The G.O.A.T. - Part 1, Nas

This is so dope from a culture standpoint

Whether it's sports, music, or politics, you can often find debates arguing over who is the "greatest of all time." I've seen Michael Jackson vs. Prince, Michael Jordan vs. Magic Johnson, Abraham Lincoln vs. Franklin Roosevelt, the list goes on and on.  It is human nature to create a hierarchy and to argue who belongs where on said hierarchy.  Hip-hop, as possibly the most ostensibly masculine genre of music, has these sorts of debates during every era, and indeed you could argue, daily.  When I first started listening to hip-hop seriously, most of the time I heard the same names: Jay-Z, B.I.G., 2Pac, Rakim, etc.  After listening to a ton (seriously, in CDs it really might weigh a fucking ton) of hip-hop music, I felt like dropping my own little argument on the matter.

A few blog posts ago I discussed the discography of Common, possibly the greatest rapper to come out of Chicago (you could argue Kanye, I suppose, but Common's longevity puts him over IMO).  While Common's discography is quite formidable (by my count 3 classics, with an arguable 4th), I also feel like quantity is important, and as I stated in my Common post, 9 albums in 20 years doesn't really mesh with what I want from the G.O.A.T., you know?  That's my personal thing though, I still think Common is a GREAT hip-hop artist.  Three classic albums is probably more than any of the artists I'm considering here have dropped, so don't think that I didn't consider Common for this.

Since this is personal I figured I should list my guidelines for this post...

1. Artist remained relevant for over 15 years
2. Artist released at least 10 albums
3. Artist released at least 1 universally accepted "classic" album
4. I fuck with the artist.

Going by those guidelines, I ended up with 3 rappers; Jay-Z, Nas, and Ghostface Killah.  All 3 are from NYC, and I admit that I have an NYC bias when it comes to rap.  I honestly considered Outkast, but it's so hard for me to separate them from each other, AND they've only released 6 albums.  I thought about Scarface as well...he was brought up by friend of the blog Filip, but really...I initially wanted to do this as a Jay/Nas post, and GFK came up because I realized that he's got at least 2 classics and has been pretty consistent.  Three artists with 10+ albums already gives me at least 30 albums to listen to, and man...that's time-consuming.  I acknowledge that he fits the criteria (I fuck with Scarface, even though I haven't listened to all of his work) and maybe I'll add him in a more ambitious post.  There are other rappers with extensive catalogues like Wayne and E-40 who I immediately shot down.  Likewise, there are rappers I think are DOPE but because they didn't fit the criteria, I had to not select them.  These include, but aren't limited to: KRS-One (relevance), Big Daddy Kane (relevance and lack of catalog), Rakim (lack of catalog and relevance), and MOTHERFUCKING MF DOOM (lack of individual catalog).  It really killed my heart to not be able to put DOOM here...you can still see his influence in guys like Earl Sweatshirt, and he's still releasing music today.  Ugh.  I'll probably do a post on DOOM later.

To keep the shit organized, I'm basically gonna rate every major label album these dudes have dropped and average out the ratings.  I'll then note and compare their 5 best albums.  Since I'm using a 10 album minimum, I figure using half of that is good.  At that point, I'll make a decision based on both the average ratings and the strength of the best albums.  Lots of effort here, folks.

Nigga...

Since I'm most partial to Jay-Z, I figured I'd start with his greatest rival, Nas.  We know Nas' story; he was proclaimed a prodigy after dropping possibly the greatest hip-hop album of all time, and fought through rap beefs, personal losses, and drama with females to cement himself within the hip-hop pantheon.  Influenced by Rakim and still influencing artists today, Nas has every right to be in the G.O.A.T. discussion, so here he is.

Bitten so much...

