\u201d<\/p>\n Herard had originally intended on using a beat by late genius producer J Dilla. \u201cThat verse came from a freestyle that L did in England in 96-97,\u201d he recalled. <\/p>\n But when Herard didn\u2019t hear back from the Detroit visionary\u2019s estate, he tapped \u201cBad and Boujee\u201d co-producer G Koop to work on the record. \u201cThe drums are what survived, essentially,\u201d said Koop. \u201cIt was an honor to just still be on the song.\u201d <\/p>\n Herard then made a call to JID producer 2one2 to flesh out the track.<\/p>\n \u201cI added some organ and some synths,\u201d 2one2 said. \u201cIt was a very basic melody\u2026 kind of repetitive sounding, but it was very raw and gritty, so I was trying to capture that.\u201d <\/p>\n More was added to the pot. Veteran lyricist and associate producer Royce da 5\u20199\u2033 was recruited to tighten up Big L\u2019s resurrected flow. Along with a Nas voice sample from Al Hug and scratches by DJ Rob Swift, in all seven people contributed to the song.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Havoc was just trying to keep it together. Since his brother-in-spirit Prodigy passed away in 2017, Havoc had little appetite for a new Mobb Deep release. Thankfully, last year they agreed to greenlight the Infinite project. But as Alchemist and Havoc began resurrecting Prodigy\u2019s vocals, the atmosphere turned surreal. <\/p>\n \u201cI lived a full life, don\u2019t cry for me,\u201d P ironically states on the emotional track \u201cPour The Henny<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJust listening to Prodigy\u2019s acapella, you hear him breathing,\u201d Havoc described. \u201cYou hear him talking, but we know he\u2019s not here. Those are the moments that can make you break down.\u201d <\/p>\n Of course, when you have Nas executive producing your album, there is a mutual understanding that is almost instinctive. He was 17 when he first met Prodigy at a 1991 showcase in Queensbridge (the two would even exchange lyrical shots at one another in 2001 before squashing their beef). The first time Nas hit the booth with Rae and Ghost, he was 22. He kicked it with Big L when the Harlem kid was raising hell. He\u2019s toured with De La Soul and dropped classics<\/a> with DJ Premier. Hell, Slick Rick is Nas\u2019 idol. <\/p>\n The cynics will ask is there a commercial market for the Legend Has It series? Where are the all-important streams coming from? Nas couldn\u2019t care less.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHe really is a caretaker for hip-hop,\u201d said Herard. \u201cKool G Rap recorded Nas\u2019 first demo when he was like 15-16. So for Nas to turn around and honor G Rap at Paid In Full, years later, is huge.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a culture where anytime you are Black and over 40, they will discard you,\u201d he continued. \u201cSo when you have someone like Nas say, \u2018Nah, man. We are going to celebrate our heroes.\u2019 That matters.\u201d<\/p>\n Keith “Murph” Murphy is a senior editor at VIBE Magazine and frequent contributor at Billboard, AOL, and CBS Local. The veteran journalist has appeared on CNN, FOX News and A&E Biography and is also the author of the men\u2019s lifestyle book “Manifest XO.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mike Herard could not believe it. For weeks, the veteran A&R man who operates the estate of late…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":300469,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[49,48,75,341],"class_list":{"0":"post-300468","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-music"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300468","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=300468"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300468\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/300469"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=300468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=300468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=300468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2241729310-e1762881489278.jpg\"\/)
What people get wrong about NBA Youngboy \u2013 AndscapeRead now<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Rappers](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-910635886.jpg\")
Nas, Raekwon and Ghostface Killah attend Alicia Keys\u2019 birthday celebration at TAO on Jan. 25, 2018 in New York City.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2155667159-e1756475594504.jpg\"\/)
Ghostface Killah returns to form with ‘Supreme Clientele 2’ \u2013 AndscapeRead now<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Nas](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2220037446.jpg\")
Nas and Slick Rick attend the \u201cVictory\u201d premiere during the 2025 Tribeca Festival at SVA Theater on June 13, 2025 in New York City.<\/p>\n