Nas Honors Rakim and Scarface at Hip Hop Grandmaster Awards
Nas, the iconic rapper known for acknowledging and respecting the pioneers of the genre, paid tribute to Rakim and other legends during the Hip Hop Grandmaster Awards held on Saturday (November 18).
The awards ceremony commenced with Nas reciting lyrics from “Paid in Full” before expressing gratitude to Rakim, a fellow Long Island native and trailblazer in the world of Hip Hop.
“That verse—that song, ‘Paid In Full’—said, ‘I can think it,'” Nas began. Directly addressing Rakim, he continued, “Because of you, my brother, I made it. Because of Doug E. Fresh, Flavor Flav, I gotta shout out all my heroes. Because of y’all, I made it. And I’m forever in debt to y’all.”
The event marked the presentation of a significant grant from the Paid In Full Foundation to Rakim and Scarface, both recognized as inaugural recipients of this prestigious award. Nas, along with Ben Horowitz, co-founder of venture capital firm Andreesen Horowitz, and Ben’s wife Felicia, organized the Hip Hop Grandmaster Awards in Las Vegas.
Ben Horowitz, a longtime friend of Nas and an early investor in the lyric annotation site Genius, has been actively involved in the Hip Hop culture. The Grandmaster Awards were initiated as part of the Paid In Full Foundation’s efforts to recognize and reward individuals who have significantly contributed to the culture but haven’t received corresponding financial acknowledgement.
Steve Stoute, revealing the news on the Rap Radar podcast, shared insights into the foundation’s mission. “Myself, Ben Horowitz, Fab 5 Freddy, QD3, Felicia Horowitz, Ben’s wife — we have a fund, a charity called Paid In Full. And on November 17, we are honouring those who have led the culture but have not received the financial rewards that are on par with their cultural contribution.”
The foundation’s website further outlines its objective: “The Paid in Full Foundation aims to rectify that through its grantmaking program, by both honoring the people who built Hip Hop and enabling them to pursue their creative and intellectual pursuits for the benefit of society.”
