Nas urges music industry to honor and pay the Black artists who shaped generations

Nas criticized trend-driven music and urged artists, creators and executives to unite around preserving and honoring Black music’s legacy.

Nas is calling on the music industry to recognize and compensate the Black artists who laid the foundation for generations of music.

In an Instagram post, the Queens rapper reflected on blues pioneer Robert Johnson, criticized trend-driven music and urged artists, creators and executives to unite around Black music’s legacy. Nas began his statement by reflecting on music’s roots, tracing its history from the Mississippi Delta to New Orleans and New York.

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He singled out blues musician Robert Johnson, whose influence on American music remains widely recognized but whose exact burial site is still uncertain. “I think about Robert Johnson at the crossroads, how he changed music, and how we can’t even find his grave,” Nas wrote.

He connected Johnson’s legacy to what he sees as a continuing problem in the music business. He highlighted the problem of influential artists not receiving adequate recognition or compensation for their contributions. “The music game forgets or doesn’t compensate the foundation. Our greats have been stolen from and ripped off of,” he said.

Nas also criticized the pressure to make music around temporary trends, arguing that artists should remember the cultural purpose and contributions behind their work. “We can’t keep creating music for the sake of a ‘trend,’” he wrote.

The rapper urged artists and industry leaders to take collective action, asking why there was not greater solidarity among people working in music.“Where’s the love for each other at,” Nas wrote, before adding, “We gotta take a stand as one. It’s time for a celebration of the music.”

He closed the statement with a message about cultural identity and awareness, “No Knowledge of self is certain death! It’s time to address it.”