Got Yourself a Gun: A Critical Breakdown of the song “Ether”

By Jamari Stokes

 

 

 

On November 13, 2001, Columbia Records hosted a listening party to give the media an advance listen of rapper Nas’ upcoming album, Stillmatic.  At the time, Nas was in the middle of a rap battle with Brooklyn rapper Jay-Z.  Earlier in the year Jay-Z had released his album, The Blueprint, which included the track “Takeover”.  “Takeover” was a direct diss to Nas and fellow Queensbridge rappers Mobb Deep.  The recent salvo fired by Jay-Z was the first public response to what has previously been only comments made against him by Mobb Deep in interviews and songs by Nas that appeared on underground mix tapes.  By releasing “Takeover” on his major label album, Jay-Z took the conflict to another level.  Music industry insiders and fans were eagerly anticipating a response from Nas.  What they got was “Ether,” the direct response to Jay-Z’s “Takeover.”  “Ether” which was the second track on Nas’ new album (the same number as “Takeover” on Jay-Z’s Blueprint.), was an effective response to Jay-Z and set up the stage for one of Hip Hop’s biggest battles in recent history. 

In order to understand the song “Ether,” one must understand the situation that created the song.  Nas had been relatively low-profile before he began battling Jay-Z.  His albums had not sold as well as expected, and he was no longer a household name in the world of hip hop.  Jay-Z had a string of multi-platinum albums and was ruling the airwaves.  Both rappers had been heralded as the heirs to the throne of hip hop after the deaths of rappers Tupac Sakur and Notorious B.I.G.  Jay-Z came closest to living up to expectations with his album sales and popularity.  However, there had been rumblings from Queensbridge duo Mobb Deep against the rapper.  The rappers stated in magazine interviews that they believed Jay-Z was soft and he wasn’t as good as he believed himself to be.  Mixtape songs against Jay-Z also began to surface on the internet.  These songs were written by Nas, at the time an associate of Mobb Deep.  Jay-Z had never been known to respond to verbal attacks against him, so it was a shock to the music world when his sixth album, The Blueprint, included the track “Takeover”.  Jay-Z called out Nas and Mobb Deep by name in the song, forcing both to respond.  Mobb Deep wasn’t a major concern to the majority of the hip hop world.  They were not major players when it came to album sales (They only charted on platinum album in their career.)  However, Nas had a successful career and had been high profile, despite his declining album sales.  He was also considered a worthy opponent for Jay-Z as few rappers during the time were able to match him verbally.  Nas was in a corner with no true choice; either respond to “Takeover” or watch his already waning hold on the public fade even more.  What came out of the pressure-filled situation was a powerful response.

 

 

There are several reasons why “Ether” was an effective response to “Takeover.”  The first element of the song’s effectiveness is the rough style of the song.  “Takeover” was a song from Jay-Z’s most critically acclaimed album.  It is considered by many to be the most polished and focused album in his catalog.  “Takeover” fits well into that mold because it is a very polished and focused song.   “Takeover” is also more technically sound song. However, this ultimately worked against him when it came to garnering the respect of traditional hip hop fans.  When it comes to hip hop battles, all that matters in the end is the fan’s response, and “Ether had more street creditability.  “Either” has no true hook or set format.  It is abrupt and spontaneous, almost as if Nas went into the studio and did the song entirely on one take.  It is an emotional and very personal song, pulling no punches.  The first words heard on the song are “Fuck Jay-Z.”  Nas shows that he’s being very direct and to the point with the song, never going for the subliminal dis. 

Perhaps the most effective aspect of the song is the direct references to “Takeover.”  In hip hop, an effective dis addresses the rapper and the song that sparked the response.  Nas uses these tactics effectively by addressing accusations made by Jay-Z in “Takeover”.  The first time this comes up is in the first verse of the song.  Nas shouts “How can Nas be garbage?” during the set up of the song, preparing to dispel any rumors that his skills as a rapper had diminished.  The second reference to “Takeover” is in the third verse, in which Nas attempts to clarify Jay-Z’s story about who influenced whom early in their rap careers.  In “Takeover,” Jay-Z accuses Nas of fabricating the life he raps about.  He also says that he showed Nas his first gun when they were doing tours together, then Nas created a song about his first gun.  Nas strikes back in his song by stating that it was actually Jay-Z who was faking his lifestyle.  He describes a pre-fame Jay-Z as “a fan, a phony, a fake.”  He also describes their fist meeting between the two, stating that Jay-Z called him up because he was being chased from his home “real thugs” and needed a place to hide. 

