Nas and rapper Skilla Baby are working together on his new album

Nas and Detroit rapper Skilla Baby are working together on Skilla Baby's upcoming album The Price Of Fame, due August 21, AllHipHop reported on August 8. "This album really saved my life and now I'm in a good head space," Skilla Baby said, describing the record as a turning point after a rough stretch.

Skilla Baby was shot multiple times in May 2025 near Detroit, his hometown, when another vehicle pulled alongside his SUV and someone opened fire, according to AllHipHop; his vehicle crashed into a building. He survived and has spent the time since recovering, and says Nas appears on the album under the nickname "Esco."

Nas brought some of that experience into a conversation recorded for the album's promotion. He told Skilla Baby not to measure his own pace against "something on Instagram," since what looks like someone else's easy success "might not be your time."

Nas also pushed back on the idea that money alone defines success. "The thing that's important in life is love, love of self and knowledge," he said, before urging Skilla Baby toward bigger ambitions rather than caution: "Take over the world. If it's in your heart, take it over. There's nothing really stopping you."

The unnamed Nas collaboration appears on The Price Of Fame when it arrives August 21. Nas is also set to headline Riot Fest in Chicago this September, part of a busy fall that keeps him in our hip-hop coverage alongside the Skilla Baby project.