Nas Enters the Podcast Wars With 'The Bridge: 50 Years of Hip Hop'

Rap's unofficial poet laureate of the 90s is teaming up with the person that helped define his early musical legacy to launch a podcast that the duo believes will help close the gap between hip-hop artists and fans as it explores the ways in which the art form has influenced society over the past 50 years.

Nas, whose debut album "Illmatic," partially on strength of a then almost unheard of five-mic review (image below) from industry bible "The Source," propelled him firmly into the pantheon of hip-hop gods — is teaming up with Minya “Miss Info” Oh, who wrote the review under her former alias Shortie, to launch "The Bridge: 50 Years of Hip Hop."

Photo Credit: "The Source" 

“This is our opportunity to go deep and explore how hip-hop went from the microphones, turntables, and sound systems to big business and a worldwide cultural phenomenon,”  said Nas of the project in a recently released teaser from Spotify and Nas' company Mass Appeal. They have partnered to bring it to fruition as part of the Hip Hop 50 campaign that Nas told Variety is, "a multi-tier initiative, created by Mass Appeal [in partnership with CBS Viacom], and we built this platform to ensure the anniversary of hip-hop is celebrated in a real iconic way, and that everybody should be involved with this."

Miss Info said working with Nas on the podcast brings their path full-circle and there's nothing more fulfilling or fun than working with the Grammy winner, but she noted that the most special thing about the podcast is the conversations. 

"Our guests open up to Nas and I, about the way they approach life, the way they reconcile their pasts, and in many cases, the shared history between Nas and these fellow artists," she said. "We’re having a blast and I think it shows.”

Astroworld Festival Mayhem Leaves 9-Year-Old in Coma

Photo Courtesy of Blount Family 

The investigation is still ongoing into what sparked the tragedy at Travis Scott's Astroworld Festival Friday, where eight people died in what authorities are calling a "mass casualty incident." It seems with each passing day, however, the repercussions continue to grow from Scott's annual hometown concert. 

Hours after Harris County authorities officially released the names of the eight victims, ranging in age from 14-27, it was revealed that a 9-year-old boy was fighting for his life after attending the event with his father. 

Harris County has released the names of the 8 AstroWorld victims:
Mirza Baig, 27, HOU.
Rodolfo Peña, 23, Laredo
Madison Dubiski, 23, Cypress
Franco Patiño, 21, Illinois
Jacob Jurinke, 20, Illinois
John Hilgert, 14, HOU
Axel Acosta Avila, 21, Washington
Brianna Rodriguez, 16, HOU

— Lina Hidalgo (@LinaHidalgoTX) November 8, 2021

According to reporting from Houston's ABC13 the victim's grandfather, Ezra Blount was on his father’s shoulders watching the concert when the two got trapped in the crowd surge. Ezra’s father collapsed, and both were trampled when the crowd surged toward the main stage.

Stefania Okolie, who broke the story for ABC13, reported that the boy was initially taken to the hospital as a John Doe separate from his father. By the time family members were able to locate him they were faced with the fact the young child was in a coma after suffering major organ damage and is in a "weakened state" with swelling of the brain. 

"How could this happen in the city of Houston?" Ezra's grandfather told Okolie. "You know, when we go to concerts and different events we expect safety and security." 

It was just the latest bit of bad news for Scott, a Houston native who has tied the concert to various charitable ventures since he launched it in 2018. The singer said he was "devastated" by what happened. He issued an apology on social media, vowing to work with authorities to get to the bottom of what happened, in addition to offering to pay the funeral costs for the deceased. 

"I'm honestly just devastated and I could never imagine anything like this happening. I'm going to do everything I can to keep you guys updated and keep you guys informed of what's going on. Love you all," the "Sicko Mode" artist said in an Instagram clip the day following the disaster. He is already facing several lawsuits along with the company behind the production, Live Nation, as well as his special guest for the event, rap superstar Drake.

Eight People Killed at Travis Scott's Astroworld Festival

In a still-developing situation, the triumphant return of Travis Scott's amusement park-themed Astroworld Festival following a one-year hiatus for Covid-19, turned into a tragedy Friday night in Houston when the crowd — estimated to have been 50,000 strong —rushed the stage at NRG Park when chaos erupted leaving eight people dead and 300 injured.

At a press conference on Friday night, Houston Fire Department Chief Samuel Peña said the trouble began at around 9 or 9:15 p.m. local time when "the crowd began to compress toward the front of the stage and that caused some panic and it started causing some injuries. People began to fall out, become unconscious and it created additional panic." 

According to Peña, that initial rush had transformed into a "mass casualty" event by 9:38 p.m. local time at and the concert's medical tent and staff was "quickly overwhelmed" by its scale. HFD dispatched 50 units and along with Harris County Emergency Services initially transported 17 people to hospitals, 11 of which were in cardiac arrest.

"I’ve been doing this for 27 years and I have never seen something like this,” Peña added Saturday after telling reporters at a follow-up press conference that authorities still don't know what caused the initial surge of the crowd up toward the stage, but the Houston Police Department is looking at video that was taken from cameras that were present there for security purposes and other reasons.

🚨🚨 Travis Scott is known for having insane concert crowds, and every time he sees a fan pass out, he immediately stops the show to get security to go help. I’m 100% sure Travis thought people were passing out and not dying until the show was over. 🚨🚨 here’s a short clip pic.twitter.com/LQtrFyjYnd

— gucci (@gucciwestx) November 6, 2021

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner confirmed that 25 people were hospitalized in total following the incident and that the ages of seven victims ranged in age between 14 and 27, while one victim's age still remains to be determined.

What happened at Astroworld Festival was a tragedy," Turner, who also called for a detailed briefing from all stakeholders, including Live Nation, said in a statement. "An estimated 50,000 people attended the event Friday night, expecting to enjoy a music concert with friends and return home safely. I extend my condolences to the families of the eight people who died and the approximately 17 people who were injured at the event. 

 

Live Nation made the call to "essentially pull the plug" on the event on Friday according to Peña, "when the situation started to escalate.” Saturday's events were also canceled by Live Nation, which posted on Twitter that it was, "Heartbroken for those lost and impacted at Astroworld last night. We will continue working to provide as much information and assistance as possible to the local authorities as they investigate the situation."

pic.twitter.com/mB0YWcsl6X

— Live Nation (@LiveNation) November 6, 2021

Scott, who launched the Astroworld Festival in 2018 with the intent to “bring back the beloved spirit and nostalgia of [iconic Houston theme park] AstroWorld, making a childhood dream of Travis’ come true," was "devastated" by Friday's outcome.

My prayers go out to the families and all those impacted by what happened at Astroworld Festival,” Scott wrote on Twitter. “Houston PD has my total support as they continue to look into the tragic loss of life.

pic.twitter.com/ijXKslw7E2

— TRAVIS SCOTT (@trvisXX) November 6, 2021