Queens, NY rapper Nas has signed a deal with 310 Global Brands to release his own signature line of footwear, Disciple Footwear Collection by 310.

According to Nas, the line “celebrates our diversity, our roots, our history.”

Under the terms of the agreement, 310 Global Brands will market and distribute Nas’ footwear collection.

“310 is not based on a one-size-fits-all approach,” Nas said. “It’s about customization, expressing your own personal style…I’m excited to design styles that respect that we are not all the same - that we’re here to celebrate our diversity, our roots, our history.

The collaboration with Nas marks 310’s second foray into signature celebrity collections.

The company experienced worldwide success with The Game’s Hurricane from 310 footwear, which released a second run in Dec of 2006.

“I’ve respected Nas for a long time. From his music to his image, he answers to no one but himself, and it’s made him one of the most acclaimed artists out there today,” said Marc Laidler, founder of 310 Motoring. “He has never wavered and his street credibility is as true as it was back in the day. Everything Nas does is with style and authenticity, and I’m happy to be going into business with a man whose credentials are in sync with 310’s true style.”

Nas’ Disciple Footwear Collection by 310 will debut in select speciality shops in June 2007.

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New track that was performed at Nike concert a few months back. Now for the site, updates will be coming soon. Including a new project we will be announcing for all you Outlawz (2Pac’s older rap group) fans out there.

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“You’re gonna to Y.O.? Good luck with all that,” said one of my friends when I told them Yonkers, New York, more affectionately known as two letters, “Y.O.,” was where I was headed to meet up with the man whose vocal chords caused me to give him my undivided attention. After all, some of the most listened to people hail from the seven letter city; Mary J Blige, Jadakiss, Styles P and now Tre Williams, by way of his hometown, Daytona Beach, Florida. In order to understand why I was leaving my good ole’ borough of Brooklyn to head to an unfamiliar place, I had to play track number 12 entitled, “Let There Be Light,” on the long awaited album, Hip-Hop Is Dead, by Nas. I was searching for a light in the darkness of artists who sound the same with mundane and repetitive tracks about sex, drinking, and a fat ass. I needed something that could swing me into a world of true soulful ballads. A song that was deeper than the Hudson River, whose chorus, if sung by the right artists, could change the entire feeling of the song. As I listened to Tre Williams, a man who has collaborated with Kanye West, Styles P, Petey Pablo, and now Nas, I began to understand why Nas felt the need to sign him to Ill Will Records. Nas heard what I felt; SOUL. Maybe it was the fact that he wrote his own songs or had this soothing sound? With so many questions, I had to meet him and find out where it came from, and how does the current state of R&B capture it again.

What a testimony you have Tre! From being evicted numerous times, growing up in Daytona Beach, Fl, being shot, coming to New York, teaming up with some major names in the industry and now sitting down for your own interview, you certainly have a story to tell. Who is Tre Williams?
I’m just a regular dude who got a shot at life. I am from Daytona Beach, Florida; though I currently live in Y.O. I’ve been here for a minute. The ride of life has been crazy.

Are your typical categorized as a rapper rather than vocalist from first glance?
Yes. People always think I am a rapper because I come from a real environment. There is nothing sugarcoated about my life. In Daytona, you came straight from the projects. Many dudes say they are from the projects but are not. They try to put up this image but they only hung around other dudes from the projects.

So while other paint pictures, you lived the reality?
Where I am from there are about five projects all together. My family and I lived in four of them and were evicted from three, but things like that made me the man I am today. It helped me develop a stronger character. When you are in a small town like Daytona, everybody knows everybody, so it’s easy not to be involved but still be involved.

Guilty by association, right?
Exactly and I was a two headed coin. I always had good murals, values, and respect but I didn’t play games with people. I needed to do what I had to do in order to survive. When we got evicted it was a clear sign that money wasn’t strong in my household. My mother did everything by herself. My pops was gone, as so many of us experience. The story is the same; about 80% of us didn’t have a father around. So naturally, I did what I had to do be it hustling, stickups, or whatever. The mission was to survive.

When did you realize you wanted to sing?
I always wanted to sing. My mother had us in the choir at church. At 5 years old I was leading the choir. However, when you grow up in Florida sports is the main focus. You had to be the top athlete or play something. I was very good at sports so my whole aspirations changed from being a singer. I had a scholarship to Jackson State University for football but decided to go to Bethune Cooke College instead.

Okay, so you get accepted into college, which is a great accomplishment, given the life you had, but somehow I know it was not a fairly tale ending.
Life always throws a curveball. My freshman year in college, I was at the wrong place, at the wrong time, and I ended up getting shot in my leg. This put a damper on sports for me.

What was going through your mind at that point in your life?
God has a way of showing you things without beating you in the head with it. He has a subtle approach. When I got shot, my mind was in turmoil because I knew I had to do something. My mentality was still that of a young dude who wanted revenge. There was another side of me that kept telling me to do something positive with my life and make my mother proud. She worked hard to maintain and keep my family together so I owed her that much.

