I'm sorry it's take me so long to post, that latest post has take a lot out of me. For those who haven't heard yet, I've been working on a new project... Iron Flag definitely check it out if you have some time, we're going full throttle ahead. Now, as for this album, I picked it up a few months ago and wasn't able to give it a listen for a while. I guess I can thank my readers for motivating me. Last I heard, this album had tracks from the "Stillmatic" sessions, and a few from "I Am". Looking back on Nas' career is crazy, considering Nas only started fucking with Main Source in like '92 or something. Back then he was just a sleepy-eyed teenager with a knack for mic skills and cadence, and Large Pro or MC Serch never could have imagined that he would become the phenomenon he was today. They were probably even more surprised in '94 when he released "Illmatic". Not that any of that really pertains to this album...
The Good:
1. Doo Rags- This seems like a song that may have gotten cut from "Stillmatic". The beat is real calm, piano keys and bass. But the lyricism makes this track, when Nas comes with his smooth flow over a real calm instrumental, the result is a very listenable track.
2. My Way- I was feeling this track, although the beat wasn't as soft and the song didn't flow as well. I felt that the whole "I Did It My Way" was pretty cliche, but that's probably the only bad thing I can say about this track, it's not great, but by no means is it bad.
3. U Gotta Love It- This is more of the Nas I was expecting, this sounds like a L.E.S. job that could have fit on "It Was Written" perfectly. The flow is slower, and Nas settles in to lace some storytelling lyrics. It was really easy to listen to and a revisit to classic Nas lyrics.
5. No Idea's Original- I was always, always amazed how this track got left off "Stillmatic", it would have been perfect right after "One Mic". The instrumental is amazing, probably one of The Alchemist's best collabs with Nas. And Nas' lyricism is amazing, don't sleep on this track!
8. Purple- The Invisible Man (one of our contributors) gave this song some very high praise. And after listening to it three or four times, I was also very impressed. The production on this track is pretty obscure, Hill Inc. produced it? Still, the beat is simple yet very effective, and Nas goes for more of a storytelling aspect here, and kills it.
9. Drunk By Myself- This was a very strange song, the beat itself could have carried a track, when Nas adds his multisyllabic rhyme scheme to the mix it sounds good. But at times this song sounds awkward and forced, especially during the hook. Overall, a great beat and great lyrics but they don't really flow to well together.
10. Black Zombie- This was back in the day when Nas rarely made political tracks. But when he did, the whole world listened, as you should if you haven't heard this song before. One of the best off this album. Another great production job by Hill Inc.... gonna have to check them out.
12. Fetus- This track is a hidden...bonus track... on a compilation album. You don't get closer to unreleased than that. And I really do wonder why this track was almost unreleased, it is a great concept, Nas imagines himself in his mom's fetus. An ill track overall.
I was really, really surprised by this album, it is very playable and I only had to skip a few tracks on this album. Out of 12, I'd say there are 8 songs that are dope and you need to hear.
0-20: Terrible listening experience
21-40: Maybe one good song
41-60: A few good songs
61-80: Half are good songs, half are weak
81-100: Great listening experience, almost all are great songs
I give this album a 87. It's actually really good for an compilation album... some classic Nas material on here.
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