The Get Down is an upcoming Netflix series about what it was like to be in New York City in the 70's and witness the birth of hip hop. In addition to serving as producer on the series, hip hop veteran Nas also wrote the original raps that appear in the dramatized series.
"These are the tapes that the older guys were playing in my neighborhood, listening to, partying to. This is a different style, this is not what I normally do," Nas told Rolling Stone, when asked about the challenges of writing raps in the classic 70's style. "I placed pictures around myself of parties like Harlem World, the Roxy, jams out in the Bronx in the park, DJs like Jazzy Jay on the turntables, of course Grandmaster Flash photographs everywhere, the Furious Five photographs around me. I really just went into that world."
Directed by Baz Luhrmann of The Great Gatsby fame, The Get Down tells the story of a group of young men growing up in the middle of the late 70's NYC hip hop scene. Promoted as equal parts fantasy drama and a historically accurate depiction of hip hop's early years, the show consulted with artists like Grandmaster Flash, Kool Herc, Raheim of the Furious Five, and Kurtis Blow to make sure their portrayal of the period was accurate.
"I think it was Kool Herc, super DJ pioneer of hip-hop from the Bronx, say hip-hop started in 1973. That's the year I was born. So I was actually born with hip-hop. That's my brother, that's my sister, that's my twin. "I am hip hop," like KRS-One said. Music was just a thing that was coming out of the windows in Queensbridge, that was coming out of the park jams," Nas said, explaining his connection to the era.
You can read Nas' full interview with Rolling Stone here, where he discusses in greater detail what it was like to work on the show and his appreciation for classic hip hop. The Get Down premieres on Netflix this August.
By Michael Lacerna for RAPstation.com