After that incident, did you then decide to go back to singing?
A dude came through looking for talent and was talking about coming to New York. At first, I made up my mind that I was not coming to New York. At the end of the day, I felt like going to New York would be a power move and I sit before you today because of that decision. At that time I needed to get away and settle my mind. I have no regrets.

Once you got to the “Big Apple,” how did things pan out musically?
When I first got to New York I wasn’t doing anything. Music became secondary once again. I was riding a wave of drinking, smoking, and hanging out. I came here to do music but the colors in the picture that was painted, wasn’t as bright as it seemed. I thought when I came to New York I was going straight to the top. That did not happen.

I think many artists feel the same way. They think this industry is all about glamorous lifestyles, fast money and immediate stardom.

In this business you have to realize there are a lot of great talkers but not many doers. There are people in the music industry that can convince you that it is raining outside and though you are standing right under the sun, you will go and get an umbrella.

WOW! Are you serious?
Of course! That is how powerful the talk is so it sells a lot of dreams quickly. You get so wrapped up in the talk and don’t even see that no progress is being made. When I came to New York I wasn’t as prepared to deal with labels as I thought. I just felt like I was supposed to go in the booth and sing without any structure. I just wanted to get in the booth, pour a drink, light up, and do me.

Indeed, and many new or unsigned artists think that is how things are done. They lack the knowledge and business sense of it all. What makes a good artist?

Just because you are talented, doesn’t mean you are a good artist. A good artist can sing a song and the listener can close their eyes and visualize what he or she is bringing to them through the music. You can walk through the experience with the artist.

Now you were not taking things too seriously musically during that time. Yet, you managed to team up with Petey Pablo on a track called, “Diarrhea of a Sinner.” How did that happen?
Before I worked with Styles P, I had an opportunity to jump on Petey Pablo’s first album. I was hanging out with a guy who was trying to shop some tracks to Petey at the time. He was going to Queens to link up with him and asked me if I wanted to come along. He felt it would be a good idea for me to come because he felt Petey and I would hit it off. Apparently, the guy I was hanging out with had told Petey and his people about me prior to this meeting because when we got there I heard them saying, “That’s him, right?” As I got closer, they was like, “Tre, what’s up?” At that point, I was confused because I never meant any of them before and they were calling me by name and I hadn’t introduced myself. I realized the dude I was rolling with had set up a power move at that point.

Did you sing for Petey?
I sung for Petey and he spit a few bars for me. He told me that he had a track that was going on the album and he asked me to listen to it to see if I could put a hook to it and let him hear it. I wrote the hook in a matter of minutes and went in the booth and laid it. After they heard it, they decided to keep it and told me it was going on the album. I always give Petey credit for making my career what it is because he made things a lot easier for me. I would have still been grinding but working with him helped things become more noticeable.

That must have been exciting for you.
There was little recognition because I wasn’t signed to Jive Records, so they didn’t even put my name on the album as a featured artist. Yet, it allowed me to hear how millions felt about that song. The album even went platinum and was nominated for a Grammy. So the first thing I ever did was on a platinum album. This let me know I had the same caliber as any other artist out there. I could maintain and be on their level given the opportunity. Even at that stage I still didn’t take the music seriously.

When did you begin to look at what you started and realize that you needed to focus and get serious if music was your passion?
I was still out there smoking and drinking. Then one day, I realized that album went platinum and I didn’t get any money from it. I remember someone asking me how much did I make from that album? When I did the math, I woke up. I knew alcohol and weed just made me a big fool.

It takes growth to get to that point in your life when you can analyze your situation and realize you need a change. I am sure there are some people you know who never made it to that point.

Someone told me one day that some people see it early; others see it late, and some never see it at all. Thank God I was able to see where I was headed and make a change. I decided I was not going to waste another opportunity. After working with Petey, I had a chance to work with Styles P and you don’t get second chances in this business.

Two summers ago you also got some advice from Gerald Levert; may he rest in peace. How did you get the opportunity to meet him?
I was featured on a track called, “I-95,” by Styles P. One of the radio stations in Nebraska put the song in their rotation. It’s funny because Interstate 95 doesn’t even run through Nebraska but the song was getting a lot of positive feedback. Gerald Levert was doing a concert there and they needed an opening act for the show. Since the song was doing so well, they called me and asked if I would be interested. I jumped at the opportunity; after all this was Gerald Levert!!

Do you remember what he told you?
Definitely. When I was coming off the stage Gerald and his brother Sean approached me. Gerald told that I really put on a good show and that I needed to stop singing with the tracks because I was a great entertainer. Sean told me that once I got my money and everything situated I shouldn’t run out and buy big cars and houses, but invest in a band. He said if I do that I could go all over the world making money. I never forgot that and that is what I am working towards right now.

