Nas Gives Rakim His Flowers At Grandmaster Hip-Hop Awards

Nas had some major love for Rakim at the Grandmaster Hip-Hop Awards. "When I first heard your music...If you had told me that I would be on stage saluting you...Like, this is crazy. This is a rapper's dream. This is a hip-hop artist's dream. This don't make no sense. It not regular, this don't happen. This happen because it was supposed to happen. What you laid down, the foundation...When I first heard your music, they was doing a dance to your music in my neighborhood. I didn't understand how there was a synchronized dance to a song that just came out called the wop," Nas said in his speech.

Of course, Rakim is widely considered one of the greatest hip-hop artists of all time. 1987's Paid In Full is seen as one of the genre's most influential albums. However, that can be said for most of Rakim's catalog. It's only fitting that Nas shout out the pioneer as passionately as he did as part of the final weeks of hip-hop's 50th anniversary. Furthermore, it's extra poignant coming from the Queens rapper, who has been open in the past about just how much Rakim has inspired his own work.

Nas' Paid In Full Audition Resurfaces

Speaking of Paid In Full, it turns out that Nas actually auditioned for the film of the same name. In his resurfaced audition tape, Nas auditioned for the role of Rico, which would eventually go to fellow rapper Cam'ron. Paid In Full came out four years after Nas' acting debut in Belly. However, fans weren't impressed with Nas' performance, saying they were glad that Cam'ron landed the role instead.

The same year that Paid In Full dropped, Nas would release God's Son, his sixth studio album. Seen as his "most personal" album, it reflects on everything from his beef with JAY-Z to the death of his mother. However, it only peaked at #12 on the Billboard Album 200. It marked Nas' third consecutive album that failed to reach #1. However, he would return to the top of the album charts four years later. His eighth album, Hip Hop Is Dead, would be his first #1 album since I Am...

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