GutterPutter

Illmatic. Few albums could ever have the rights to reach the worship of the debut record of Nas, let alone attain the influence in the hip-hop genre ever since 1994. Hailed for its diverse production through different producers, remarkable flow & literate storytelling by the then-20-year-old MC, the album had since then been held up on a pedestal as being hip hop 101. Being subjected to constant analysis from music journalists, critics & even academics since its release, Nas is penned by many as being one of the greatest based purely on that album alone. The overwhelming praise can thus lead to many disappointments when the vast majority of the mythic rapper’s discography failed to reach up to the heights of Illmatic. General consensus leans to his second album It was Written (1996) as being the closest to being able to attain the heights of his debut. Others would point to either Stillmatic (2001) for Nas’s best showing of his mix of poetry & rapping technicalities, The Lost Tapes (2002) even if it’s a compilation album or Life is Good (2012) for proving that he can adapt to the sounds of the contemporary trends. For all his lyrical dexterity, how come Nas suffers from being unable to churn out multiple certain classics like his contemporaries like Jay-Z, Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest or Ghostface Killah?

Most would point out the history of weak beats that he always fall into ever since his debut. As an example, It Was Written was cited for having a rather dud beat in the G-Funk-inspired ‘Nas is Coming’, produced by Dr. Dre with some controversy since it’s released in the midst of the East Coast-West Coast feud. Stillmatic was also infamous for containing some of Nas’s best verses only to botch it up with a series of questionable beat choices wherever it be in the diss track ‘Ether’ or one of his singles in ‘Got Ur Self a Gun’. His last album in King’s Disease (which the subject follows up on) is thus important because it marked one of a few times where he gets to align his wordplay mastery with the production that is befitting for it – all of which being from the respectable Hit-Boy. Now, the most recent output had well proved itself to have gone beyond the groundwork that’s laid by it & with sharp beats & even sharper bars, Nas has finally proved to everyone that he is just as capable of keeping his rhymes up to date.

Much of the album mostly consists of the typical topics that Nas would often touch on wherever it be sociopolitical justice, reputable braggadocio or Afro-historical reconnection. Hit-Boy’s production, made up primarily of jazz & soul samples with synth, shows its shine well in the album. One example is the trap beats in ‘EMPD 2’ for how it compliments not just Nas’ verse, but also the featured rappers in the eponymous influential duo & Eminem even if the latter does have some dubious bits (‘I got no L’s (Noels) like Christmas, you don’t wanna make the claws (Claus) come out’? Weird flex if I may say). ‘Death Row East’ shows diversity in the drum machine pattern as Nas raps about trying to bury his rivalry with the late Tupac – the result being a groovy, bittersweet ode to the West Coast’s biggest name as the tension between the East & West Coast brought forth his death. ‘YKTV’, ‘40 Side’, ‘Composure’ & ‘Rare’ sees Nas flex his success as being one of New York’s biggest rappers with a feature from A Boogie wit da Hoodie & YG for the former track. The final product having hard-hitting bass & hi-hat with some rather mundane boasts around prospering with the ladies & wealth, making it a slight dud.

Don’t let that distract you however from the exhuberant highs that Nas reaches with ease if the conditions are just right. ‘No Phony Love’ may have half-assed the controversies around the rapper’s alleged instances of domestic abuses, but the swooning vocals from Charlie Wilson & the admittance of decadence in the second verse puts him a step closer to being honest around his reality. ‘Count Me In’ has the MC confront one of the puzzling contradictions in his life that is his ego as he compares his drive to the thugs whose background led them to kill each other for monetary sake while he focus on his career to fulfil his goals. It’s one of the most introspective pieces that I have heard from him especially as he mutters how ‘they bleed how I bleed/ Suffering from the symptoms of King’s Disease’; paradoxically great line that sums up both the temptations of ambition & the problems that stems ever since he rose up to the top. ‘My Bible’ is rife with Christian metaphors as Nas offers some advice around trying to live your life with no problems alongside a shout-out to feminism & peace. It may not be the most persuasive, but it’s filled with some of the sharpest poetic verses that Nas had written in a long time. The denouement in ‘Nas Is Good’ has some of the slickest flows as of late & also the most convincing brags around his luxurious life both from his career & in his artsy comparison with the hallmarks of his past ancestry.

The last thing I wanted to touch on before I sign this review off is that of what I consider to be among the best songs of this year – ‘Nobody’. Touching on the theme of the risks of being famous, Nas would’ve continue to flex his privilege, but takes a step back instead to ponder around the dangers of being so accessibly known to others. Cautioning the ironic safety of his younger years in Queensbridge compared to being ubiquitous now with ‘the internet energy and social decline’, he spends much of his time wondering about how possible it is for him to be able to fade away from public eye quietly to live a humble life. One might complain about the contradiction between the introspection & the demonstration of one’s fortune, yet it’s when the featured verse from Lauryn Hill comes in which is nothing short of ingenious. Nearly 20 years have passed since her latest output which is a live album, but the verse can just as easily take you in to the erudite glistening that allows Lauryn to come out on top over her largely quiet career. Take the extracted lines from her verse for example:

‘They tried to box me out while takin’ what they want from me

I spent too many years living too uncomfortably

Making room for people who didn’t like the labor

Or wanted the spoils, greedy, selfish behavior

Now let me give it to you balanced and with clarity

I don’t need to turn myself into a parody

I don’t, I don’t do the shit you do for popularity

They clearly didn’t understand when I said “I Get Out” apparently’

First off, the assonance & the rhymes helps to establish a clear flow that goes straight to the point around the trials of notability. The asyndeton for ‘spoils, greedy, selfish behavior’ cuts to the chase the contrast between the introspection that Nas had just wondered around & the viceful reasons as to why one would wish to be in the same spot as him. Repeating ‘I don’t’ three times may come off as childish witthout context, but in the framework of Lauryn Hill’s verse & background, it cements her authenticity without the constant coverage from the media. Last, but not the least, is the line ‘I don’t need to turn myself into a parody’. Damn is all I can say about that; go & find a line that’s as laconic in condemning celebrity culture as this. Wonder about how the rest of the album will fare in the future all you want, but I doubt that the rest of the rap songs this year will match up to the excellency of ‘Nobody’.