GREATEST OF ALL TIME Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones is one of the most highly respected and honored artists in the history of Hip Hop. Better known as Nas, he is credited with creating some of the most legendary albums and painting some of the most incredible stories in music history. Nas has already written himself in as one of the greatest to ever do it. On the debate of the best rapper ever, Nas is always near or at the top. Nas is the most skilled rapper that New York has ever produced and to this day puts out quality album after quality album. 1991 – Pre Illmatic (Demo Tape) This is a project that not many people know about. This was the first known recording from Nas and contains unfinished tracks from Illmatic and features from Biz Markie, AZ , MC Serch, Kool G Rap and Cormega . This is not an official release but it is an interesting listen. Scratchy, unprofessional recording combined with some premature, unpolished Nas bars gives this a really nostalgic feel. 1994 – Illmatic Beginning your career with an album like Illmatic is a blueprint for success. The go to choice when debating the best albums, this is the album any lyricist dreams of creating at some point in their career, let alone as a debut album. Illmatic had four major producers who happen to be four of the most influential and respected Hip Hop producers of all time. DJ Premier , Large Professor, Q- Tip and Pete Rock each worked together on the album while also keeping their own distinct styles and sounds. As far as a Hip Hop album goes, Illmatic is 10/10. 1996 – It Was Written Nasty’s next few albums were equally as impressive. It Was Written had some gigantic shoes to fill. For the average fan, Illmatic is his best album. But hardcore fans of Nas understand that he had multiple albums that can compete and surpass what Illmatic was. It Was Written was released in 1996 and in my opinion is his best album. I Gave You Power is one of the most powerful tracks of all time. Detailing the life of a gun and how it thinks, this song is one of the most original masterpieces in Hip Hop. Two albums deep and two 10/10 ratings. 1999 – I AM… I AM… was supposed to be a double album titled I AM… The Autobiography. The album was slated to have each song be a chapter of his life (Similar to the way GKMC was put together) but the album became one of the first victims of online leaking. I AM… is sonically different than his previous three albums. The album is put together with a hint of southern influence in the production but it still has the distinct New York Hip Hop sound. This album was a pretty good album but it did not stack up to the his previous two albums. 6.5/10 1999 – Nastradamus This album was far from what his first three albums were and it seemed as if Nas’ career was falling. There were a handful of good tracks and the content was still there, but it sounded like Nas was getting bored with rap. Project Windows and Family featuring Mobb Deep were stand outs on the album but other than that, Nastradamus was fairly bland. At this point in his career, Nasty Nas had put out two rather lackluster albums in a row and was in need of revival. 2001 – Stillmatic (Ether vs Takeover) Stillmatic is one of my favorite albums of all time. It is the revival that Nas was in desperate need of and it put him back on top of the Hip Hop world. Subliminal disses between Hov and Nas had been boiling a beef for quite a while. In late 2001 when Jay Z dropped the legendary Takeover , the world knew about their issues. Nas responded with Ether and changed the Hip Hop world. This track was playing all the way up and down both coasts. In clubs, at parties, in cars. Anywhere there was a CD deck, Ether was playing. With one track Nas not only changed the way beefs in Hip Hop were handled while also reviving his career in a major way. The album as a whole was astounding. From the production to the stellar lyrics and song concepts. Stillmatic was a 8.5/10 minimum. 2002 – The Lost Tapes Many critics said that The Lost Tapes was Nas’ best album since Illmatic while others said that it was a very unimpressive and random body of work. The album is a compilation of songs that did not make previous albums which explains why some critics said the album was very random. But it does not explain why they said that it was a rather unimpressive album. The Lost Tapes contained some of my favorite Nas songs that are relatively unknown. Songs such as Doo Rags , No Idea’s Original, Blaze a 50 and Poppa Was A Playa. There isn’t a track worth skipping on the 12 track album but since it is a collection of leftovers, I would rate it at between 7.5/10 and 8/10. 