Nas vs. Shakespeare: Would a battle even be close?

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I recently watched the “New York State of Mind” episode of *Hip-Hop Evolution*, and it was awesome! Darby Wheeler really nailed it with this one. It’s all about Nas and his first album, *Illmatic* – which, everyone agrees, is a total classic. The episode had a bunch of musicians and people in the industry sharing what makes that album so special and influential. It was super insightful!

Faith Newman, a producer on Nas’s album *Illmatic* and a former Columbia Records executive who discovered him, compared Nas’s lyrical ability on the album to Shakespeare, but noted he was a product of his environment, hailing from the Queensbridge projects.

Honestly, hearing that really got me thinking about how amazing Nas is as a lyricist. But it also made me wonder… how do rappers, and hip-hop in general, connect with classic writers like Shakespeare? It’s cool to see that respect, but I started to wonder how deep that connection really goes. It made me curious to learn more about how hip-hop relates to the wider world of literature.

Who is the Bard of Queensbridge?

Faith Newman’s comment about Nas being “Shakespeare, but from Queensbridge” was likely just a playful comparison. However, it does make you wonder: if you *did* compare Shakespeare and Nas, what would you discover about the sources of their talent and what drove them as writers?

Dympna Callaghan’s book, *Who was William Shakespeare?: An Introduction to the Life and Works* (2013), states that Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England, in 1564. His mother, Mary, was from the wealthy Arden family, and his father, John, was a prosperous businessman, investor, and glove maker who was well-known in Stratford.

John was a prominent citizen of Stratford, holding important positions like alderman (from 1565) and eventually becoming a bailiff around 1567 or 1568. Back then, a bailiff was a leading community role, different from the meaning we give it today.

John Shakespeare and his family faced money problems, and it took a considerable amount of time for them to gain the social status of a gentleman – officially recognized with a coat of arms – as Dympna Callaghan points out.

So, I’ve been digging into my family history, and it looks like my ancestor, John, first tried to get a coat of arms way back in the late 1560s or early 1570s. But it didn’t actually go through until 1596. Interestingly, I think it was my ancestor William who officially applied for it at that time, but he did it using his father, John’s, name.

Even though John Shakespeare and his wife probably couldn’t read or write – a common situation for the time – his success in holding important positions in Stratford-upon-Avon meant his son, William, received a good education at the town’s excellent grammar school.

In Shakespeare’s time, most children began their education with a hornbook – a small, wooden paddle. It was used to help them memorize the alphabet, vowels, consonants, and common prayers such as “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” and the Lord’s Prayer (Pater Noster).

Children weren’t simply taught to read using hornbooks; they were expected to thoroughly learn and repeat much of the text, and sometimes even recite it forwards and backwards. This practice is described in a 1661 book called *A New Discovery of the Old Art of Teaching* by Charles Hoole, an educator and clergyman from the 17th century.

When children were very young, both boys and girls could learn to read with help from adults in their families or communities who knew how to read. However, as boys got older, formal education became more common for them than for girls.

In Elizabethan England, young children typically started their education at a petty school around the age of four. These schools prepared them for grammar school, which they would attend when they were older.

Shakespeare likely attended the petty school in Stratford, which was located in a chapel within the Guild Hall. During the years he would have been a student, both William Gilbard and Thomas Parker were officially licensed to teach there.

After I got the basics down with my first little learning book – kinda like a hornbook – I moved onto an ABC book. That’s what we used before starting grammar school, usually around when I was seven years old.

So, when I think about where Shakespeare went to school – Stratford Grammar – it was a really well-respected place, and Simon Hunt was the headmaster around the 1570s, which is when Shakespeare would have been a student there. Luckily for him, his dad was an alderman, which meant Shakespeare got a free spot – basically, tuition was covered! It’s cool to think about him walking those halls.

As Dympna Callaghan points out, grammar schools focused on teaching Latin grammar, assuming students-who were all boys-already knew how to read and write in English.

