Nas was so touched by R-Mean’s 2017 tribute track in his honor that he reached out to him, and within three days, they recorded a collab.
Born in L.A. but raised in Amsterdam R-Mean, who has songs with the likes of The Game, Joe Budden, Kxng Crooked, and King Los, cites Nas as one of his biggest influences. When he dropped a tribute to the rap icon back in 2017, he never envisioned an opportunity to record with him.
However, dreams do come true, and R-Mean and Nas released the Scott Storch-assisted “Candle of the Devil” on Friday (Arp. 7). An overjoyed R-Mean took to Instagram earlier this week to explain how the fantasy collab came to fruition.
He revealed he used to “dream about being in the studio” with his favorite rapper Nas. “Until one day I woke up and it wasn’t a dream,” he declared.
“Back in 2017 I dropped a mixtape song called Letter to the King as a tribute to my 2 biggest influences as an emcee, Nas and Em. It got a lot of love from my fans and online but that was pretty much it.
R-Mean Says He And Nas Created A “Masterpiece”
However, several years later fate brought Nas into contact with a friend of R-Mean who played him the tribute and was moved to Facetime the song’s creator. “Nas told me ‘that sh*t did something to me right now’ as he pointed to his chest,” R-Ream added. “Three days later we were in the studio at @scottstorchofficial’s house and we created this masterpiece together on the spot!”
He concluded by expressing what the song means to him: “My actual dream came true. And not just because I did a song with my childhood idol, but because Nas and I both agree that this song is truly special. It’s a masterpiece! It’s exactly what I always imagined I would create with Nas if I was given the opportunity.”
Stream “Candle of the Devil,” below.
