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