"Nasty" is a song by American rapper Nas. The song, released via iTunes on August 9, 2011, is the first single from his eleventh studio album Life Is Good.[2][3] The song is produced by Nas's long-time producer and frequent collaborator Salaam Remi. The song was listed at #37 on Rolling Stone Magazine's "50 Best Singles of 2011", and was also named as the best hip-hop song of 2011 by Rap Genius.[4][5] The song was later featured on the soundtrack to the 2012 film Project X. It was also featured in the video game "The Crew".
"Nasty" | ||||
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Single by Nas | ||||
from the album Life Is Good | ||||
Released | August 9, 2011 | |||
Recorded | 2011; Instrument Zoo Studios (Miami, Florida) | |||
Genre | Hip hop | |||
Length | 3:04 | |||
Label | Def Jam | |||
Songwriter(s) | Nasir Jones, Salaam Gibbs | |||
Producer(s) | Salaam Remi | |||
Nas singles chronology | ||||
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"Nasty" was written by Nasir Jones and Salaam Gibbs, and produced by the latter under his production name Salaam Remi.[6] Gibbs provided and arranged the use of many of the instruments making up the song's instrumentation, including bass instruments, keys, guitars and drums.[6] The song was recorded by Gleyder Disla at Instrument Zoo Studios—a recording studio in Miami, Florida.[6] It was mixed by Manny Marroquin, Chris Galland and Erik Madrid at Larrabee Studios, Universal City in California.[6] Additional vocals were provided by disc jockey Big Kap, although his vocals are uncredited.[6] "Nasty" was mastered by Chris Gehringer at Sterling Sound, New York City.[6]
"Nasty" is a hip hop song of three minutes and four seconds in length.[7] The song is backed by a "minimal", boom bap orientated production, with guitars and drums interspersed throughout.[1][8] Unlike many modern hip hop songs, "Nasty" maintains a simple construction throughout: according to Rob Markman of MTV News, the song consists of nothing more than "hard rhymes over an infectious loop".[9] Evoking many of the "infamous park jams" held in the Queensbridge district of New York City in the 1980s, a disc jockey can be heard shouting "Are y'all ready to see Nasty Nas?" as the song begins.[9]
A music video for "Nasty" was filmed in New York City, and directed by Jason Goldwatch.[10] The video is set in Queensbridge, Queens, the district of New York where Nas grew up.[10] Whilst filming the video, Goldwatch wanted to make the imagery featured in the scenes where Nas visited Queensbridge as realistic as possible: thus, he sent scouts to find real homeless people, as well as old women and drug addicts, that could appear in the video.[11]
The video begins inside a limousine, with Nas' face hidden in shadow.[12] The limousine is then seen travelling through New York City, and shots of Nas' journey – which he is undertaking with two women – are alternated with those of him in a recording studio, performing "Nasty".[12] Upon arriving at the district of Queensbridge, Queen, Nas exits the limousine and walks through the area, observing the life of the inhabitants, which includes some playing a game of craps. After greeting many of the inhabitants and walking with a group of children for a short period, Nas enters the main apartment complex of Queensbridge.[12] He locates a particular room and greets the tenants: after observing them for a while, he walks into a room which is shown to be the recording studio seen earlier in the video.[12]
The credits for "Nasty" are adapted from the liner notes of Life Is Good.[6]
Country | Date | Format | Label |
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Canada[13] | August 9, 2011 | Digital download | Def Jam Recordings |
United States[7] |
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