--- description: Nas explains why he feels it's important to encourage black youth and ensure Americans - both black and white - know their history. title: Nas: 'It's Not Cool For the U.S. to Look Like Apartheid South Africa' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf678c189b6f32964/69876f56cd1bba4d0c6f43a2/nas.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Nas: 'It's Not Cool For the U.S. to Look Like Apartheid South Africa' by [Salima Koroma](/author/salima-koroma/) ## Salima Koroma Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 17, 2014 3:54 PM CUT  Nas: "It's not cool for the U.S. to look like apartheid South Africa." Nas: "It's not cool for the U.S. to look like apartheid South Africa."Time--Salima Koroma by [Salima Koroma](/author/salima-koroma/) ## Salima Koroma Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 17, 2014 3:54 PM CUT Queensbridge rapper Nas celebrated the 20th anniversary of the release of his first album _Illmatic_ this year_._ The debut is considered one of hip-hop’s most defining works; a quintessential piece of hip-hop history. To commemorate the milestone, two independent filmmakers produced the documentary _Nas: Time is Illmatic_, a feature that highlights the gritty New York City environment within which the album was birthed. In an interview with TIME, Nas explains why he feels it’s important to encourage black youth and ensure Americans—both black and white—know their history. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3637544/nas-south-africa-racism/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3637544/nas-south-africa-racism/"},"headline":"Nas: 'It's Not Cool For the U.S. to Look Like Apartheid South Africa'","datePublished":"2014-12-17T15:54:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T02:56:10.431Z","description":"The rapper says Americans—both black and white—need to know their history","url":"https://time.com/3637544/nas-south-africa-racism/","keywords":["Music","Eric Garner","Ferguson topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf678c189b6f32964/69876f56cd1bba4d0c6f43a2/nas.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Salima Koroma","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/salima-koroma/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf678c189b6f32964/69876f56cd1bba4d0c6f43a2/nas.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Nas: \"It's not cool for the U.S. to look like apartheid South Africa.\"","caption":"Nas: \"It's not cool for the U.S. to look like apartheid South Africa.\"","creditText":"Time--Salima Koroma","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3637544/nas-south-africa-racism/","name":"Nas: 'It's Not Cool For the U.S. to Look Like Apartheid South Africa'"}}]}] ```