The Don (Nas song)

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"The Don"
Nasir Jones, Dwight Myers, Salaam Gibbs, Marcos Palacios, Ernest Clark, William Maragh, Nkrumah Thomas
Producer(s)Da Internz, Salaam Remi, Heavy D
Nas singles chronology
"Nasty"
(2011) 		"The Don"
(2012) 		"Daughters"
(2012)

"The Don" is a song by American rapper Nas. Released as the second single from his tenth studio album Life Is Good (2012), it is produced by record producers Da Internz, Heavy D and Salaam Remi, who all helped write the song along with Nas, although Heavy D died before the song could be finished. Built around a sample of "Dance in New York" by reggae singer Super Cat, a former collaborator of Nas, "The Don" is backed by a boom bap, reggae-tinged production with additional drum and piano sounds. Lyrically, Nas reaffirms his status as a "street poet", addressing the hardships of poverty within disadvantaged societies and the realities of weapon and drug problems.

"The Don" was released to digital retailers on April 3, 2012. Although the song was not commercially successful, charting only in the lower regions of the

UK Singles Chart
, it received acclaim from music critics, many of whom praised Nas' rapping style and lyrics, especially the realistic persona he conveyed. Some also pronounced themselves impressed with Nas' motivation at such a point in his long career. A music video for "The Don", directed by Aristotle Torres, premiered on April 27, 2012. It presents several aspects of Nas' lifestyle, including performing at concerts, as well as his experiences in New York City, his place of residence.

Background

"The Don" was produced by Da Internz, Heavy D and Salaam Remi – the latter a regular collaborator with Nas on many of his previous songs, including the singles "I Can" and "Made You Look".[1][2] Heavy D originally presented the song "Dance in New York", by reggae singer Super Cat to Remi in the belief that Remi could create a "crazy" production if he could choose an appropriate part of the song to sample and edit.[3] Nas, who had worked with Super Cat earlier in his career, claimed that Super Cat actually mentioned him in "Dance in New York" on his first listening of the song.[3] Remi began to try and edit the song, and put together the bassline that would eventually be used on "The Don", but could not work with the sample that he had been given extensively: after learning the identity of the original producer of "Dance in New York", Jah Thomas, he paid Thomas in return for use of the song's multitrack.[3]

Remi continued to work on the production whilst also putting together material for the posthumous Amy Winehouse album Lioness: Hidden Treasures (2011) in London: whilst there, he learnt of Heavy D's recent death, encouraging him to complete the production for "The Don".[3] After Nas received the song, he requested that production duo Da Internz work on "The Don" and edit it further before it would be rapped over.[3] In an interview with XXL, Da Internz called it "an honour that you wouldn't believe" to have worked on the song once they knew of Heavy D's involvement in its conception, as they had wished to work with him before he died:[4] they also praised Nas' attitude in the recording studio, describing "his bars [and] his approach" as "just special".[4] Following the song's completion, radio disc jockey Funkmaster Flex premiered "The Don" on the New York City radio station Hot 97 on March 15, 2012;[5] Def Jam Recordings later released it to digital retailers on April 3, 2012.[6]

Recording

"The Don" was written by Nasir Jones, Dwight Myers, Salaam Gibbs, Marcos Palacios and Ernest Clark, and produced by Myers under his production name Heavy D, Gibbs under his production name Salaam Remi, and Palacios and Clark under their production name Da Internz.

mastered by Chris Gehringer at Sterling Sound, New York City.[7]

Composition

"The Don"
A 16-second sample of "The Don", which covers the beginning of Nas' first verse: the "airy", reggae-tinged production is also heard, with a blended sample of "Dance in New York" by Super Cat audible.[8][9]
Problems playing this file? See media help.

"The Don" is a

About.com noted Nas' lyrics as consistent with his persona of a "street poet", writing that "there are gun threats, car boasts, thoughts of rooftop sex, shoutouts to New York rap pioneers, and references to real drug rings".[10] According to Rolling Stone writer Simon Vozick-Levinson, Nas "deftly" addresses his earlier life by describing "a concise portrait of the artist as a young man".[12] Heavy D, who died before the song was fully completed, is also mentioned by Nas in the song's lyrics, where he notes that Heavy D was the one who came up with the production and the ideas behind it before he showed it to Remi.[8]

Reception

"The Don" received universal acclaim from music critics, with Nas's lyrics drawing particular praise. Rico Barrino of

UK Singles Chart at number 196.[15]

Music video

Background

A music video for "The Don" was filmed in New York City, and directed by Aristotle Torres.[16][17] On April 18, 2012, a 30-second promotional clip of the video was released online, which contained shots of skyscrapers and Nas being escorted out of a crowd of party-goers into a white Rolls-Royce. Graphics then appear, announcing the forthcoming release of the full video.[16]

Synopsis

The video begins with a shot of a yacht out on water, which then segues to an image of the Statue of Liberty: the words "Nas" and "The Don" have been superimposed in mid-air on the left and right-hand sides of the statue respectively.[17] After quickly moving between various images of New York City, Nas is shown sitting at a table at an open-air restaurant with a female, at which point he raps the opening lyrics of the song.[17] Again, the video moves rapidly between images, this time addressing Nas' lifestyle, with shots of sunglasses, jackets and shirts all featured.[17] Shortly following this, Nas is escorted into a white Rolls-Royce, wearing a white suit. He is then shown standing in a ring of fire set up on the ground, whilst continuing to recite lyrics from the song.

The video then continues to alternate between three different settings: Nas' journey in the Rolls-Royce, during which he is driven around New York; him standing in the ring of fire, performing lyrics from the song; and him sitting in a club, surrounded by several women, also performing lyrics from the song.[17] Black-and-white shots are then shown of Nas performing at a concert, with many fans shown supporting him. Finally, the video ends with several aerial shots of New York City, and an image of the letter "N" burned into the ground.[17]

Live performances

Nas first performed "The Don" live on March 18, 2012, as part of a set specially organised by video service Vevo at the music festival South by Southwest.[18] At the 2012 ESPY Awards, Nas performed "The Don" as part of a medley of songs from Life Is Good, including "Nasty" and "Summer on Smash", the latter which he performed with rapper and producer Swizz Beatz.[19] On July 17, 2012, as part of an appearance on the satirical television program The Colbert Report, Nas performed both "The Don" and the single "Daughters", a song which also appears on Life Is Good.[20]

Track listing

  • Digital download[6]
  1. "The Don" – 3:02

Credits and personnel

The credits for "The Don" are adapted from the liner notes of Life Is Good.[7]

Recording
Personnel
Samples
  • Contains elements of "Dance in New York", performed by Super Cat and written by William Maragh and Nkrumah Thomas.

Charts

Chart (2012) Peak
position
South Korean International Singles (
Gaon)[21]
 46
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[15] 196

Release history

Country Date Format Label
Australia[22] April 3, 2012 Digital download Def Jam Recordings
Austria[23]
Canada[24]
France[25]
Germany[26]
Ireland[27]
Netherlands[28]
New Zealand[29]
Norway[30]
Sweden[31]
Switzerland[32]
United Kingdom[33]
United States[6]

References

  1. Rovi Corporation
    . Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  2. ^
    MTV Networks
    . Retrieved July 15, 2012.
  3. ^
    Complex
    . Complex Media. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  4. ^ a b "Production Credit: Da Internz Talk Nas' Life Is Good, Their Rise And Working With Nelly". XXL. Harris Publications. May 15, 2012. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  5. ^ a b "Audio: NaS "The Don" [Radio Debut on Funkmaster Flex]". Okayplayer. March 15, 2012. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  6. ^ a b c d "The Don – Single by Nas". iTunes Store. Apple. Retrieved July 15, 2012.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Life Is Good (Liner notes). Nas. Def Jam Recordings. 2012. p. 9. 602537109531.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. ^ a b c d e f "Nas – The Don". DJBooth. The DJBooth LLC. March 18, 2012. Retrieved July 15, 2012.
  9. ^ a b c d e f Florino, Rick (April 4, 2012). "Nas "The Don" Song Review – 4.5 out of 5 Stars". Artistdirect. Retrieved July 15, 2012.
  10. ^
    About.com. The New York Times Company
    . Retrieved July 15, 2012.
  11. ^ Capobianco, Ken (July 17, 2012). "Nas, 'Life Is Good' - Boston.com". The Boston Globe. The New York Times Company. Archived from the original on September 29, 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2012.
  12. ^ Vozick-Levinson, Simon (March 27, 2012). "The Don". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Archived from the original on April 7, 2012. Retrieved July 15, 2012.
  13. ^ "Nas – Life Is Good (album review)". Sputnikmusic. Jeremy Ferwerda. July 13, 2012. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  14. ^ Kaplan, Charlie (July 17, 2012). "Album Review: Nas – Life Is Good". Prefix Magazine. Retrieved July 19, 2012.
  15. ^ a b "Chart Log UK: New Entries Update – 28.07.2012 (wk29)". Zobbel.de. Tobias Zywietz. July 28, 2012. Retrieved July 29, 2012.
  16. ^ a b Van Buren, Marvin (April 18, 2012). "Nas Releases Trailer For 'The Don' Music Video". MTV News. MTV Networks. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  17. ^ a b c d e f "The Don (Explicit) – Nas". Vevo. Retrieved July 23, 2012.
  18. ^ "Nas Gets Nostalgic at VEVO SXSW Show". Rap-Up. Devin Lazerine. March 18, 2012. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  19. ^ "Nas and Swizz Beatz Perform at the ESPYS". Rap-Up. Devin Lazerine. July 11, 2012. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  20. ^ Blistein, Jon (July 18, 2012). "Nas Stops By 'Colbert' to Perform, Talk New Album". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
  21. Gaon Chart. Archived from the original
    on December 12, 2013. Retrieved May 13, 2014.
  22. ^ "The Don – Single by Nas". iTunes Store. Apple. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  23. ^ "The Don – Single by Nas". iTunes Store (in German). Apple. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  24. ^ "The Don – Single by Nas". iTunes Store. Apple. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  25. ^ "The Don – Single par Nas". iTunes Store (in French). Apple. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  26. ^ "The Don – Single von Nas". iTunes Store (in German). Apple. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  27. ^ "The Don – Single by Nas". iTunes Store. Apple. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  28. ^ "The Don – Single van Nas". iTunes Store (in Dutch). Apple. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  29. ^ "The Don – Single by Nas". iTunes Store. Apple. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  30. ^ "The Don – Single by Nas". iTunes Store. Apple. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  31. ^ "The Don – Single av Nas". iTunes Store (in Swedish). Apple. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  32. ^ "The Don – Single von Nas". iTunes Store (in German). Apple. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
  33. ^ "The Don – Single by Nas". iTunes Store. Apple. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
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