Reach Out
by Nas

Album: Life Is Good (2012)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song features the voice of Mary J. Blige, who is returning the favor after Nas rapped on her 2011 track, "Feel Inside." The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul sings snippets from DJ Hotday's Hip-Hop remix of New Edition's Running Scared soundtrack single, "Once In a Lifetime Groove." "I remember buying it from a flea market," Nas told UK newspaper The Guardian. "When I hear Mary singing, I'm taken back to late '80s New York - to Queens, to Harlem, to the rest of the boroughs."

    He continued: "It was storytelling, and it was super local – when you heard a record from Brooklyn, it introduced you to Brooklyn in a way nothing else could do. When hip-hop was smaller, this is how we found out about different places – and that still lives in all of us who love Hip-Hop."
  • This samples the piano loop from Isaac Hayes' "Ike's Mood I" and DJ Hollywood's "Hollywood's World."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")Song Writing

Director Mark Pellington on Pearl Jam's "Jeremy," and music videos he made for U2, Jon Bon Jovi and Imagine Dragons.

Gene Simmons of Kiss

Gene Simmons of KissSongwriter Interviews

The Kiss rocker covers a lot of ground in this interview, including why there are no Kiss collaborations, and why the Rock Hall has "become a sham."

Charlie Daniels

Charlie DanielsSongwriter Interviews

Charlie discusses the songs that made him a Southern Rock icon, and settles the Devil vs. Johnny argument once and for all.

Dave Pirner of Soul Asylum

Dave Pirner of Soul AsylumSongwriter Interviews

Dave explains how the video appropriated the meaning of "Runaway Train," and what he thought of getting parodied by Weird Al.

Carol Kaye

Carol KayeSongwriter Interviews

A top session musician, Carol played on hundreds of hits by The Beach Boys, The Monkees, Frank Sinatra and many others.

Kevin Godley

Kevin GodleySongwriter Interviews

Kevin Godley talks about directing classic videos for The Police, U2 and Duran Duran, and discusses song and videos he made with 10cc and Godley & Creme.