MasterClass Announces Nas to Teach Hip-Hop Storytelling

Grammy-award winning rap legend shares his journey through the evolution of Hip-Hop, breaks down his biggest hits and writes a new original song, exclusively for MasterClass

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MasterClass

Oct 14, 2021, 09:00 ET

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- MasterClass, the streaming platform where anyone can learn from the world's best across a wide range of subjects, today announced that Nas will teach a class on Hip-Hop storytelling. Nas has been exposing truth through rhymes and vivid street poetry for more than 25 years. In his class, he shares his philosophy as a lyricist and how he uses his life experiences and emotions to create cinematic lyrics, inspiring MasterClass members to do the same. Nas' class is now available exclusively on MasterClass, where subscribers get unlimited access to all 100+ instructors with an annual membership.

"With 14 Grammy nominations for his multi platinum albums, Nas is simply one of the greatest artists of all time," said David Rogier, founder and CEO of MasterClass. "This class is the first time Nas breaks down his process and life story in this way. He also takes members through his writing process, literally creating a new song in real time."

In his class, Nas dives into the origins, rise and evolution of Hip-Hop in America to showcase the artistic, poetic and political power of storytelling through music. He talks through various case studies of how he wrote some of his most iconic hits—from "N.Y. State of Mind" to "One Love"—and explains the importance of details, thinking outside the box and writing songs that make a statement or communicate societal ills. Nas also breaks down his techniques, opens up about the Hip-Hop legends who influenced him and talks about how he has evolved and matured as an artist. MasterClass members will get a firsthand, real-time view of Nas' writing process and witness his genius in action as he creates a brand-new song—"Big Nas (Original Song from MasterClass)"—with Hit-Boy. Members will walk away from Nas' class with the historical context, inspiration and storytelling techniques they need to expand their lyrical craft, creating music that generates a spark, elevates the conversation and dares to challenge the status quo.

"Quincy Jones told me years ago, 'You never stop learning. You're always a student,'" Nas said. "Going through my past works made me realize this class was something that I really wanted to do—I'm looking forward to bringing MasterClass members into my world. Whether it's rap or any genre of music, I want people to embrace their creativity and listen to that voice inside their head. When you trust your gut and first instincts, you can't lose."

Embed & view the trailer here: https://youtu.be/qMFLu5aK3SA

Download stills here: https://brandfolder.com/s/th283q48bfvssk8hfrx45p5
Credit: Courtesy of MasterClass

Listen to "Big Nas (Original Song from MasterClass)" here: https://nas.lnk.to/BigNas

ABOUT MASTERCLASS:
Launched in 2015, MasterClass is the streaming platform where anyone can learn from the world's best. With an annual membership, subscribers get unlimited access to 100+ instructors and classes across a wide range of subjects, including Arts & Entertainment, Business, Design & Style, Sports & Gaming, Writing and more. Step into Anna Wintour's office, Ron Finley's garden and Neil Gaiman's writing retreat. Get inspired by RuPaul, perfect your pitch with Shonda Rhimes and discover your inner negotiator with Chris Voss. Each class features about 20 video lessons, at an average of 10 minutes per lesson. You can learn on your own terms—in bite-size pieces or in a single binge. Cinematic visuals and close-up, hands-on demonstrations make you feel like you're one-on-one with the instructors, while the downloadable instructor guides help reinforce your learning. Stream thousands of lessons anywhere, anytime, on mobile, tablet, desktop, Apple TV®, Android™ TV, Amazon Fire TV® and Roku® players and devices.

ABOUT NAS:
Nas (Nasir Jones) first reached an international audience when his track "Halftime" was tapped by producer MC Serch as the opening cut on 1992's Zebrahead movie soundtrack. Signed to Columbia Records, the first full-length album by poet and rhyme-master Nas arrived in 1994, Illmatic. The RIAA platinum hip-hop landmark featured "It Ain't Hard To Tell," "The World Is Yours," and "One." 1996 brought the breakthrough double-platinum It Was Written (#1 R&B for 7 weeks, #1 pop for 4 weeks), with his first major crossover singles "Street Dreams" and "If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)." Success continued with the double-platinum I Am in 1999 (again #1 pop and #1 R&B), with the chart singles "Nas Is Like," "Hate Me Now" (featuring Puff Daddy), and "You Won't See Me Tonight" (featuring Aaliyah).

Subsequent albums by Nas included: the RIAA platinum Nastradamus (1999, #2 R&B, #7 pop, with "Nastradamus" and "You Owe Me," featuring Ginuwine); the platinum Stillmatic (2001, #1 R&B, #5 pop, with "Got Ur Self A…," "One Mic," and "Rule"); the platinum God's Son (2002, #1 R&B, with huge R&B/pop crossover hits "Made You Look" and "I Can"); and the platinum double-CD Street's Disciple (2004, #2 R&B, #5 pop, with "Bridging the Gap" and "Just a Moment"). And his 2012 album, Life Is Good earned him 4 Grammy nominations including Rap Album of the Year and is certified RIAA gold.

Over the years, Nas has also been the featured guest on a number of crossover hits by other artists, among them: Allure ("Head Over Heels," 1997); Missy Elliott (the #1 "Hot Boyz," 1999); fellow Queensbridge rapper Mobb Deep ("It's Mine," 1999); Jagged Edge ("I Got It 2," 2002); J-Lo ("I'm Gonna Be Alright," 2002); Kanye West ("Classic (Better Than I've Ever Been)," 2006); DJ Khaled ("Nas Album Done," 2016); Swizz Beats ("Echo," 2018); Jhene Aiko ("10K Hours," 2020) and others.

In August 2020, Nas released King's Disease. King's Disease marked Nas' first new album in 2 years. The album was entirely produced by Hit-Boy, and Gabriel "G Code" Zardes serves as the albums co-executive producer. The album won "Best Rap Album" at the 2021 GRAMMYs, marking Nas' first ever GRAMMY win.

In addition to his successful career in music, Nas has pursued a career in motion pictures that began with his co-starring role (alongside DMX) in 1998's cult classic crime drama Belly, a film by director Hype Williams (with whom Nas has done several music videos). Most recently, he was the executive producer of the 2016 Netflix series The Get Down.

Nas is also the co-founder of Mass Appeal Records.

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Media Contact:
Tawnya Bear, MasterClass
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SOURCE MasterClass