Nas Reveals He Battled COVID-19: 'It Was Mentally and Physically Hard'

At this point, no one can escape the pandemic—not even one of the greatest rappers to grace the Earth. During an interview with Ebony, Nas revealed he contracted COVID-19 and that the virus took an unexpected toll on him.

“I caught COVID in late October,” Nas said. “This is the first time [I’m] mentioning it. It was a tough time. It was mentally and physically hard.”

He went on to explain that COVID just adds to the horrific state of the world we live in. “It’s just today’s world, with chemical warfare, crazy politics, racism, food shortages, police malpractice, Black-on-Black murder,” he continued. “The human spirit is being tested. I think that God has a plan for all of this. But right now, we’re in a serious time.”

If there’s one positive from the coronavirus pandemic, it’s that people have been forced to deeply consider how fragile life can be. Nas played with this notion while talking to talking to Ebony about how he’d like to be remembered.

“I just wanna become as great as the ones I came up thinking were the greatest,” Nas said when asked about his musical legacy. “Big Daddy Kane, Kool G Rap, LL, Slick Rick, Ice Cube—the list goes on. I just wanna be able to look at myself and say that I did what they are doing.”