William Lily’s book, *An Introduction of the Eyght Partes of Speche* – often called “Lily’s Grammar” – was the official grammar textbook used in English schools. It was the only one approved by King Henry VIII, who authorized it in 1542. The book was written in Latin for the first half and English for the second.

The grammar school aimed to ensure students became proficient in writing Latin, improving their reading and speaking abilities, and also gaining a strong understanding of classic literature.

Students at different reading levels had different materials. Beginners enjoyed Aesop’s fables, while more advanced students read Roman poets like Virgil, famous for his epic poem the *Aeneid*, and Ovid, known for his collection *Metamorphoses*.

We don’t know much about Shakespeare’s formal education beyond his teenage years, likely due to his family’s financial difficulties. However, I believe the groundwork for his remarkable talent as a poet and playwright was already in place when he finished school.

Shakespeare first encountered some of the stories he later used in his plays when he was in grammar school. He often drew inspiration from Ovid’s *Metamorphoses*, for example, incorporating characters like Theseus and the tale of Pyramus and Thisbe into *A Midsummer Night’s Dream*.

Shakespeare’s *The Comedy of Errors* was largely based on *Menaechmi*, a play by the Roman writer Plautus. Plautus, along with another Roman playwright named Terence, was commonly studied by students in English grammar schools at the time.

Although he may not have studied specific literary works in elementary school, Shakespeare likely developed the basic skills and interests there that would later fuel his writing.

Shakespeare frequently drew inspiration from classical sources, and a major one for his Roman plays like *Julius Caesar* and *Coriolanus* was Plutarch’s *Parallel Lives*. He specifically used the English translation by Sir Thomas North, which was first published in 1579.

Simply put, I think Shakespeare’s education was crucial in developing his reading and writing skills, ultimately allowing him to become such a successful author.

When it comes to Nas, it’s safe to say he didn’t develop his rapping skills in school.

You know, it’s crazy to think Nas, like Shakespeare, didn’t finish school. I was watching the *Time Is Illmatic* doc – it’s a must-see, by the way – and he said he bounced out somewhere between 8th and 9th grade. He talked about how school just totally killed any love of learning he had. It’s sad, but it really explains a lot about where his drive and creativity came from, you know?

Nas’s brother, Jungle, attended a junior high school – possibly Oliver W. Holmes – that he describes as being like a prison, referring to it as “Rikers Island.” Although Nas remembers some good teachers when he was younger, especially Ms. Braconi in grade school, Jungle’s harsh description of middle school likely reflects a similar experience for Nas as well.

Nas doesn’t credit the New York schools he attended with actually providing him with an education.

These housing projects felt less like planned developments and more like extensions of the original Queensbridge Houses, built in the 1930s. Initially intended to offer better homes for working-class families – primarily white ones – under Mayor La Guardia and President Roosevelt’s New Deal, by the time Nas grew up, they had largely become areas where marginalized communities of color, especially Black residents, were concentrated.

Nas always felt he had a natural ability for art and design, but his school experience often discouraged him, ultimately leading to a lack of motivation and declining grades. As he shared in the book *Time Is Illmatic*, his mother, Fannie Ann Jones, had to advocate for his removal from a school that wanted to place him in a class for students with learning difficulties.

Nas’s father, Olu Dara, originally from Natchez, Mississippi, was upset with the New York City schools his children attended. He felt they lacked the supportive and close-knit environment he experienced growing up in the South, and believed the schools weren’t adequately caring for Black students, describing the situation as sending his children “into Hell.”

Following a conversation with a school administrator and teacher who believed it was best for his sons to transfer, Olu Dara asked Nas and Jungle to leave school and focus on earning a living, a decision their mother didn’t support.

As I mentioned before, Nas didn’t simply dislike school; and unlike Shakespeare, his education wasn’t what inspired him to become a writer. Unlike the classical playwrights Plautus and Terence, artists like MC Shan and Roxanne Shante weren’t part of what Nas studied in school.

