Hate Me Now

"Hate Me Now"
Single by Nas featuring Puff Daddy
from the album I Am...
B-side "If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)"
"Street Dreams"
Released April 6, 1999
Format CD single
Recorded 1998
Genre Hip hop
Length 4:44
Label Columbia
Producer(s) D-Moet, Pretty Boy & Trackmasters
Nas singles chronology
"Nas Is Like" (1999) "Hate Me Now" (1999) "In Too Deep" (1999)
Puff Daddy singles chronology
"Come with Me" (1998) "Hate Me Now" (1999) "P.E. 2000" (1999)
I Am... track listing
"NY State of Mind PtII."
(2)
"Hate Me Now"
(3)
"Small World"
(4)

"Hate Me Now" is the second and final single by rapper Nas featuring Puff Daddy, from Nas' third studio album I Am.... The backbeat is inspired by, and contains some samples from, Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. It was ranked 119 on XXL's best songs of the 1990s.

Overview

Controversy

The music video for the single, directed by Hype Williams and featuring Nas being crucified, was the subject of extreme controversy, as the original edit also featured Puff Daddy on the cross.[1] A Catholic, Puffy had demanded that his crucifixion scene be excised from the broadcast edit of the video, but the wrong edit was incorrectly sent to MTV and TRL, and aired on April 15, 1999.[2] Within minutes of the broadcast, Puffy had barged into the offices of Nas' manager Steve Stoute with several bodyguards, and struck Stoute over the head with a champagne bottle. Stoute later sued Puffy, the suit was settled out of court.

Nas later related the making of the song and the subsequent incident:

"It was a track D-Moet Produced for Foxy Brown, and she didn't want the record, she didn't like it. It fit with my album, I Am..., so I did the D-Moet track and it sounded perfect for Puff to be on, so I gave it to him, went to the studio, and he rocked it, knocked it out. I wanted him to talk that shit on there, because that "Victory" record was my favorite record, with him and B.I.G., and I just wanted him to talk some of his shit on there. I had him screaming a whole bunch of wild shit on here, and cats were slam-dancing to it in New York. It was really crazy, out of this world. At that point, I started wearing a huge chain, and I think me and Puff at that point started that bling shit and took it to the next level, and we did the video, and it was out of this world.

There's a play in New York City where a black man played Jesus, and caught a lot of flak. I think, even the mayor at the time, Giuliani, was against it. So my thing was I wanted to be crucified like Jesus in the video, to get back at all those people that don't want to see a black man doing his thing. Me and Puff got hammered to the cross, but after Puff expressed his religious beliefs and speaking to his pastor, he wasn't ready to take that stance, so it was really my idea anyway, so we took his part out. For some reason, I think [my former manager] Steve Stoute let it fly with Puffy still being crucified to the cross, so there was that fight at the office, where Puff jumped on Steve or some shit like that. Both of them were friends of mine, so I kind of stepped in and squashed the whole thing, and it's all in the past. Just growing pains. We were all growing up. That brings back a lot of memories. Even when I throw it on onstage now, it still kills."[3]

Release and performance

The single was released in Italy with a version in which Puff Daddy was substituted by the Italian rapper Frankie Hi-NRG MC, and in Germany featuring Afrob.

The song peaked at #62 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The beat was also used by Cam'Ron and Jim Jones to diss Nas for calling Cam'Ron's album "wack" on their mixtape, Diplomats Vol. 2.

Charts

Charts Position
Australian Singles Chart[4] 55
UK Singles Chart 14
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 62
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs 18
U.S. Billboard Hot Rap Singles 8

Use in media

References

  1. "Today In Hip-Hop: Nas Premiered Controversial "Hate Me Now" Video On TRL". XXL. 15 April 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  2. Kangas, Chaz (10 January 2013). "How Have We Not Seen Diddy Crucified in "Hate Me Now?"". Village Voice. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  3. Nas' "Greatest Hits": A Track-By-Track Journey With the Pride of Queens : Rolling Stone
  4. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  5. Ali, Reyan (4 April 2014). "The Real King of Pro Wrestling? The Ordinary Video Editor". Wired. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
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