There is literally nothing I can say about Illmatic that hasn't already been said.  If you fuck with NYC hip-hop, you'll think this is a classic.  If you don't, you'll call it overrated.  For me, it's 40min of near-perfection.  Great beats, excellent rhymes, and only one feature...and AZ FUCKING KILLS THE FEATURE.  There are a couple of points that aren't completely perfect ("One Time for Your Mind" and "Halftime" for me) but overall, the great points are so great that it's easy to see why it's a classic.  It's really only 40min long, including the intro.  Fucking ridiculous.

Rating: 5/5

Standout tracks: "N.Y. State of Mind," "Life's a Bitch," "One Love"

Eh.

Following up a classic is notoriously difficult, whether in film, music, or even sports.  Nas had crafted an album at 19 that was immediately considered an East Coast classic, and he was cast as one of the standards of lyricism in hip-hop...which meant he had a lot to live up to for his second album.  It Was Written has been called "better than Illmatic," "nah," and as a classic in its own right.  Personally, I think the album is dope. It's got a Lauryn Hill feature for crying out loud!  It's no Illmatic though...but that is perfectly fine.  We get a number of great tracks on here, despite the odd dichotomy of tracks like "Black Girl Lost" and "The Set Up" being right next to each other.  It's weird hearing Nas rap crime raps (really wtf is with "Suspect" ?) after his debut, but it's not like we haven't seen weirder things. Despite the common complaint about Nas' albums having poor production, there is some consistently good production on this, and overall, this is a very solid follow-up to Illmatic.  I personally think "I Gave You Power" is a top 5 Nas track...just the entire concept and metaphor is crazy.  No one would mistake this album for an underground hit, but I don't think it was written anywhere that great hip-hop has to sound grimy (haaaaaaaa).  Side note: this album has one of the GREATEST INTROS OF ALL TIME.

Rating: 4.5/5

Standouts: "I Gave You Power," "If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)," "The Message"

Heard he almost died doing this one.

Three years after the release of It Was Written, Nas returned to the rap scene with I Am.... I won't lie, I was expecting great things from this album when I started it..."N.Y. State of Mind (Pt. 2)" is fucking dope.  Hell, even "Hate Me Now" is dope, even though the idea of Nas working with Puff after B.I.G. shat on him is still pretty funny to me.  After those two tracks though, there's a jumble of good and terrible tracks, with more of the latter.  This is probably where the "yo Nas' beats are TRASH" initiated, because "Big Things" should never be forced onto anyone's ears.  RIGHT AFTER THAT though, we get "Nas Is Like," produced by DJ Premier.  I will NEVER understand how this guy suddenly lost all semblance of consistent production, but it definitely started here.  There really is some trash on this...the years haven't been too kind to some of the "smarter" choices of producers either.  Timbaland was considered top tier back in 99, but now, when I hear "You Won't See Me Tonight"...anyway, I don't want to hear that ever again.  There ARE some gems here though, it's just that the album as a whole is mired in inconsistency.  I personally found It Was Written very enjoyable, so to me, this is the first true misstep of Nas' catalog.


Rating: 3/5

Standouts: "Nas Is Like," "N.Y. State of Mind, Pt. 2," "Undying Love"

Time to dead this.

Ahhhh, Nastradamus....Released in 1999 after I Am..., Nastradamus is Nas' 4th album.  Basically, the complaints that I had about his third album were amplified on this one.  There are less bright moments and more *smashes head against keyboard* moments..."Nastradamus" is fucking dope.  It's at the beginning of the album, so you kinda get your hopes up about the album...then you hear shit like "Some of Us Have Angels" or "Shoot Em Up" and realize that there's gonna be a lot of wack shit on the album.  Like...there's really a track with Ginuwine on here.  When you actually sit down and listen to the album, you realize that Jay-Z's retort about "2 of them shits is doo" rings slightly false; even a bad Nas album is better than the material from most rappers.  The content is all over the place though, and missteps like "Big Girl" and "You Owe Me" are too prevalent for anyone to think about discussing Nastradamus as being a quality release from Nas.  This is probably the lowest point in Nas' discography.

