Sorry. It’s not Illmatic.
Nas’s ninth studio album is chained to the same expectations as the previous eight were – match perhaps the best album in hip hop history or piss everyone off. And it’s a damn shame, because the Queensbridge griot still has so much to say, even if he doesn’t say it with quite as much impact, grit or focus as he did back in 1994.
The new, untitled album might not be what hip-hop fans hope to hear when time they tear open the cellophane (or press “play” on their iPods) off the new Nas album. The record was originally titled N—– before the oh-so-obvious storm of controversy forced Nas to take the epithet off of an album cover that features whip scars etched into the rapper’s back, forming the letter ‘N.’ The 15-track record has its share of overproduced beats and egotistical rhymes, unfortunate standards on every album Nasir Jones has put out since his legendary debut.
But Nas has proven holding patterns (see God’s Son, Hip Hop Is Dead) is sometimes better than attempting to push limits (think Nastradamus, rap’s Rocky V).
Things open up with the off-kilter piano keys of the theme song of I Am Sam. The track, “Queens Get the Money,” proves to be little more than a bragging track with a thinly veiled late-’80s-style diss to 50 Cent. But the laidback approach, as opposed to the triumphant return that was “Stillmatic (The Intro)” off 2001’s album of the same name, proves to be a theme here.
Even when drums and bass actually kick in, Nas is clearly not trying to pump anyone up with this album. A triple dose of Nas overlaid with the glossiest of production leads into the first single, “Hero.” And if you haven’t heard “Hero,” it’s hardly an exception. The lead single appears to be Nas’s newest attempt at anthem rap, and the results are somewhere between the exceptional “Made You Look” and the contrived “Hate Me Now” of the past.
Enter “Sly Fox,” a pointed dagger aimed straight at network news and the rest of us scummy media types. dead prez front man stic.man’s gritty beat complements Nas and makes for the only truly venomous song on an album that was supposed to be called N—–. You do the math. Regardless, it’s a clear-cut highlight and a turning point for the album as a whole.
Perhaps the finest moment of the album, “N.-.-.-.-.-. (The Slave and the Master)” comes together beautifully with a pulsing, swaying beat from D.J. Toomp – yes, the guy who did T.I.’s “What You Know.” It’s starkly depressing but incredibly insightful. Nas has been preaching for 10 years now, but never before has he seemed so genuine.
stic.man’s second effort on the album, “Untitled,” is mostly just the generic Nas song – instantly forgettable. But it’s hard to even think about that when you know a Busta Rhymes guest appearance is coming up. Nobody does it better on someone else’s album than Bussa Bus, and that’s been true since A Tribe Called Quest’s “Scenario” in 1992. “Fried Chicken” is an incredible track on both ends, with the two rappers, well, eating it up with metaphors on top of metaphors and a strong beat from Mark Ronson.
The album’s final standout track is the finale, “Black President.” The 2Pac sample and militant drums D.J. Green Lantern spark an aggressive Nas providing his views on the political world with intelligence and grit. Even if Nas does simplify things like always, he is sharp enough to bring up both sides of the debate: “We in need of a break / I’m thinkin’ I can trust this brotha / But will he keep it way real? / Every innocent n—- in jail gets out on appeal / When he wins – will he really care still?”
In the end, the highlights are sparse on the new, untitled Nas album. It is no Illmatic. And it is no surprise. Illmatic was produced by D.J. Premier, Large Professor, Pete Rock and Q-Tip, a viable who’s-who of mid-’90s East Coast producers. Nasty Nas is still as lyrically sharp as ever, but the lacking production he allows himself to use is holding him back just as they have been for 14 years.
Still, though, when you hit “play” on the new Nas album, keep your expectations. Maybe one day they’ll be met. Maybe.
ajosephdbk@gmail.com
RATING: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars
