A few days ago Nas began to tease fans with snippets of a video which many believed to be the video to ‘Adam and Eve’, one of the seven tracks of his latest album – ‘Nasir’. Hinting a video release was coming out on 15th November. Fans were in fact delighted when Nas released a 16 minutes and 05 seconds long video entitled, ‘The Film’ which contained vocals from various tracks from his album, ‘Nasir’.
The video opens with Nas by the vast ocean which echoes his calm nature, but also something that is very strong and influencing, then suddenly we see images reflecting social issues, flashes of footage from the civil rights movements as we hear the line ‘I think they scared of us’ as ‘Not for the Radio’ plays meaning ethnic minorities have the power to make a change and have great influence.
We see Nas raise his black (people) power fist then switches to Nas in army fatigue against the New York skyline, ready to lead the revolution as he rhymes about the effects of the government on black and minority lives, with the notion freedom only came because it was taken by the people and not granted by the government. It’s almost a call to educational arms.
We see a Pyramid in the Projects as we hear the line, ‘Black Kemet Gods, Black Egyptian Gods’ then we see a mummified pharaoh rising from a xylophagous and taking his bandages off, revealing a young black king of Queensbridge, it’s powerful. We see a flash to a deceased young black male, as if to say he can either be woke or end up dead, knowledge is power, both educationally but also knowledge of self.
Next we hear ‘Cops shot the kid’ which samples ‘Children’s story’ by Slick Rick. Nas is known to consistently pay homage to his musical influences so it comes as no surprise to see Slick Rick make an appearance in this video, it’s only right.
There are images of police brutality and racism, a flux of violent image depicting violence, arson, vicious dogs and Body bags, in contrast to the calm ocean we saw at the start, because life is chaos and a struggle, and we see some beautiful shots of Queensbridge.
I especially liked a snippet from one of Nas’ old interview where he is asked, ‘How do you feel to be a living prodigy’? He replies ‘I mean it’s a blessing, I’m a product of the oldskool and the newest of the new’ flashbacks of old footage superimposed with Nas dressed fresh in 80’s attire which his recently purchased custom Illmatic car, showing the fruits of his labor via his longevity and impressive career.
Next we see Nas in church, as if he is in conversation with God, we are aware he is a spiritual man and images in this film reinforce that he believes in powers higher than himself.
Then onto ‘Adam and Eve’ as we see a black couple holding hands and then a couple with a serpent and apple reenacting the biblical scene. As well as a conversation with God it’s also as though Nas is confessing his sins as he ‘enjoys the fruit, but we also see him in prayer, perhaps for the future generations as we see children in QB making up the same photo he has on the ‘Nasir’ Album cover, holding guns, ‘don’t fall to far from the apple tree’ these are the children of the future.
He uses a family scene to get across the message of love in the community. A family, reinforcing family values and a grandmother to be respected and listened too, we see a photo of Martin Luther King on the wall which is a nice touch.
We see Nas sporting Dashiki Top and Kufi hat, traditional African clothing as he stands by the backdrop of the city skyline, he is proud of who he is, ‘Remember where you come from, it will keep you safe’ Reminding us to remember our roots and not to be ‘shackled by Western culture’
The video ends with the same shot of the sea the video began with as if it’s an endless cycle, ‘I love the past but you see where I’m going I get to fly’ as we see a bird in flight, symbolizing Nas has still to excel in his ventures. There is an acapella so there is no beat to distract from the message.
You really need to take your time to enjoy this poignant yet inspirational video from Nas, it narrates the main socioeconomic themes on the album and fans will really appreciate it as it has the raw feel to it we most love from Nas.
Faizah Cyanide
