It's No Secret: From Nas to Jay-Z, from Seduction to Scandal--a Hip-Hop Helen of Troy Tells All 
asked by steelers on November 23, 2006 10:31 AM
Carmen Bryan is no stranger to the rap world. Not only did she work at Def Jam and Capitol Records but she shares a daughter with hip-hop superstar Nas -- a relationship made extremely public through Nas's celebrity status, rap lyrics, and the ever-present media. Now, in It's No Secret, a strong, resilient Carmen bares all, telling her side of the story and leaving no detail unturned -- with the true candor and raw emotion of someone who has been there, done that, and survived.
From a clandestine relationship with Nas's biggest rival, Jay-Z, that stirred up the biggest feud in hip-hop history, to seeing her reputation in tatters and a once loving relationship with Nas fall apart, Carmen depicts her trying journey to become the strong woman and mother she is today. After years of turmoil that included drugs, sex, greed, and violence -- and abandoning what she had always prized above all, her freedom -- Carmen took a stand, focusing on herself. After years of pursuit by the media, Carmen sets the record straight in It's No Secret -- and has no regrets.
Reviews
0%
0%
I don't understand why she bothered (pressed for fame and cash I guess) She comes off so fake from page one. Talking about her diamonds and silk sheets. In her arrogance she seems to feel the feud started BECAUSE of her, not that she was a casualty of war, that was already in place.
She is full of herself... It is so obvious that she is jealous of B and Kelis. I hope she gets sued or better yet NO one buys her book.
I suppose she will dedicate this to her child like that other idiot StupidHead. And for her to say she slept with Jay for 5 years, while she was with Nas for 9 is just nasty. On top of that claims to have been pregnant by both? This woman has no respect for self!
I am a true hip-hop fan and a female and I think this is just awful.
She is making single mothers everywhere look bad. Most of this stuff written sounds dumb!
I think she added extra dirt to make it sound better to a publisher.
To think she wrote something like this for her daughter to read in the future is sad. I saw pictures of Nas with his daughter and you can see they have much love for each other!
Sad day in book making and a sad day for hip-hop!
Jay and Nas proved they were two men who grew up and moved on, why hold on to such negative energy?
And you wonder why they call you B----!
She is full of herself... It is so obvious that she is jealous of B and Kelis. I hope she gets sued or better yet NO one buys her book.
I suppose she will dedicate this to her child like that other idiot StupidHead. And for her to say she slept with Jay for 5 years, while she was with Nas for 9 is just nasty. On top of that claims to have been pregnant by both? This woman has no respect for self!
I am a true hip-hop fan and a female and I think this is just awful.
She is making single mothers everywhere look bad. Most of this stuff written sounds dumb!
I think she added extra dirt to make it sound better to a publisher.
To think she wrote something like this for her daughter to read in the future is sad. I saw pictures of Nas with his daughter and you can see they have much love for each other!
Sad day in book making and a sad day for hip-hop!
Jay and Nas proved they were two men who grew up and moved on, why hold on to such negative energy?
And you wonder why they call you B----!
reviewed by paradiselove on November 23, 2006 3:17 PM
0%
0%
Carmen Bryan, best known as Nas' baby mother, has released her long awaited tell all, "It's No Secret-From Nas to Jay-Z, From Seduction To Scandal a Hip-Hop Helen of Troy Tells All." Readers who frequent the Internet know that this book was a long time coming. Buzz about this book circulated on popular hip-hop websites years before anyone had heard about the Karrine Steffans book Confessions of a Video Vixen.
It's No Secret really doesn't have much merit for a reader outside of the hip-hop arena. Those who know and love hip-hop may find this story entertaining to a degree. It's filled with a lot of juvenile relationship drama primarily about Carmen's relationship with Nas, and Jay-Z who is referred to as SC for the majority of the book.
It's hard to not look at Bryant as an opportunist. She met Nas when she was twenty years old. He was a newly signed rapper and still broke for the most part. Obviously old enough to know about birth control Carmen is pregnant three times within their first year of dating. Carmen gives birth to her only child with Nas, Destiny and the rest of the book is basically about the relationship misadventures of young Carmen and Nas.
Their relationship, if you can call it that, rarely seemed to be exclusive. Carmen chalks this up to a conversation her and Nas had with his father Ola Daru early in their relationship. Ola declared that a couple should only be faithful and exclusive if they are married to one another. Carmen details their ups and down's and the financial pitfalls she would find herself in due to Nas' poor business sense or when he decided he was going to cut her off financially.
