Nas insists its his rap peers' duty to "get real" and "take risks" as they become hip-hop veterans.

The rap star, who recently sparked controversy by initially calling his new album Nigger, insists high-living stars should write rhymes about real life instead of tracks about the jet-set and good living.

He says, "When you first get into the music business, you're excited to be there, you want to make records that everybody's loving."

"But, after you've got years in the game, you wanna give people the real side of you, show people some character."

"Life is good; there's yachts, there's nice cars, there's movie roles."

"We overcame... but, in the middle of all that... you can't forget about the ones that didn't make it with us. Life is good, but that still doesn't erase all the horror out here."