Rating: 3/5

Standouts: "Nastradamus," "New World," "Project Windows"

Lmao that's really a pigeon though

It's 2001.  Two years after Nas released his two worst-received albums, Jay-Z lands a major blow in the simmering beef between the two when he drops "Takeover."  Despite dealing with personal issues such as his mother's health, Nas returned to the studio and dropped Stillmatic, widely considered his best album since It Was Written.  From the album's intro, you can can perceive Nas' new-found energy.  Of course, the combination of "Ether" and "Got Yourself A..." didn't hurt either.  Stillmatic showcases Nas rapping with an intensity hitherto unseen from him, with graphic lines like "I embrace y'all with napalm//blows up, no guts left, chest, face gone//How could Nas be garbage? Semi-autos at your cartilage" lacing the album.  This was a Nas with something to prove, reminding us all that he is indeed one of the dopest to come out of NYC.  Even putting aside the two diss tracks, we got tracks like "Rewind" (where Nas tells a story backwards), "One Mic" (definitely one of the more inspiring hip-hop tracks), and "The Flyest" (the return of AZ to Nas tracks), all of which contributed to Nas' resurgence.  While I personally don't find Stillmatic a classic, it's important to note just how important it was...if it doesn't drop, or if "Ether" isn't well-received, it's unlikely that Nas' career continues or that any of us are discussing Nas in the GOAT conversation.  It also threw Jay-Z on the defensive, pretty much marking the last time that he elected to directly craft diss tracks at another rapper.  Stillmatic was (and still is) incredibly important to the NYC rap landscape.

Rating: 4/5

Standouts: "Ether," "Rewind," "2nd Childhood"

Hmm.

Taking advantage of his newfound momentum, Nas released his next studio album God's Son in 2002.  Personally, God's Son is just...dope.  The intro track has a freaking James Brown sample, bro.  "Get Down" really is a top 5 Nas beat, IMO...every time I hear that track, I end up listening to Nas all day...just dope.  Another favorite on here, "Made You Look," has an incredible amount of energy...you can still play that in a club and people get hype to it, something that you don't really get from most of Nas' catalog.  That is not to say that the entire album is as great as its highs; you still get the WTF shit like "Zone Out" and "Mastermind" but overall, this is a very solid album.  The fact that Nas continued to record despite his mother's declining health deserves mention, and the quality of the production is also notable.  I think this is the point where Nas kinda gave up on making "radio singles."  When you listen to the album, while there are some missteps, there isn't really any blatant radio grab.  As Nas himself notes, this is a very personal album; we get to hear Nas' side of his beefs with both B.I.G. and Jay-Z, and his introspection is proof of just where his mind was at around that time of his life.  All-in-all, God's Son is probably my second-favorite Nas album.

Rating: 4/5

Standouts: "Get Down," "Book of Rhymes," "Made You Look"

Taking this God's son shit seriously...

Double albums are always a risk for a single artist...I follow the rule that if a track seems extra, you should just drop it.  You can always release it on its own if you really want it to get out; when you put it on an album, you unnecessarily dilute the greatness of your album.  Artists constantly make the mistake of putting too much material out on one album, and I generally feel like double albums are just...excessive.  If it's a group, like OutKast, then I can understand, but for a single artist...meh.  Nas released Street's Disciple in 2004, after Jay-Z's "retirement," and there was a decided lack of tracks directed at Jay.  Jay had released Blueprint 2: The Gift and the Curse in 2002, but it was met with a mixed reception; Jay had fallen into the trap of releasing an unfocused work with too much extra shit.  With Street's Disciple, Nas really gave us a good example of how to do a double album.  While Disc 1 focused mostly on Black socio-economic issues and the end of life, Disc 2 was much more focused on the family, with Nas rapping about his new wife, his daughter, and his father.  There was an overall direction on the album, and I actually think it's one of Nas' more solid releases.  Comparing it to other double albums...I really like it, even if some of it was a little unnecessary (I'm looking at you, "The Makings of a Perfect Bitch").  Overall, there isn't an abundance of exceptional material, which I guess is the only knock I really have on this, but I'd rather have a ton of solid tracks with a couple of standouts than a few standouts and a bunch of bullshit.  Nas won with this one.

