From: NasTo: LA Reid, Steve Bartels, Steve Gawley, Michael Seltzer, Joseph Borrino, Chris HicksSubject: PUT MY SH*T OUT!Peace to all,With all do respect to you all, Nas is NOBODY’s slave. This is not the 1800’s, respect me and I will respect you. I
won’t even tap dance around in an email, I will get right into it.
People connect to the Artist @ the end of the day, they don’t connect
with the executives. Honestly, nobody even cares what label puts out a
great record, they care about who recorded it. Yet time and time again
its the executives who always stand in the way of a creative artist’s
dream and aspirations. You don’t help draw the truth from my deepest and
most inner soul, you don’t even do a great job @ selling it. The #1
problem with DEF JAM is pretty simple and obvious, the executives think
they are the stars. You aren’t…. not even close. As a matter of fact,
you wish you were, but it didn’t work out so you took a desk job. To the
consumer, I COME FIRST. Stop trying to deprive them! I have a fan base
that dies for my music and a RAP label that doesn’t understand RAP.
Pretty f##### up situationThis isn’t the 90’s though. Beefing
with record labels is so 15 years ago. @ this point I just need you all
to be very clear where I stand and how I feel about “my label.” I could
go on twitter or hot 97 tomorrow and get 100,000 protesters @ your
building but I choose to walk my own path my own way because since day
one I have been my own man. I did business with Tommy Mottola and Donnie
Einer, two of the most psycho dudes this business ever created. I
worked well with them for one major reason……. they believed in me.
The didn’t give a f### about what any radio station or magazine
said….those dudes had me.Lost Tapes is a movement and a very
important set up piece for my career as it stands. I started this over 5
years ago @ Columbia and nobody knew what it was or what it did but the
label put it out as an LP and the fans went crazy for it and I single
handlely built a new brand of rap albums. It’s smart and after 5 years
it’s still a head of the game. This feels great and you not feeling what
I’m feeling is disturbing. Don’t get in the way of my creativity. We
are aligned with the stars here, this is a movement. There is a thing
called KARMA that comes to haunt you when you tamper with the aligning
stars. WE ARE GIVING THE PEOPLE EXACTLY WHAT THEY WANT. Stop throwing
dog s### on a MAGICAL moment.You don’t get another Nas recording
that doesn’t count against my deal….PERIOD! Keep your b#######
$200,000.00 fund. Open the REAL budget. This is a New York pioneers
ALBUM, there ain’t many of us. I am ready to drop in the 4th quarter.
You don’t even have s### coming out! Stop being your own worst enemy.
Let’s get money!-N.Jones
