The rap icon talks to THR about Showtime's 'You're Watching Video Music Box,' his recent Grammy nominations and why it was so important for him to preserve the legacy of 'Uncle Ralph' McDaniels: 'He's a pillar of New York City.'
“This is my first time directing and it’s his film,” says Nas, who also appears in the doc in an interview and vintage clips from his early days on the rap scene. “I’m just amazed. I’m still in amazement.” He shook off the emotion for a 20-minute conversation withabout what McDaniels means to him, whether he has plans for more directing gigs and his two new Grammy nominations.
Oh man, I was just beyond honored too. I used to run home from school to catch the show which was the best show on television as far as music and art was concerned. Soul Train was on [at the time] but his show was a whole different thing. I could wait to run home and watch what he was giving us — everything from Run DMC to Billy Ocean, everyone. To actually have that guy who was in my living room direct my video when I was coming out with my first record, there was nothing bigger or better.
That’s what made him so great because he didn’t just play the videos, he showed the other side of what was going on. There was no other place to see artists or concerts on television, except for on Video Music Box. It shows you how tied he was to the streets and the younger generation that was coming up. No one was too big or too small. That’s why we call him Uncle Ralph. He treated everyone the same and that footage shows that.
I mean, it’s New York City. New York City is the beautiful melting pot of Greek, Italian, Asian, Indian, Blacks, Latinos, Puerto Ricans, everyone. It wasn’t just [that] hip hop Ralph was playing. It was artists from overseas — everyone. Everyone who found out about this public access channel that Ralph paid for out of his own pocket to air these videos, they watched it and everyone helped the music rise. It was more than a hip hop fan base.
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