2002 – God’s Son God’s Son was Nas’ 7th solo album (Including The Lost Tapes). This album was being recorded during the time he was dealing with his mother’s death. This event played a huge roll on the content in this album. The song Dance was dedicated to his mother and is his most introspective track. A quiet melodic guitar riff with Nas’ almost whispering voice makes this a very powerful song. Anyone who has lost a loved one can relate to this song in the deepest of ways. Some of the most thought provoking Nas songs are contained in this album. The Cross violently paints him as a God while Thugz Mansion (N.Y.) is another softer, more elegant song. This is one of his most diverse and personal albums while also staying true to who he is. God’s Son is another solid project from Nas, cementing him in as an all time great. 7.5/10 2004 - Street’s Disciple Nas’ next album was a double album with features from Olu Dara (His Father), Quan, Ludacris, Busta Rhymes, Doug E Fresh and Kelis . The album sold 232,000 copies first week and has since been certified platinum. Street’s Disciple was Nas’ 7th straight platinum certified album, a rather impressive feat. This album did not have any official singles and only had one out of 24 tracks make the Billboard Top 100. In many people’s opinion, this is their least favorite Nas album. Though the lyrics stayed on point, his flows seemed extremely lazy and the production on 75% of the album was very unimpressive. Nas’ least impressive album receives a measly 5/10. 2006 – Hip Hop Is Dead How to stir up controversy in Hip Hop 101. Nas shook the world when he released this album. Saying “Hip Hop is dead” is a very bold statement. It certainly ruffled the feathers of many artists in the game and drew some serious attention to the direction that Hip Hop was going. Opening with one of the best Nas tracks, Money Over Bullsh*t is a heavy hitting track with a hard kick drum laid over a deep piano loop along with some vicious bars. Another high point in this album is the track Black Republican with a feature from none other than Hov himself. This song contains an epic orchestral instrumental with some serious flows from both Nas and Jay. This album is a beast to tackle from an analytical point. So many great beats, flows, hooks, social concepts and awesome hard hitting bars. One of my favorite moments in Hip Hop and one of Nas’ best works. solid 9.5/10 because of the fact that it made the industry start to realize that it was going down the wrong road. 2008 – Untitled Originally set to be titled Nigger , Nas set the country into a frenzy of controversy. The album artwork is Nas standing with his arms raised and his back facing you. On his back are lash marks in which create the letter “N” in the same font that is seen across every Nas album. You can take this in one of two ways. The first being that the “N” stands for Nas. Or you could see that the “N” is there to represent the original title of the album, Nigger . This viewpoint is what set the controversy ablaze. Combined with the fact that the lash marks are clearly from a whip or something similar. Sonically this album is pretty good. This album is mainly aimed at the government, racism and poverty. The best tracks on this album are Queens Get The Money which is the intro track, Hero (Featuring Keri Hilson ) and Sly Fox. Though I believe this album was directed at causing controversy and opening the eyes of the younger generation, this album was an incredible listen. It keeps the interest of the listener throughout and does not have a boring track. 8.0/10 2012 – Life Is Good Life Is Good is Nas’ most recent project and he still hasn’t lost his touch. A new era twist on what he brought with his first albums, this is one of the best albums in the last few years. Nas begins the album with a slow and quiet instrumental on a song called No Introduction, the slow instrumental slowly picks up as the song progresses until you hear Nas’ distinct voice come over it. This song is one of the best introductions of all time. In concert he has a live band play nearly the every instrumental on the album while he raps over them. The best song on this album is World’s An Addiction which features a stellar hook delivered by Anthony Hamilton . The third verse in this song is the best verse from 2012 and to this day will give you chills while listening to it. Other standouts on this album include Accident Murderers featuring Rick Ross and Daughters, a very touching and relatable song about his daughter, Destiny . This was my favorite album of 2012 and I am excited to see what Nas will bring to the table with his next project. Other Notable Works: The Firm: The Album (With Cormega, AZ , Nature and Foxy Brown) Distant Relatives (With Damian Marley) Nas is one of, if not the greatest rapper to ever live. For over 20 years he has put out great album after great album. Even his least impressive albums are better than the best albums that some of these rappers some call “great” have released. Nas is the real king of New York. Not Biggie, Not Jay and especially not Kendrick.
Posted on: Sat, 01 Feb 2014 15:00:32 +0000
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