Plot Twist: Nas Knows Who's Behind Remy Ma's 'shETHER' Ban
Among others, fans dropped legendary emcee and hip-hop royalty Nas smack in the middle of Remy Ma and Nicki Minaj’s rap spat after the Bronx-native sampled his 2001 Jay Z diss track, “Ether.”
But now that Rem’s “shETHER” adaptation of the record has been snatched from practically all commercial distribution, including radio-play and live performance, Nas reportedly knows exactly who’s to blame for the interference.
According to TMZ, sources revealed Nas is of the mind that Universal Music Publishing, which owns the original “Ether” record, seized Remy’s track due to permissions rights.
After the song grew to a No. 2 spot on iTunes, TMZ reports, it caught Universal’s attention and triggered action from the music company. To date, the track is still able to be downloaded via iTunes, but has noticeably been plucked from radio and SoundCloud. TMZ adds that its sources also rejected any notion of Nas stepping into the ladies’ rap beef, claiming that he appreciates what rap beefs do for the culture, but he wouldn’t dare go so far as to ambush one side or the other.
Should Universal move forward with pulling “shETHER” from other distribution, it’s likely that the record will go missing unless rights and permissions are ironed out with Remy.