Monday, March 19, 2012 2:56pm ET by  
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Nas admits doubts over posthumous Winehouse duet

Rapper Nas has admitted he was initially apprehensive about working on unfinished Amy Winehouse track, ‘Like Smoke.’  

The 38-year-old, who was speaking at a Q&A session at the SXSW festival, had previously been approached by the late soul singer to record a follow-up to 'Back To Black' album track ‘Me & Mr Jones.’

But following her tragic death, the New York MC said he was at first reluctant to contribute to the song, which appeared on Winehouse’s posthumous release, Lioness: Hidden Treasures late last year. 

He said: "Part of me didn't want to do the song. Amy and I share a birthday, so she was my sister. And she was just so much fun to be around. She would say things about well-known people in the industry that she didn't like and it would just crack me up… We were all hoping she would pull through and come back."

Nas, who released the album, 'Hip Hop Is Dead' back in 2006, also talked about the way Notorious B.I.G. and 2Pac's deaths changed his perspective on the hip-hop genre:

"At some point I felt the whole thing was dead after Biggie and Pac were killed. Once I knew we'd never get a chance to see where they were headed, it just died for me for a bit there."

 

 

 

Listen to the Amy/Nas track, 'Like Smoke,' below: