When Solange Met Nas (as told to VIBE)

"At 14 I was obsessed with Mr. Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones and yes I do know his full name (laughs). Every publicist, every artist who crossed paths with him and who knew me was like ‘Yo, you have to meet Solange, she’s like your biggest fan’ I used to get his name encrusted in my nails in junior high. I actually got an in-school suspension over a Nas poster..."

"...He had of course the infamous 'God Son' tattoo and I had the poster in my locker. I went to a Christian school and the dean of the school told me it was blasphemous to have that picture and I said 'Well if I take down his poster then the girl four lockers down has to take down her Justin Timberlake poster because he had his shirt off and he had a cross across his chest. So yeah, I didn’t take it down and got suspended..."

"So that year was the NAACP Awards and I went there with my sister. This was Bow Wow “Puppy Love” era days when I was in his video. I have no idea what I was wearing because I was too focused on being in the same room with Nas. But I know I had those crazy, raggedy anne red braids (laughs). Basically Bow went into his dressing room and told him 'You have to meet my friend Solange, she’s obsessed with you' and he was like ‘Yeah, so I here...’ So I went to meet him and I literally was the crazy, crying fanatic fan. You could not dry the tears from my eyes. Shaking and crying. I did the slow walk up and it was just way too embarrassing."

"If I’m in the same vicinity as him I just hope that he does not remember me as Bow’s 14-year-old crazy, crying friend. It was really quick, but it was super monumental in my junior high. He was really nice and said ‘I heard you’re a big fan of mine. Thank you. Good to finally meet you.’ He gave me a hug and I was just really really upset that I cried because I had home training. At that point I had met so many humongous people and held it down, but Nas is just something different. But eventually I calmed down after he left because I was so embarrassed. There were people around and I’m just like, ‘this is not the look.’ And I didn’t even get a picture. That’s what was really wack about it. All that hootin’ and hollerin’ and no photo."

Interview by Tracy Garraud
Illustration by Khia! Jackson