Rating: 4/5

Standouts: "Thief's Theme," "These Are Our Heroes," "Nazareth Savage"

Then why the hell are you rapping bro?

In 2006, Nas had the blogosphere in an uproar with his comments on the state of hip-hop.  The South was running shit, and overall it seemed that it was harder for lyrical rappers to sell records.  The crunk movement was in full swing, and I mean...I was in college at the time, and Ying Yang Twins, Lil' Jon, etc. were bumping at every house or frat party.  Even extending it beyond the music being released, a lot of the "greats" were stumbling.  Roc-a-Fella had gone through the Dipset fissure, Game had split from G-Unit and was taking shots at everyone, Eminem was releasing bullshit, Mos Def had basically decided he didn't care about hip-hop, and the list just went on and on.  Kanye was putting out good music, but overall, there just wasn't an abundance of good music (lol).  With all of this in mind, Nas released Hip Hop Is Dead, fresh off his reconciliation with Jay-Z.  The album has some pretty good tracks...but it also has some bullshit.  There are some pretty damn bad beats on here...what the hell did will.i.am do to the "Thief's Theme" beat?  Ugh.  Since this was post-Jay-Z beef, there was a track with Jay on it..."Black Republican" has such a fucking dope beat, but christ, it was just so anticlimactic.  Idk, it's not a bad track, but I guess I just expected so much more from both artists.  That aside, how dope would a Jay/Nas/Kanye album be?  I just imagine a bunch of "We Major" remixes with some ridiculous production.  ANYWAY, getting back on topic, this album is a lot better than I remembered it being...when I bought it, I was fairly disappointed, but listening to it a few times 6 years later, the highs are fairly high, even if the lows are...ugh.  Overall, this is another solid entry in Nas' catalog, but again, there's a lack of classic tracks...the strong tracks are strong more because of the production than due to Nas' lyrics, even though he doesn't spit wack shit.  It's hard to explain, but on Illmatic for example, the production was great, but the lyrics and delivery made the tracks that much better...on Hip Hop is Dead, some of the production is great, but the lyrics supplement more than increase the value of the tracks.  That's the main issue with this.

Rating: 3.5/5

Standouts: "Where Are They Now," "Still Dreaming," "Let There Be Light"

This is actually dope as fuck.

Continuing with his "album every 2 years" trend, Nas released Untitled in 2008.  Originally intended to be titled Nigger, the album's title was changed after a bunch of irrelevant people (to hip-hop) bitched about it.  He got the attention he undoubtedly wanted, and most hip-hop heads I know were looking forward to the album.  It starts off pretty fucking well; Jay Electronica produced the first track, and weflkajwelkw this line

"Take 27 emcees, put em in a line and they out of alignment, my assignment since he said retirement, hiding behind 8 Mile and The Chronic, gets rich but dies rhyming, this is high science//Now add 23 more from Queens to B-More, I'm over their heads, like a bulimic on a see-saw; now that's 50 porch monkeys ate up at the same time, Nasty Nasdaq, y'all gone bow holmes, this Dow Jones."