They were however, in Queensbridge, along with Nas and many other current and future DJs and MCs.

Nas often says he learned more from his community than from school, and that’s a key part of his creative process. While people in Elizabethan England also learned from their communities, the formal education available to boys at that time was far superior to what most Black children in New York City experienced in the 1970s and 80s, particularly those growing up in places like Queensbridge housing projects.

Nas comes from a strong, supportive community, beginning with his family. He’s part of a musical legacy, particularly influenced by his father, Olu Dara, a talented jazz and blues musician who played many instruments.

Olu Dara’s father and godfather were part of a traveling gospel or vocal harmony group called the “Melodeers” or “Mellowderes.” He shared his own experiences as a musician and Navy veteran, broadening the musical horizons of Nas and Jungle.

Nas’s father taught him and his brother to play instruments, and through his extensive book collection, they were exposed to the writings of influential figures like J.A. Rogers, Malcolm X, and Sun Tzu.

Nas’s upbringing included not only his parents’ influence, but also a rich diet of television, movies, music, and radio. These early experiences clearly shaped his later work; for example, he famously opened his album *Illmatic* with a sound clip from the 1982 film *Wild Style*, directed by Charlie Ahearn.

Hip-hop is both a form of entertainment and a social practice. Nas remembers DJ Hot Day, the local DJ from his neighborhood in Queensbridge, who used to set up his equipment and play for the community.

Nas often talks about how being a rapper from Queensbridge is rooted in his love for the Juice Crew. He’s also inspired by many artists he grew up listening to, both from his neighborhood and beyond – including T La Rock, Whodini, and Boogie Down Productions.

Growing up in the 1980s, Nas experienced a different kind of education alongside his formal schooling. Hip-hop artists of that era not only created music, but often shared knowledge or inspired a desire to learn. In many instances, hip-hop introduced young people to historical information they weren’t learning in school, sparking their curiosity and awareness.

If you weren’t raised with books like Olu Dara’s that introduced you to figures like Malcolm X, Keith LeBlanc’s 1983 work, “No Sell Out,” is a great place to start learning.

A few years later, I discovered even more about Malcolm X through some classic hip-hop. Kool G Rap actually *played* Malcolm X in a song called “Evolution” by the Juice Crew All Stars, which was super cool. And Public Enemy kicked off “Bring The Noise” with a sample of one of his speeches from 1963 – “Message to the Grass Roots” – which really set the tone for the whole track. It was a powerful way to learn more about him.

In 1988, hip-hop continued to draw inspiration from Malcolm X, notably with Boogie Down Production’s album titled *By All Means Necessary* and its cover art. The following year, 1989, the Stop the Violence Movement used a sample from Malcolm X’s “Message to the Grass Roots” as the introduction to their song “Self Destruction.”

Shakespeare likely first encountered Ovid’s work in school, but for many Black children growing up in the 1980s, the ideas of Malcolm X weren’t emphasized in the classroom-instead, they learned about him through hip-hop music.

It’s clear these references to Malcolm X aren’t from a single place, but are woven throughout the entire hip-hop community.

Despite having difficult experiences with traditional schooling, Nas became a highly successful writer, largely thanks to the impact of hip-hop culture. This is an important distinction to make when comparing him to Shakespeare. Therefore, when Faith Newman drew a comparison between Nas and Shakespeare, it wasn’t just about Nas’s talent, but also about the supportive environment of hip-hop that helped him develop that talent.

Nas isn’t Shakespeare, but he carries on the tradition of spoken-word pioneers like The Last Poets and Gil Scott-Heron. He embodies the spirit of hip-hop legends like Roxanne Shante, MC Shan, KRS-One, and Slick Rick, and represents a whole lineage of great artists.

It’s not about Nas being incredibly talented, but about the power of the hip-hop community itself. The community’s brilliance isn’t tied to any particular song or style, but simply to the fact that it formed and thrived in the first place.

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2025-09-14 16:32