Career wise, Carmen mentions her brief employment at Rush Communications, Def Jam, and at Capital working for Tracey Waples. However, after the birth of Destiny and the rise of Nas' her career ended for the most part.
As for dirt she mentions brief mutual flirting between her and Puffy and a short fling with Allen Iverson. The rest is all Nas and SC. As for Nas' current wife Kelis, she tries to vilify her as a stepmother but falls short.
The things that Carmen complains about toward the end of the book are really no big deal when you look at single mothers who don't have children by high profile rappers. She complains when Nas stops paying her rent, car note, and child support. Granted, if her story is true, Nas did go about things wrong, but most single mother's only get child support, they don't get 100% lifestyle support as it seems she expected.
There really is no benefit or real growth or empowerment in this book as it thinly aims to proclaim. The first 50 or so pages are about Carmen's early life and honestly those pages could have been left out of the book. There are also a lot of annoying exclamation points used in the book where not really necessary, perhaps to show excitement. What did Carmen learn from all of this? She sums it up in one paragraph, and I'm not exaggerating.
"It's No Secret" is a quick read. There is just so much back and forth and going in circles about her relationship that it makes the reader want to skip pages. There is very little reflection or introspection. There are some nice color photo's of Carmen and Nas included in the book. The bottom line is, if you are a hip-hop fan you may find this book mildly entertaining.
It's No Secret really doesn't have much merit for a reader outside of the hip-hop arena. Those who know and love hip-hop may find this story entertaining to a degree. It's filled with a lot of juvenile relationship drama primarily about Carmen's relationship with Nas, and Jay-Z who is referred to as SC for the majority of the book.
It's hard to not look at Bryant as an opportunist. She met Nas when she was twenty years old. He was a newly signed rapper and still broke for the most part. Obviously old enough to know about birth control Carmen is pregnant three times within their first year of dating. Carmen gives birth to her only child with Nas, Destiny and the rest of the book is basically about the relationship misadventures of young Carmen and Nas.
Their relationship, if you can call it that, rarely seemed to be exclusive. Carmen chalks this up to a conversation her and Nas had with his father Ola Daru early in their relationship. Ola declared that a couple should only be faithful and exclusive if they are married to one another. Carmen details their ups and down's and the financial pitfalls she would find herself in due to Nas' poor business sense or when he decided he was going to cut her off financially.
Career wise, Carmen mentions her brief employment at Rush Communications, Def Jam, and at Capital working for Tracey Waples. However, after the birth of Destiny and the rise of Nas' her career ended for the most part.
As for dirt she mentions brief mutual flirting between her and Puffy and a short fling with Allen Iverson. The rest is all Nas and SC. As for Nas' current wife Kelis, she tries to vilify her as a stepmother but falls short.
The things that Carmen complains about toward the end of the book are really no big deal when you look at single mothers who don't have children by high profile rappers. She complains when Nas stops paying her rent, car note, and child support. Granted, if her story is true, Nas did go about things wrong, but most single mother's only get child support, they don't get 100% lifestyle support as it seems she expected.
There really is no benefit or real growth or empowerment in this book as it thinly aims to proclaim. The first 50 or so pages are about Carmen's early life and honestly those pages could have been left out of the book. There are also a lot of annoying exclamation points used in the book where not really necessary, perhaps to show excitement. What did Carmen learn from all of this? She sums it up in one paragraph, and I'm not exaggerating.
"It's No Secret" is a quick read. There is just so much back and forth and going in circles about her relationship that it makes the reader want to skip pages. There is very little reflection or introspection. There are some nice color photo's of Carmen and Nas included in the book. The bottom line is, if you are a hip-hop fan you may find this book mildly entertaining.
reviewed by h2o on November 27, 2006 6:59 AM
0%
0%
Yet another book about a woman caught up in the hype of the music industry. Torn between a unhealthy relationship and motherhood Cam tells the story that seems to be a common thing these days.... Falling in love and having a baby with a music artist and fighting for the man to support his child. I work in the music business so I see this all the time. I read this book so I could tell people who listen to my show about it. I'm glad I read it. It's a good book to curve your gossip jean. But if you are looking for an inspirational story this isn't the book for you. It's simply a tell all that left me thinking 'that's it?' as I read the last page. But maybe some lady will read Cam's story and learn from the mistakes that Cam made in her relationship with Rapper Nas. That would be great if even one woman could learn from another womans mistakes.
reviewed by iread on November 28, 2006 8:52 AM