Good fucking night, 50. Good fucking night.  Needless to say, I had some pretty high expectations after that track...imagine my disappointment after "Breathe," "Make The World Go Round," and "Hero."  One of Nas' better qualities is that he's supposed to be more...hip-hop than most artists, who consistently try to (and sometimes do) churn out radio hits.  However, after that disappointing stretch, he cranks out a number of solid socially charged records; "Sly Fox," "Testify," "N.I.G.G.E.R.," and the list just continues.  Really, by getting most of the bullshit out of the way at the beginning of the album, Nas was able to build a lot of momentum for the rest of the album...outside of "We're Not Alone" there isn't one bad track after "America." Overall, this is probably Nas' most solid work since It Was Written (outside of Street's Disciple), and it even had a couple of tracks that I would consider "classic."  The commentary on hood issues OUTSIDE of violence and drugs was also very necessary and exceptional...how often do we really hear rappers spitting about our poor food choices?  Hell, there's even a track about President Obama that isn't just blind slurpage.  I can do without the ridiculous bullshit near the beginning of the album, but wow, 10 of the 15 tracks are dope, and 7 of those 10 are consecutive.  Just a very good album to listen to, and the bonus tracks that I have are all excellent (I first thought they were all part of the album...I'm disappointed that they aren't.  If you want to listen, they're "Be a Nigger Too," "War is Necessary," "Middle Finger," and "Nigger Hatred"). Another solid entry, even with the bullshit.

Rating: 4/5

Standouts: "Queens Get The Money," "N.I.G.G.E.R. (The Slave and the Master)," "Fried Chicken"

This is so fucking good.

If you read my Nas review, then you already know how I feel about Life is Good.  Shit is dope.  "Loco-Motive" and "A Queens Story" are two of the best Nas tracks ever, IMO.  Months after its release, it's still one of the best hip-hop albums of 2012, and the albums that rival it (IMO R.A.P. Music and good kid, m.A.A.d. city) are ridiculously good.  Listening to it again for this post, I realize that it's not as quite as good overall as I initially thought (those 4 meh tracks in a row hurt it), but damn, it's still his 3rd best album in my opinion.  Unlike some other solid albums he had, this really has classic tracks, and the overall focus (again, outside of those bullshit tracks) is just so tight...the album really has 95% of what we've wanted from Nas since he released bullshit albums.  The production is top-tier, the lyrics and delivery are close to Nas at his best, the stories are ones you wouldn't hear from other rappers, and the introspection and vulnerability exceed any rapper I can think of off the top of my head not named Joe Budden.  I don't want to call it a classic because unlike Kendrick's poor tracks, the poor tracks on here have no real relation to the bend of the album IMO, but this is just a great work.

Rating: 4/5

Standouts: "A Queens Story," "Stay," "Loco-Motive"



After listening to all of Nas' albums, I realize he's gotten a bad rap...he HAS released some sub-par work, but for the most part, his albums are above-average.  I count 2 classics, with a possible 3...the main issue with Nas is that he'll have some EXCELLENT shit on his album (Life is Good, for example just has great songs) but then he'll ruin the overall album's ability to be great by dropping some trash songs on there.  A lot of rappers have this problem, but since Nas is capable of producing classic tracks and albums, it just seems more egregious than when other rappers do it.  The talent is almost ALWAYS there...it's rare that you hear a bad verse from Nas.  But whether it's production or lack of appeal or a lack of focus, he's always finding a way to mess something up.  Overall, I give Nas' discography a 4/5, with bonus points for having 2 classics.

Nas' Top 5 Albums, IMO

Illmatic
It Was Written
Life Is Good
Street's Disciple
Untitled

The rating of his top 5 albums is 4.3/5.  Now I have to tackle Jay-Z and Ghostface's discographies to figure out where I rank Nas among those three...given how long it took me to knock this out, I'm not exactly hopeful, hahahaha.   It's nice to see some validation though; despite the knocks on Nas' catalog, a 4/5 overall pretty much shows why he's considered a great...even outside of the classics, he's dropped some VERY good work.  Gotta say, I'm kinda stoked to listen to everything else...with Nas, Street's Disciple was rough for me to get through because it's so long, but once I finally powered through that, it was easy...I'm expecting similar things with the Jay-Z catalog.  Anyway, I'll try to put some more consistent work in here.