Nas Praises Kendrick Lamar as Hip-Hop’s “North Star”

Nas has always had love for Kendrick Lamar. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Nas praised the Compton rapper’s legacy and heralded him as a guiding light for all hip-hop artists. 

“We all, as artists, love this art form and have our opinions on it. Kendrick is one of the brightest stars we’ve ever seen, and I don’t only mean superstar. I mean like the North Star,” he said. “I think he’s one of those. Out of all the artists in this business, there’s some that’s not here for the art. When we see those people that are not here for the art damaging it, you’re hurting the future of the art. So I think artists like Kendrick are going to speak out.”

After Lamar’s performance at the Super Bowl, Nas posted about K. Dot’s greatness. In his Instagram story, Nas said, "Congratulations to my brotha @kendricklamar. Can't wait to watch the party die!!!!"

It was a moment Kendrick acknowledged in his song “Wacced Out Murals.”

“‘Won the Super Bowl and Nas the only one congratulate me / All these ni**as agitated, I’m just glad they showin’ they faces / Quite frankly, plenty artists, but they outdated / Old-a** flows, tryna convince me that you they favorite,” Lamar rapped.

When Kendrick surprised fans with GNX last November, Nas posted the album cover with the caption, “Always inspired by my brother KL. Keeping the essence of this sh—t alive and at the forefront. Salute King!”

In that same interview with Rolling Stone, Nas addressed the fan commentary surrounding him and Jay-Z submitting bids for New York City casinos. He downplayed any business rivalry with his Brooklyn contemporary. 

“It is just a thing that some people are going to talk about,” he stated. “No one has any control over things like that. I still study Rakim and Big Daddy Kane. Some rap fans just like to go off on those things from time to time. That’s it.”