Sounds like some good advice to me. After Nebraska you received the phone call from someone very influential in the rap game. Tell me about it.After the show I had some meetings with a few record labels. As I am walking out of my last meeting, I received a phone call from one of my partners and producer with Thourough Entertainment. He told me that some folks from Nas’ camp wanted to meet with me.

I know that’s right!!! How did they hear about you to even come to that decision?
There was a guy who came to the studio all the time and would ask me for a CD. He said if I gave him some of my material, he wouldn’t let anyone hear it. He begged me for months and I said I would but never did. So one day I finally gave him some of my music and he was good friends with Mike Brinkley.

Mike Brinkley who is the CEO of Ill Will Records?
Yes. He let Mike hear it and Mike mentioned me to Nas. However, at the time they were still looking at other potential artists to be featured on Hip-Hop Is Dead. That evening I got another phone call telling me that Nas wanted to meet with me. I was thinking he probably wanted me to do a hook or something but it never crossed my mind that this would be about possibly signing a deal. I was then informed that Nas wanted to talk to me about signing with Ill Will Records.

Were you nervous and excited all at the same time?
Not really because when you have heard all the stories and promises, you prepare for the let down before anything else. I was more prepared for it not to happen than for it to actually take place.

So what happened next?
All of this happened on a Friday. I got another call informing me that they wanted to meet with me that night. So naturally when you think Nas, you think of Queens. So I asked if they wanted me to meet somewhere in Queens and was told that they would come to my house in Yonkers. Mike Brinkley came to my house that night. Apparently Nas was in Miami for the weekend. As soon as Mike and I started talking, he flips open the phone and hands it to me. On the other end of the phone was Nas. He basically told me that he was feeling my sound and wanted me on the label. We made plans to sit down that Monday when he came back and it was history. Now I was excited!!!!!!!!! (Laughs) Mike and I hit it off and we felt each others sincerity.

And there you have it, the diary of Tre Williams. What will Tre Williams bring to R&B that separates you from others?

People always make comparisons to me and Anthony Hamilton. We don’t sound alike but what you hear is something that has been missing from music for so long, and that is soul. It is up to me to define who I am so people can make a distinction in the sound.

Do your children listen to your music?
My daughter just told me all the kids at school know who I am and some have my song on their iPods. I write my own songs and that is why I curved my music. I felt that sometimes you had to use certain language for the shock value of it so people could take notice. Then I realized how can my kids sing my songs if I am using language I don’t want them to use? So I started rewriting my material. I am creative enough to use other words to get my point across.

I know you have a mixtape out called, Street Gospel, which is doing very well. Can we expect collaborations with other artist on your first album on Ill Will?
I am working on the Ill Will Records album right now. The Street Gospel mixtape has been moving a good amount of units. I am having it set up so people can purchase it from my myspace page as well. I will release another mixtape before the Ill Will album which is called, Graveyard Shift. As far as collaborations, I wanna reach out to Papoose, Petey and Mary J. Blige.

Well Tre, it has been an absolute pleasure meeting with you. You are certainly destined for so many great things because you are a down to earth person. The same man, who we see on television and doing interviews, is still an ordinary person who could pour me some soda and wash my cup. (Laughs)

(Laughs) I never try to get Hollywood ya know. If I can help a person it is in my nature to do just that.

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This Tuesday, Nas’ highly anticipated upcoming music video for his new single will premiere on MTV’s Spankin’ New Music Week at 11 PM. Make sure you don’t miss your chance to see the video and don’t forget to vote for it once they allow it. Other videos that will premiere this week:

Monday: Fergie - Glamorous
Tuesday: Nas - Can’t Forget About You
Wednesday: Good Charlotte - The River
Thursday: The Killers - Read My Mind
Friday: Three 6 Mafia - Doe Boy Fresh

Three new “Where Are They Now” remixes have been released that feature the many artists that we haven’t heard in a long time and here’s Nas to bring them all back. First, 80s Remix: Dana Dane, Doctor Ice [Of UTFO], Grandmaster Caz [Of The Cold Crush Brothers], Just Ice, Kangol, Kool Moe Dee, Lique [Of X-Clan], MC Shan, Pebblee Poo, Raheem [Of Furious Five], Sha Rock [Of Funky Four +1] & Tito [Of Fearless Four]). Second, 90s Remix: Das EFX, Dres [Of Black Sheep] EST, Father MC, Lords Of The Underground, Mike D, Monie Love, Positive K, Redhead Kingpin, Robe Base & The Original Spinderella). Third, West Coast Remix: Candyman, Conscious Daughters, DJ Bobcat, Ice-T, Kam, King Tee, MC Breeze, Sir Mix-A-Lot & Threat).

80s Remix: Click Here
90s Remix: Click Here
West Coast Remix: Click Here