The song is about a street criminal writing his friend in prison. It’s actually a literary form called “Epistolary”, where the narrative is in the form of documents, usually letters.
So anyway the song is full of the street lingo, misogyny, drug use, and violence you’ve come to expect from “gangster rap”. But just underneath, it’s also sweet and affectionate. The song is vulnerable and positive about masculine and platonic affection despite the most toxic context imaginable.
There was a team of super producers working on Illmatic like Q-Tip and Pete Rock who were all essential to creating a classic album. People sometimes don’t hear their contributions since the focus is so squarely on Nas.
NAS- One Love (Illmatic, 1994)
The song is about a street criminal writing his friend in prison. It’s actually a literary form called “Epistolary”, where the narrative is in the form of documents, usually letters.
So anyway the song is full of the street lingo, misogyny, drug use, and violence you’ve come to expect from “gangster rap”. But just underneath, it’s also sweet and affectionate. The song is vulnerable and positive about masculine and platonic affection despite the most toxic context imaginable.
There was a team of super producers working on Illmatic like Q-Tip and Pete Rock who were all essential to creating a classic album. People sometimes don’t hear their contributions since the focus is so squarely on Nas.
The Pulp Fiction of rap