Photo: Getty Images
Nas and JAY-Z's years-long dispute will forever remain one of the most memorable beefs in Hip-Hop history. So much so that fans still reference their issues even as they pursue other ventures outside of music.
Nas and Resorts World NYC recently won their bid to build a $5.5 billion casino in Southeast Queens. Once the Community Advisory Board unanimously voted to approve the bid, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. took a jab at JAY-Z shortly after the same committee struck down the Roc Nation founder's proposal for a casino in Times Square. Nas was asked by Rolling Stone's Andre Gee why he thinks fans are still comparing them years after their beef ended.
“It is just a thing that some people are going to talk about,” he replied. “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.”
Nas and JAY-Z's beef dates back to the mid-'90s and hit the mainstream following Nas' explosive "Stillmatic Freestyle." The two went back-and-forth on wax with tracks like Hov's "Takeover" and Nas' "Ether." Both New York legends eventually buried the hatchet in 2005 and even collaborated on DJ Khaled's "Sorry Not Sorry" in 2021. Even though they moved on, Nas and JAY-Z's fans clearly have not.
JAY-Z, along with his partners at Caesars Palace and SL Green, recently submitted a proposal to construct a casino at 1515 Broadway in the middle of Times Square. Hov and his team planned to put $5.4 billion in the casino and pledged over $250 million to improve the surrounding community over the next decade. Despite all their efforts to rally support for the casino, the Community Advisory Board denied their request to obtain one of three new gaming licenses that would've cleared the way for the casino.
Although they won the bid, Nas and his team still need approval from the State Gaming Commission.