The Inquisition: Nas

Nas / Photo by Perou/Camera Press/Retna

You refer to MySpace and the New York Post in that song. It sounds like you did some fact-checking on Rupert Murdoch's corporate holdings. Was that a matter of knowing thy enemy?

Yeah, if you're gonna get into it with Fox News, then you gotta know about who owns it. Rupert Murdoch is a great business guy, and some of his shows are entertaining as hell.

Like what?

Cops. I couldn't believe an educated person -- I checked up on O'Reilly's schooling—would be so stupid.

There's a line in "Sly Fox" about how Fox News makes you want to donate to PBS.

I love PBS! I grew up on it. If I had to say which channels were good, I'd say, you got your PBS, your History Channel, your Discovery.

Has all of this made you more politically active?

I'm just little me, an American who wants to see his country do better. I've turned off since the [2000] election was stolen -- who knows what's going on anymore? But I've gotta admit, this campaign has got me paying a lot more attention. I can't give a million dollars or anything, but I feel like Barack's the man.

Does hip-hop have a responsibility to be politically active?

We have the right to not give a fuck. Hip-hop was invented because politicians didn't give a fuck about the streets. So why should the streets give a fuck back? They did us a favor by wanting us eliminated, because what came out of that was some crazy-ass music that's helped out tons of people. You've got people chilling on yachts in Hawaii instead of in a jail cell because of hip-hop. I like the way hip-hop is now. It's grown up enough so that it can get involved with politics if it feels like it. But a responsibility? Hell, no.

Speaking of rappers on boats, what do you think about Jay-Z leaving Def Jam?

It was disappointing, because the industry didn't seem to be able to accommodate him with whatever he needed to grow. The industry is in a real strange place, and homey did what he had to do.

Jay is pursuing interests outside of hip-hop, while you've stayed more or less dedicated to music.

To me, creatively challenging myself is my version of owning the Nets.

You did film a reality show for MTV with Kelis, though. How come that never aired?

We watched two episodes and hated it. It was boring. We were too guarded. We weren't ready. I'm comfortable keeping all the reality in my music.