Another effective element of “Ether” is Nas used the song to take shots at Jay-Z in a place where he is rather vulnerable; his continuous practice of recycling lyrics written by the Notorious B.I.G.  It is a well publicized fact that Notorious B.I.G. and Jay-Z were good friends before Notorious B.I.G.’s death.  He was also considered one of best, if not the best, rappers of all time.  Sometime after his death, Jay-Z started using lyrics that appeared in songs made by Notorious B.I.G. during his life.  He claimed that it was his way of honoring B.I.G.  While many of the references to B.I.G. were clever, it became something that he was criticized for after it became commonplace.  During “Ether,” Nas criticizes Jay-Z by asking him “Why don’t you let the late, great veteran live?” and “How many of Biggie’s rhymes is gon’ come out your fat lips?”  He also gets on Jay-Z for saying that he might be better than B.I.G., even thought Jay-Z first said that B.I.G. was the best rapper ever. 

The simplest element of “Ether” is the fact that the song is completely about Jay-Z.  “Takeover” had only one verse directly about Nas, the rest of the song addressed rap duo Mobb Deep.  “Either” never wavered from any other subject.  This makes it a completely focused effort. 

While the majority of this song works well, there are a few elements that bring it into question.  The most glaring weakness of this song is the historical inaccuracy in one of the verses.  In the third verse, Nas raps “Rockefeller died of AIDS, that was the end of his chapter/and that’s the guy y’all chose to name your company after?”  This is an obvious reference to Jay-Z’s record label, Roc-a-fella Record.  However, this makes Nas look bad because this reference to Rockefeller is actually a reference to the actor Rock Hudson.  Hudson was the one who died of AIDS, not the oil tycoon.  This hurts Nas’ song because it makes him appear uninformed.

The other element that causes the song to lose steam is the way Nas contradicts himself later in interviews.  In an interview with MTV, Nas stated that he never wanted to be “King of New York,” the so-called title of the best rapper form New York City.  “Me, Myself, never wanted the crown.  That’s crown’s a big responsibility.”  He told a reporter.  However, in the song, he raps “who’s the best? Pac, Nas and Big” in which it puts himself in line with deceased rappers Tupac Sakur and Notorious B.I.G., both considered the best rappers of all time.  He then goes on to say, “I’m the truest, name a rapper that I ain’t influenced.”  Nas more directly states at one point in the song “The king is back, where is my crown at?” and even directly tells Jay-Z, “Burner at the side of your dome, come outta my throne.”  These lyrics clearly contradict what Nas said in his interview. 

In the long run, the song effectively did was it was supposed to do; it forced a response out of Jay-Z.  After the release party, news of the song spread in the music word and the song itself leaked onto the internet.  It also began to get airplay on radio stations around the country.  Even though the album Stillmatic was not due until Dec. 18 (the same date of the release of Jay-Z’s Unplugged album) of that year, Jay-Z released his response, “Superugly,” as a mix tape track and sent a copy to Hot 97, New York’s number one Hip Hop radio station.  The song was played Dec. 12, days before the release of both Jay-Z and Nas’ albums.  The radio station played both “Superugly” and “Ether” back to back and had listeners phone and fax in which song they thought was a better dis.  Ether won out with 52 percent of the votes.  This was a major factor in the battle, as the news of results of Hot 97’s call in vote spread across the country.  Nas had the streets in support of him and it fueled sales of his album, which went on to sell more than 340,000 copies in its first week.  It also put Nas back into the public spotlight and he was once again considered one of the best rappers alive.  In the end, Nas was considered the winner of the battle.  “Ether” not only won him street creditability, but it also revitalized his career.