There’s a scene in Time Is Illmatic , a 2014 documentary about the creation of Nas ’s 1994 masterwork Illmatic , where the rapper walks around the Queensbridge projects where he grew up, camera crew in tow. A woman in the neighborhood calls out, “Hey, Nas!” He gallantly responds, “What’s up, baby!” It’s a clichéd scene – the rich celebrity who hasn’t forgotten where he came from – yet it still resonates. His onetime rival Jay-Z couldn’t touch down in Brooklyn’s Marcy Projects like that.

At age 52, Nas has cast himself as a humble rap GOAT, acutely conscious of his influence yet deceptively undervalued. When Complex asked when he would follow in the footsteps of Dr. Dre and Kendrick Lamar as a Super Bowl halftime performer, he demurred, chuckling, “Why would I do that? Leave it t

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