"You Owe Me"

"You Owe Me" isn't just the commercial rap song effort from Nas featuring Ginuwine in 2000, it's what his soon-to-be former wife, and mother of his child, Kelis, is singing all the way to courthouse. In July, Nas was ordered to pay $55,000 a month, but now the singer and her lawyer are saying it's not enough.

I awoke today to a friend's status stating the news regarding Nas/Kelis and a variety of tweets on twitter regarding it as well. It was apparently a discussion on Hot 97 and according to dimewars.com here's a breakdown of what Kelis requests:

- Nas pulls in $244,826 a month
– Kelis rakes in a relatively paltry $13,744 a month
– Kelis should get child support totaling $17,225 a month
– Kelis should get spousal support totaling $72,728
– Nas should pay retro child support totaling $29,522
– Nas should pay retro spousal support totaling $281,571

I'm not a mother, or a wife, yet, but have a few words regarding this. We know Kelis's career hasn't been as acclaimed as Nas's has been. When she first emerged on the scene in 1999 she garnerered some buzz: she had a funky sound that was not quite R&B, not quite pop, she was eccentric with wild hair and had some in-your-face songs that brought variety to the music landscape. In the years following Kelis hyped up her mainstream appeal with hits like, "Milkshake", and "Bossy", but still hasn't matched up with Nas in terms of record sales, performing consistently and mass appeal.

It should also be noted that Nas, who is a big name in Hip-Hop and a veteran as far as the genre is concerned, doesn't have the mainstream following of someone like Jay-Z or Lil Wayne. I'm not an accountant and saying he can't afford all of this, but since he isn't selling like Lil Wayne, or creating business partnerships and running other entrepreneurial endeavors like Jay-Z, and is getting older in age, how long will that be the amount he earns per month. With that said, Kelis has every opportunity to supplement an income on her own merits.

She just gave birth, but as an entertainer I'd assume she'd eventually want to work more on her music career. I won't pretend to know what she is going through or what she's thinking, but this issue just seems to be more about obtaining more money that finances actually needed to sustain her lifestyle. Just a thought.

Her demands are pretty excessive. I'm sure her lawyer is pressuring her to make these requests, but she's making the spousal support and child support system look like it's supposed to be a cash fairy. I don't know the details of their relationship and of course speculations point to supposed infidelity, though Nas maintains that he was a good husband - far from perfect he admitted, but a good husband.

I'm not a celebrity so maybe I don't understand the dependecy of luxury to feel "comfortable", but if she is making that "mere" $13,000 a month and that is combined with the $55,000 she already set to be receiving from Nas, that is enough to provide a very lavish lifestyle for herself and her child. Retro-active child support when the child has only been in this world a month? Retro-active spousal support? Please. Kelis, I know you did not walk away from the relationship with no money in your pockets, and I did not hear any reports of you being with a home, kicked out of your home, or unsure of where to lay your head at night.



I guess Nas is kicking himself for not having a pre-nup. For the average couple, a pre-nup is not always something necessary, but if either party makes an extensive amount of money, or both do, for that matter, you should have one - just in case. It doesn't mean your marriage will be doomed or you are entering with doubts, it's just insurance. Many people go through their lives, fortunate not to be in a car accident, but they need it - just in case. We can't control others' decisions and actions and sadly, sometimes people become strangers to us, so you must protect your assets.

All I can say is things are about to get uglier. At a time where the focus should be on their one month old son, Knight it's dedicated to bunting heads on financial matters, dealing with lawyers and fixation on money.