Nas has admitted that he almost definitely wasn’t the most effective father — to one in all his two kids, anyway.
The Queensbridge rap legend’s confession got here on his new “Runaway” collaboration with Swizz Beatz, which arrived as a part of the producer’s star-studded Hip Hop 50: Vol. 2 EP on Friday (April 21).
The emotive tune, which incorporates a pattern of Son Little’s “Your Love Will Blow Me Away When My Heart Aches,” finds Nas conceding that he didn’t do the most effective job at elevating his daughter, Destiny Jones, who was born in June 1994, simply months after Nas dropped his debut album Illmatic on the tender age of 20.
“All I imagine sometimes under sunshine or vacation, things I did in my hood, situations, oh well/ Probably was a bad father to my firstborn/ Love her to death, but I ain’t been home since my first song/ Provided for her, but money can’t replace a father for her,” he raps.
Despite his admitted shortcomings as a mother or father, Nas continues his verse by expressing his love and adoration for Destiny, in addition to his 13-12 months-previous son Knight Jones, whose mom is the rapper’s ex-spouse Kelis.
“Plus, I got a son, blessed with kids, yeah, man, I adore them/ And I was sure I was gonna leave this life too fast/ I got guardian angles came down and saved my ass,” he spits.
“Runaway” is hardly the primary time Nas has owned as much as his parental failings on wax. The 49-12 months-previous famously mirrored on the challenges of being a single father — a well-known one, no much less — on his 2012 Life is Good tune “Daughters.”
“A box of condoms on her dresser, then she Instagram’d it/ At this point I realized I ain’t the strictest parent/ I’m too loose, I’m too cool with her/ Should’ve drove more time to school with her/ I thought I dropped enough jewels on her,” he rapped on the soulful, No I.D.-produced minimize.
“Daughters” earned two nominations on the 2013 Grammy Awards for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance, whereas Life is Good — which delved deeper into Nas’ private life, notably his divorce from Kelis — was up for Best Rap Album. (Drake’s Take Care took residence the award.)
As for Knight, Nas and Kelis grew to become embroiled in a bitter custody battle over their son following their divorce in 2010. In a 2018 interview with Hollywood Unlocked, the “Milkshake” singer accused her ex-husband of psychological and bodily abuse throughout their turbulent 5-12 months relationship.
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She additionally criticized Nas’ parenting expertise, saying: “A parent isn’t about showing up when you feel like it. You can’t not show up for months and then show up and try to make up your own [visitation] schedule.”
The King’s Disease rapper responded in a sprawling open letter on Instagram, during which he denied Kelis’ allegations of abuse and accused her of “exploiting” the #MeToo motion, which was gaining traction on the time.
He additionally claimed that Kelis was “verbally abusive” to each him and his daughter, and had been bodily abusive to him as not too long ago as that 12 months.
“I’m tired of you painting a bad picture of me,” he wrote. “I’ve been tired of it but you never seem to get tired. I even had to be in a relationship with you AGAIN after we separated just so i could see my son & I AM JUST TIRED.
“Back then you asked me why didn’t i stop the divorce from happening. I tried! We are too different. Some things aren’t meant to be. We were meant to be so that we could have our son. Nothing more.”
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