Longtime VIBE editor/journalist John Kennedy recently shared a recording space with Nas and J. Cole. No, it wasn’t for anymore collaborations, but rather to study one of the breakthrough artists of the early 1990s, and one of his disciples, a breakthrough artist of the early 2010s. On the heels of the “Let Nas Down Remix,” this tandem discusses that collaboration, along with a brief artist-on-artist Q&A.

Cleverly, VIBE made this one impossible to copy and paste. Out of respect, we’ll tell you that J. Cole asks Nas about the reported other versions of “Ether,” which blows the Queensbridge O.G. away., and why he opted not attended Biggie Small’s 1997 funeral (derived from a line on “We Will Survive”). As a longtime VIBE subscriber, and a fan of Nas since the Ruffhouse Records days, this may be the best thing I’ve read in (soon-to-be) print this year.

With Nas and J. Cole fans often polarized by the curious relationship between the inspiration and the inspired, this offers plenty of clarity:

Read the Summer 2013 VIBE cover story interview with Nas & J. Cole.

Related: J. Cole – Let Nas Down (Remix) (Made Nas Proud) ft Nas