Thread: The new Nas album

is quite good. this album seems a lot more cohesive than his last few, keeping w/ the theme revolving around the controversial n-word.

and he absolutely kills it on Sly Fox - it belongs up in the upper echelon of great Nas songs - and that Polow da Don production might be the best in the game right now.

this is the happiest i've been w/ a complete Nas album since... oh... Lost Tapes.

- chuck

I am a fan of it as well.

nas is one of the heavies in the game...for sure

I have all of his albums this is one is good. He is one of the real rappers left in the game right now.

I picked a few off the new album on itunes. I still prefer his older stuff. He should have brought back Lauren Hill, That would have been great!

Nas has always been one of my favorite rappers; Illmatic is a classic of course with some of the best collective production on a single album ever. "N.Y. State of Mind" is one of DJ Premier's rawest beats.

It Was Written and The Firm (much slept-on) are also two of my favorite albums, and as Dr. Dre said in "Forgot About Dre," The Firm was far from a flop IMHO. "Affirmative Action" and "Phone Tap" are still on regular rotation in my playlist.

It's a shame Cormega had a falling out with management at the time; regardless of his lyrical skill he has never seemed to recover.





I just happen to be a huge DJ Premier fan also, so "Nas Is Like" from I Am... is another one of my favorites.



Haven't really checked out the latest album, will do ASAP.

Turbology, were we separated at birth? obviously, Illmatic is the best rap album ever made (with the best beats ever - DJ Premier in his prime); but It Was Written was incredibly under-praised and over-looked; The Message and Take it in Blood are two of his very best, and most vivid, songs.

And The Firm? Nas & AZ - i lament that AZ has always had *terrible* sappy production; he is one of the greats that has never lived up to his potential, mostly due to horrible music. The Firm (generally) solves that problem. I agree Cormega would have been an asset but i do feel Nature holds his own.

- chuck

Chuck, brothers from different mothers my man. My copy of It Was Written is so well-played that it skips haha! "The Message" is one of Nas' best songs.



AZ is another one of my favorites that just as you said has not gotten nearly as much credit as he is due. One of favorites...



More:







DJ Premier thread to follow shortly.

ok, i've listened to this new album non-stop for the past 2-3 days and i think it is Nas's second best album (Illmatic obviously being the best.) all of his albums have been spotty but this one is strong throughout.

i don't necessarily like all of the production (the more R&B-ish stuff) and i don't always agree w/ his message (reparations, obama, etc); but it's a coherent, well thought-out "album" - the whole thing plays from beginning to end (and it begins and ends oh so well) - that does a lot of digging into race and class relations.

i think he out-did himself on this album and, yet, it's still commercial enough for him to make his money - well done.

- chuck

Originally Posted by carendt242

is quite good. this album seems a lot more cohesive than his last few, keeping w/ the theme revolving around the controversial n-word.

and he absolutely kills it on Sly Fox - it belongs up in the upper echelon of great Nas songs - and that Polow da Don production might be the best in the game right now.

this is the happiest i've been w/ a complete Nas album since... oh... Lost Tapes.

- chuck

Chuck, I must agree, you know i'm a huge nas/hip hop fan (even my name "iLL" reflects that)

I like how some songs have the old flavor of Nas, yet he kept it fresh and newer as well, still within his "roots" though!

Overall it's a great album, but nothing will be like the old stuff, from ANYONE in the rap game I miss it.

Long live old QB/NY rap.... I loved almost any nas album, because he is who he is, put's me in that "NY state of mind" 50 cent power of the dollar, Cormega and the firm, tragedy khadafi and CNN, Lost Boyz and Nature, old Jay-Z reasonable doubt and in my lifetime times, Camron SDE, I can go on and on... What has rap turned into