Nasir is a Hip Hop artist who moves with purpose. Ask him the meaning behind one of his creations and you’ll quickly realize he’s put a great deal of thought into the concept. It’s a refreshing attribute for an artist who has only been writing and recording music for months.
Despite this being his rookie season, Nasir has wasted no time taking his craft seriously. He’s already acquired a feature from buzzing singer-songwriter Cassidy King and has shown a potent mix of talent and hunger on his EP titled So Much To Say.
Aside from a fast moving work ethic, Nasir is bringing a diverse and stylistic approach to his growing sound. You might hear the influence of old-school delivery on tracks such as Incomplete while songs like Now pull listeners into a flaunting trap inspired anthem.
The artist has proven to have a clear sense of why he’s on this path and we expect him to follow through with the same tenacity on his first album Limitless releasing this summer. Catch our full interview with Nasir below where he breaks down his “face your fear” philosophy.
You’re named after a Hip Hop legend. Is there a story behind that?
My name comes directly from my father being inspired by NAS around the time of my birth. I was born in 97’ so my father being big on hip-hop culture, was more drawn to Nas and his style. The name has meaning as well! That’s the thing, it’s unique with a very strong meaning. It’s derived from the Quran and has a meaning of “helper” or “victorious one”. I live by my name and that’s why I use it as my stage name in all caps.
What caused your sudden dive into a serious music career?
It’s something that I have wanted to do since I was 11. I was always scared to take it serious and would make excuses not to pursue. This is what I represent in my music and Limitless Forever. But I recently took those limitations off myself and began building on passion that was already there. We all love music and I know other people are where I was. I want to show them that you can do it if I can.
You’re a member of Limitless Forever. What does this collective represent?
Limitless Forever represents a movement bigger than the individuals who started it. To be limitless Forever is a mindset. We know that in life you can not do everything. You’re not supposed to. But we represent the willingness to not limit yourself. Everything you see around you started from a person not limiting them self from believing in what they can really do. We rather try and fail than to not try and live with regrets. We are limitless and it shows in the music and culture amongst us as well.
What was your overall goal with the release of your EP titled So Much To Say?
It’s actually funny how it all turned out. I was planning on releasing 3 songs for my 21st birthday and just as I kept practicing songs I realized that I had 5 complete songs that I felt confident to put out and that they were better as a collective and represent a change in my life. The songs on the EP individually represent changes in my life within the last year and I just wanted to express how I felt. My overall goal was to enjoy my 21st birthday by doing something I always was scared to do, make music.
I noticed you have diverse a range when it comes to production choices. Tell us about your approach.
I live by being limitless. I am relatively new to making songs. I wrote and recorded my first song in March. I have been making the most of what I can. All production I have used comes from people I grew up with and have a relationship with outside of music. I want to help them succeed as well and I take pride in the talent in Cleveland especially with people I know personally.
How did your collaboration with singer-songwriter Cassidy King come about?
We’re both from lake county and she has a buzz bigger than our county and a talent bigger than Cleveland. I had the song incomplete vocally done and I had a friend suggest I get a singer on the song. I had a brief hook written and me not having many music connections I reached out to here because that’s a name that came to mind. She’s mad talented.
I loved the vibe of the track “No Instruments”. There’s a point on the song where you mention people’s misuse of talent. Can you elaborate on that?
Man! This topic is bigger than music but I want to use rap as an example. A lot of rappers nowadays can really rap with substance but choose melodies and flows over substance, it does create a new sound but they could still be deeper with their lyrical content. It all derived from inspiration. People get to a point where they lose their inspiration and the substance of the music shows.
What can people expect from your next album?
The album is titled ‘LIMITLESS’ and it represents mentally getting out of the box that society wants to keep you in. The production is all from Cleveland producers and each song sounds different. I am not limiting myself to any specific genre or sound although I do portray my rapping capability all throughout. There are 11 songs on the record and the first half represents me getting out of the box which is the interlude of the album. The second half is about after me removing limitations from myself that changed the way I looked at life.
I have features from friends who have always wanted to make music as well who are ready to display their talents as well. The interlude is crazy. I have my homie Tony Tsu displaying his singing capabilities. The whole album is revolutionary.
Any closing thoughts you would like to share with the world?
I make music to inspire others to do what they know they can do. You can control your future and I stand for making a change especially for the culture in Cleveland. I see opportunity everywhere and I have learned to make the most of everything. I consider myself an artist but as a rapper, I am doing this to be the best rapper ever. And I do not plan on stopping at all. Limitless Forever has plenty of music releasing coming as a whole. The energy and passion amongst us is limitless and we’re ready to show it.
Stay tuned for Limitless dropping this summer and stream new music from Nasir on Apple Music and Spotify today! Twitter: @NasirLimitless IG: @NasirStylin
What was your overall goal with the release of your EP titled So Much To Say?
It’s actually funny how it all turned out. I was planning on releasing 3 songs for my 21st birthday and just as I kept practicing songs I realized that I had 5 complete songs that I felt confident to put out and that they were better as a collective and represent a change in my life. The songs on the EP individually represent changes in my life within the last year and I just wanted to express how I felt. My overall goal was to enjoy my 21st birthday by doing something I always was scared to do, make music.
I noticed you have diverse a range when it comes to production choices. Tell us about your approach.
I live by being limitless. I am relatively new to making songs. I wrote and recorded my first song in March. I have been making the most of what I can. All production I have used comes from people I grew up with and have a relationship with outside of music. I want to help them succeed as well and I take pride in the talent in Cleveland especially with people I know personally.
How did your collaboration with singer-songwriter Cassidy King come about?
We’re both from lake county and she has a buzz bigger than our county and a talent bigger than Cleveland. I had the song incomplete vocally done and I had a friend suggest I get a singer on the song. I had a brief hook written and me not having many music connections I reached out to here because that’s a name that came to mind. She’s mad talented.
I loved the vibe of the track “No Instruments”. There’s a point on the song where you mention people’s misuse of talent. Can you elaborate on that?
Man! This topic is bigger than music but I want to use rap as an example. A lot of rappers nowadays can really rap with substance but choose melodies and flows over substance, it does create a new sound but they could still be deeper with their lyrical content. It all derived from inspiration. People get to a point where they lose their inspiration and the substance of the music shows.
What can people expect from your next album?
The album is titled ‘LIMITLESS’ and it represents mentally getting out of the box that society wants to keep you in. The production is all from Cleveland producers and each song sounds different. I am not limiting myself to any specific genre or sound although I do portray my rapping capability all throughout. There are 11 songs on the record and the first half represents me getting out of the box which is the interlude of the album. The second half is about after me removing limitations from myself that changed the way I looked at life.
I have features from friends who have always wanted to make music as well who are ready to display their talents as well. The interlude is crazy. I have my homie Tony Tsu displaying his singing capabilities. The whole album is revolutionary.
Any closing thoughts you would like to share with the world?
I make music to inspire others to do what they know they can do. You can control your future and I stand for making a change especially for the culture in Cleveland. I see opportunity everywhere and I have learned to make the most of everything. I consider myself an artist but as a rapper, I am doing this to be the best rapper ever. And I do not plan on stopping at all. Limitless Forever has plenty of music releasing coming as a whole. The energy and passion amongst us is limitless and we’re ready to show it.
Stay tuned for Limitless dropping this summer and stream new music from Nasir on Apple Music and Spotify today! Twitter: @NasirLimitless IG: @NasirStylin