"Lil Wayne Is At The Top Of His Game But Nas' Up There W/ The Best"

Exclusive: "Lil Wayne Is At The Top Of His Game But Nas' Up There W/ The Best"

Monday, Jan 23, 2012 5:05PM

Written by Cyrus Langhorne

Film director Robert Townsend recently chopped it up with SOHH and gave his scoop on why he feels hip-hop veteran Nas should be considered amongst hip-hop elite.

Giving Nas the title as hip-hop's most underrated emcee, the actor/director detailed his admiration for God's Son.

"I don't know, I don't know because I would say Nas. You know what? I'd say Nas," Townsend told SOHH when asked what hip-hop artist is most underrated. "He's really brilliant. I think it's his creativity that stands out. Lyrically, he knows how to put it all together. There's some lines and sometimes when I'm with my kids, we'll listen to different things [like Nas' music] and he's just brilliant. I just think Nas is up there with the best. Right now Lil Wayne is at the top of his game but he's up there with the best and he's got a point of view." (SOHH)

Last spring, Hollywood actress Jennifer Lopez said Lil Wayne took Nas' spot as her favorite hip-hop artist.

"God, you know, years ago, it used to be Nas," Jennifer Lopez revealed in the chat on Saturday (March 12). "I used to love Nas, he was my favorite of all time. And ! I think now, if I had to pick somebody current, it would probably be Lil Wayne. To me, he's the, [it's] the things he says and the way he says it, it's very unique. I feel he has a fresh new voice and I just like him. Plus he's on my second single." (Saturday Night Online)

Movie star Gwyneth Paltrow discussed her love for the rap game last year.

"I first was exposed to hip-hop when I was about 16 (1988) by some boys who went to collegiate," Paltrow revealed to Hov. "The Beastie Boys were sort of the way in for us preppie kids. We were into Public Enemy, Run-DMC and LL Cool J. But then I went to L.A. the summer between my junior and senior year of high school and I discovered N.W.A which became my obsession. I was fascinated by lyrics as rhythm and how [Dr.] Dre had a such different cadence and perspective from say, Eazy-E, who I thought was one of the most ironic and brilliant voices hip-hop has ever had. It was an accident that I learned every word of Straight Outta Compton and to love something that a.) I had no real understanding of in terms of the culture that it was emanating from and b.) to love something that my parents literally could not grasp. But I was hooked. I can't remember what I ate for dinner last night but I could sing to you every single word of N.W.A's 'F*ck Tha Police' or [Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock's] 'It Takes Two.' Go figure." (Life + Times)

Earlier this month, EA Sports designer Sean Ramjagsingh named Nas SOHH Underrated.

"I really have to think about who I can crown SOHH Underrated. I obviously love my hip-hop and R&B music. I'm a huge fan of 2P! ac and Jay-Z, but for underrated, I think I'm going to have to put Nas out there for SOHH Underrated. He was always on the brink of super stardom level, like the Jay-Z's and Biggie's of the world. But then you've got guys like Kanye West that have come around and [became famous overnight]. I feel like Nas kind of plateaued a little bit. I think there were some other guys that came, took the ball, ran with it and kind of blew by him. So then Nas started to slowly and slowly fall off the radar." (SOHH Underrated)

Check out some recent Nas footage below: