Cormega Shuts Down the Myth That His Career Came From a Nas Shoutout

[Awesome Wells]

But Testament tho shelved and Realness are both after he was beefing with Nas so make it make sense...if anything nas was actively hindering Mega career behind the scenes during these years.

The Testament got shelved because Mega was threatening Mona Scott and other people at the Def Jam and Violator office because he was mad that he didn't have certain things he saw other rappers with. He didn't put in any work, but wanted all the flashy sh*t everyone else had, at the time.

He started buggin' and showing up to the office with guns and saying he was gonna kill everybody in there, lol. Nobody wanted to deal with him anymore. He had already f*cked up his spot on The Firm, and then after Violator did the compilation, he kept wildin'. He burned mad bridges. That wasn't on Nas.

 

[MurderToCassette]

He was on wax in 89, and he had a deal and woulda dropped before Nas had he not get locked up, theres no telling how big he woulda been had he dropped when he shoulda, he coulda had 3-4 projects released by the time Illmatic dropped.

Oh word, that's dope. I always thought the PHD album was his first appearance.

 

[KingSol81]

Oh word, that's dope. I always thought the PHD album was his first appearance.

Nah, but good on knowing PHD, most cats don't realize how long individually Screwball been in the game.

 

[DontEemTry]

I mean, I can see how Mega is right about that narrative if we're talking about that half a bar.

 

[Cladyclad]

Nobody still knows him

 

[summwunn]

 

[summwunn]

 

[summwunn]

 

[get these nets]

Queensbridge blew up around that time because of Nas though lol
Take nas, the firm, and the shoutout of the picture and i dont think anyone is checking for him. I mean he was put in a super group with Nas Az and Foxy brown after puttin nothin out for 4 years. And it's not like he had commercial appeal



Tragedy never disappeared

If you're from that era, you remember QB artists coming out of the woodworks. Screwball was mentioned in this thread, another set of dudes who made music before Illmatic but who got another shot because of the shine that QB got in that era.

Lot of artists, old and new got on because of Nas and Mobb Deep blowing up QB.

As far as Mega in the Firm, what he brought to the table was the gritty street element and fan base. Best comparison I can use is how Kid Hood was on the Scenario remix, and while everybody was flipping styles and patterns he was just raw dog and gutter.
Balanced it out, and probably got hard rocks and jail dudes to listen to and like the song.

I think Mega served that purpose to the group. The goon element. If they were doing mafioso rap, he was Luca Brasi.

 

[nieman]

Mega has told this story a lot over the years/decades. However, '91/92 is a long time from '95 during those times. Most of those around then, didn't make it to '95 because things were too different. Even if he thought what he was bringing was of a different edge, the timing is still off. His recognition more than likely doesn't translate into something substantial without the Nas mention 2 years later. So while he may have been talented enough to get signed or recognized on his own, the industry still required him to have a connection to something that has substantial steam at the time. And he still gets the DJ deal damn near immediately. Hell, Shyheim had his deal before Wu, but it was the Wu-connection that really allowed him to take off.

 

[Mike Wins]

The Testament got shelved because Mega was threatening Mona Scott and other people at the Def Jam and Violator office because he was mad that he didn't have certain things he saw other rappers with. He didn't put in any work, but wanted all the flashy sh*t everyone else had, at the time.

He started buggin' and showing up to the office with guns and saying he was gonna kill everybody in there, lol. Nobody wanted to deal with him anymore. He had already f*cked up his spot on The Firm, and then after Violator did the compilation, he kept wildin'. He burned mad bridges. That wasn't on Nas.

The idea Nas could blackball someone managed by Chris Lighty signed to Def Jam was always comedy.

 

[nieman]

The idea Nas could blackball someone managed by Chris Lighty signed to Def Jam was always comedy.

I think Mega always alluded to Stoute being the one putting in calls, and not necessarily Nas. It's just that since Nas in the middle, it's both if Nas isn't stepping up to say otherwise...which was always a dumb way of looking at it, especially knowing Nas' demeanor. But his beef was always with Stoute (allegedly) until that Firm freestyle w/ Mary J & Nore. And Stoute is definitely the one to try to blackball someone.

But Mega is also a hothead...ironically, he's not the only one.

 

[Mike Wins]

I think Mega always alluded to Stoute being the one putting in calls, and not necessarily Nas. It's just that since Nas in the middle, it's both if Nas isn't stepping up to say otherwise...which was always a dumb way of looking at it, especially knowing Nas' demeanor. But his beef was always with Stoute (allegedly) until that Firm freestyle w/ Mary J & Nore. And Stoute is definitely the one to try to blackball someone.

But Mega is also a hothead...ironically, he's not the only one.

Stoute was definitely moving greasy but he never had clout anywhere near what you'd need to derail an artist career that Kevin Liles, Lyor Cohen and Chris Lighty was invested in.

I am interested in the timeline though. Summer 1999 he had songs on the Violator album and Deep Blue Sea soundtrack, so Lighty and Def Jam was still working with him getting him placements. Sometime in 2000 he squashed the beef and was on a couple tracks on the QB comp, then by 2001 was back to dissing Nas left and right.

 

[Awesome Wells]

The idea Nas could blackball someone managed by Chris Lighty signed to Def Jam was always comedy.

Truth.

People always hop to blaming Nas. He spent years trying to help Mega, and even after that, Mega was in business with people that he did business with too. So he wasn't trying to block him from opportunities. Thing is, his relationship with Nas is what kept him from being kicked to the curb even earlier. He had a lot of chances to get his sh*t together and he dropped the ball. He's no victim though.

 

[AQz]

I grew up in LIC and have friends in queens bridge. Never heard of him until Nas