In 2001, Jay-Z and Nas were involved in a heated beef, and Nas responded to Jay-Z's "Takeover" diss track with "Ether." During a recent interview with The Art of Dialogue, Ras Kass shared a story about running into Jay-Z and fellow Roc-A-Fella co-founder Damon Dash in a New York City club the night "Ether" dropped.

Ras Kass explained that he had run into Nas and DJ Premier the day "Ether" dropped, and he revealed how Nas was hyped up when he saw him in the studio. Ras Kass stated, "I remember for like an hour, me him and Premier talking, like an overview of the record […] At the time, Jay was crushin’ everything. It was interesting watching the changing of the guards […] I knew some of the things that Nas was sayin'. I didn't even know all of it, as far as the personal jabs on that record. I lived with JAY-Z for a summer, so I just knew it was clinically  written deadly. It was a deadly written, personal record." 

Coincidentally, Ras Kass bumped into Jay-Z and Dame Dash at a club later in the evening, and he recalled how the DJ started playing "Ether." Ras Kass then added, "They played 'Ether' in the club and Jay was heated, and I remember that. I remember him saying, 'Dame, tell that n***a to turn that sh*t off.'"

Ras Kass added, "But the club was going up, and that's when I knew it was over. The DJ was like, 'F**k that,' and played that sh*t. And the club went up. That's when I knew Nas won. The streets had spoken. The DJ played it and Jay was in the building […] Nas beat Jay." 

Jay-Z and Nas' beef continued, with Jay dropping "Supa Ugly," where he spoke about his three-year-long affair with Nas’ girlfriend Carmen Bryan, who is also the mother of his oldest child. The song even led to Jay's mother speaking on-air with Hot 97 about Jay going too far, which then led to Jay going live to apologize to Nas, his family, and any female listeners he offended.

Nas & JAY-Z would later make history after ending their beef onstage in front of a sold-out crowd at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey during Jay-Z’s "I Declare War" tour in October 2005. Nas also later ended his deal with Columbia Records in 2006 and signed with Def Jam, which was then headed by Jay-Z. While at Def Jam, Nas and Jay teamed up for their collaborative track "Black Republican" off Nas' Hip-Hop is Dead.

While speaking to Rick Rubin last year, Nas revealed that he is "honored" to have had the rap beef with Jay-Z. He explained, "The art of emceeing was right there on full display. It was like, if you're in the rap game, this could happen, a battle. It was like, 'This rap thing is real. A battle could really happen.' So I was honored to have that part of my life happen because that's how I saw the greats do it coming up. I saw some of the greats do it."