Life Is Good 2012 Album

Nas

Album Is Good 1 No Introduction ★★★★ This doesn't match some other intros such as Stillmatic, but it's a good way to open the album. Nas is rapping as well as ever as he continues to do throughout the album. 2 Loco-Motive (feat. Large Professor) ★★★★ I have a bit of a problem with the hook here, particularly the slapping sound. The verses are dope though taking it back to the 90s. 3 A Queens Story ★★★★☆ Follows the feeling of Loco-Motive with Nas rapping excellently. It's weird though that he used the same few lines in this that are in 'Accident Murderers'. It would have been better if he changed one or the other. I don't like repeated rhymes on the same album. 4 Accident Murderers (feat. Rick Ross) ★★★★☆ Nas possibly could have gotten someone else for the feature but I like this track. Probably my favourite beat from the first four tunes, and an original topic as well. 5 Daughters ★★★★☆ A definite grower from when I first heard it, where I felt that the chorus sounded incomplete. One of the better songs here. He'll have to create a song about his son on his next album though. He can't show favouritism. 6 Reach Out (feat. Mary J. Blige) ★★★ Feels really 90s, featuring an Isaac Hayes Ike's Mood sample that has been used quite a few times. Solid, but no new ground is reached. 7 World's an Addiction (feat. Anthony Hamilton) ★★★★☆ Again the rapping is brilliant here, the production kind of takes a back seat. The title sums it up, being about compulsion. 8 Summer on Smash (feat. Miguel & Swizz Beatz) ★★★ I'm guessing that this will be an upcoming single, due to it not fitting in with the rest of the album. While I don't dislike it as much as other people, I'm not sure why, like Nas should have done with 'Make the World Go Round' on Untitled, he didn't whack it on the end of the album as a bonus track or something. If he did that, then maybe people wouldn't be so critical, as it wouldn't ruin the flow of the album as much. Overall Nas' first two verses are good with the hook being okay. It really didn't need Miguel on a verse though. If Nas did three verses I wouldn't have an issue with the song. I'm not sure Nas himself likes this song though, it was about to play during a set of his and he cut it straight away. 9 You Wouldn't Understand (feat. Victoria Monet) ★★★★ This has a similar vibe to 'Reach Out', again feeling like something from a previous decade, although I enjoy this one a lil more. It's about what Nas has lived through, and that others wouldn't be able to walk a mile in his shoes. 10 Back When ★★★★ This song is about a young Nas and before hip hop. 11 The Don ★★★★☆ As with 'Daughters', this has grown on me. The change-up in the beat at the third verse is excellent. 12 Stay ★★★★ As the album closes, women, relationships and Nas' divorce with Kelis becomes more of a theme. The L.A. Carnival - Seven Steps To Nowhere laid back horns and "stay" vocal work well. 13 Cherry Wine (feat. Amy Winehouse) ★★★★☆ Of the three tracks with a female featuring on the hook. Good song that follows on thematically to the next. 14 Bye Baby ★★★★☆ Guy's Goodbye Love sample is great here, and this is one of my favourite songs on the album. This one is about the failed marriage with Kelis, mentioning the inequities of divorce settlements. However, he says that he would do it all again. 15 Nasty ★★★★☆ The first song we heard in the lead up to the album, and it wet the appetite perfectly following on from Ghetto Dreams. Just three minutes of Nas spitting hard bars. 16 The Black Bond ★★★ The title tells you what this is about. It doesn't do a lot for me. 17 Roses ★★★☆ Another song about relationships and women. 18 Where's the Love (feat. Cocaine 80s) ★★★★☆ This could have been exchanged for one of the weaker tracks on the standard edition. Nice. 19 Trust ★★★★★ Ditto. The production here is the darkest of these 19 tracks and it's another introspective track making reference to Nas' tax issues among other things. Overall, this is an extremely solid album, with only two or three weak moments among the 19 tracks. If I was to create a list of Nas' best songs though, I don't think many of the tracks featured on Life Is Good would feature too highly. A couple just needed something extra to be elevated from excellent to classic songs. Although more time is probably needed for this to be set in stone. Much of it is though what rappers his age should be rapping about and what we will probably see more of, other than rappers nearing 40 and over, spitting about what they did on the street corner in their last life. In comparison to his previous albums, no, it isn't better than Illmatic, but it is a more consistent album than his previous two solos, being Hip Hop Is Dead and Untitled. Although, as mentioned I'd rather the best few on either of those albums than the best few on this one. As this album signifies the final album under his contract with Def Jam, it'll be interesting where Nas goes from here. A collaboration with Common? DJ Premier? AZ? Lost Tapes 2? Much has been hinted at, so we'll just have to wait. Best Tracks: A Queens Story, Accident Murderers, Daughters, World's an Addiction, Bye Baby, Nasty, Where's the Love, Trust