A Number of Great Moments
1 No Bad Energy
A nice way to kick off the album thanks to Swizz Beatz who produces a beat that I wouldn't say has his signature feel, which isn't a bad thing. The hook is lacking but the verses and 'choiristic' feel of the beat work.
2 Vernon Family
The beat here sounds quite dated (made 12 years ago) but works. Nas hasn't had a lot of bangers over his career and this high tempo beat with quick raps fits into that category. Features some very Nas-like word choice and rhymes. Is it just me or does Nas' voice sound higher on the second verse? "I got the je ne sais quoi, why bother/With girls who like to play keep-away with they toddlers?"
3 Jarreau of Rap (Skatt Attack)
I don't hate this at all. It's different. Nas has made far worse songs. I'd rather him try something different like this where he raps with the melody than create something like 'Braveheart Party', which is substantially worse than this. The melody is catchy. I've had it pop into in my head since I heard this song. What I don't think works is when Nas just says "Married to harmony/One in the same". He should've stayed off the hook.
4 Lost Freestyle
More good production with Nas rapping well. He wrote most of it and freestyled half of the second verse. Enjoyable brag rap for the most part. Sounds like something from the Life Is Good sessions.
5 Tanasia
So far so good. Another good song that has a different feel to it than anything Nas has done before. Who else but RZA to provide an Asian inspired beat?
6 Royalty
The weakest song so far. The hook is average. Something about the production quality on the hook bothers me too. It's grown on me from the first listen but I don't find the song that interesting. Made for Untitled in '06-'07.
7 Who Are You
Originally made for Untitled as well. An uplifting track where Nas takes aim at his critics whilst encouraging others who become successful to remember where they come from.
8 Adult Film
More than decent. Some gossip-mongering, over-opinionated cretins need to stop predicting a song's quality based on the title. You'd think they would learn their lesson after being wrong before. I don't love Swizz as a producer, and love him even less as a vocalist, but he provided two good beats for this project. I wish he would've stayed away from the chorus, but the post-chorus and verses are nice.
9 War Against Love
Inspired by a conversation Nas had with Lauryn Hill. The chorus doesn't perhaps stand out like it deserves to. One of the best though. Strong production.
10 The Art of It
The brilliant 'Uptown Anthem' by the underrated Naughty by Nature is sampled making the beat stand out to me instantly. Lyrically, it's mostly brag rap with some social commentary and personal bars about his, at the time of recording, rumoured divorce thrown in. Disappointingly, as with 'Royalty', it sounds unmastered. From hearing Nas, it sounds like it was meant to sound "dusty", but it just gives off a LQ feel to me.
11 Highly Favored
"We easily mistake jokes for disrespect." Amen.
12 Queens Wolf
You can understand why this track is on this compilation and didn't make an album. It's a creative conceptual song. "The face in the moon had a mean look / I transformed to the Queens Wolf"
13 It Never Ends
Nas borrows from Biggie for the hook. "I got seven Mac-11’s, about eight .38’s / Nine 9’s, ten Mac-10’s the shits never end" for an anti-violence message but the lyrics aren't focused. It could be a grower but I don't like the beat or the hook.
14 You Mean the World to Me
One of the few we'd heard before, released as 'The World'. This leaked over 10 years ago. The soul sampling and beat is very Kanye-esque. Nas raps slower with less energy than on anything else from this project. I don't think it's very strong. Given the production and the time it leaked it seems like a Hip Hop Is Dead leftover.
15 QueensBridge Politics
A tribute track of sorts to Prodigy and the many artists who have come from Queensbridge. Nas mentions that he has regrets with how things went between the two. "A disease that needs a vaccination, plagues, black season"
16 Beautiful Life
The intro gives off a DJ Khaled vibe. "This one right here goes to my most loyal, loyal, loyal, loyal ones / You for me and me for you." Even before the obvious reference to the album in the chorus, it has the feel of something like 'You Wouldn't Understand' and others from Life Is Good. A good song that would have fitted perfectly on the album. Perhaps he thought he had said enough on the songs that ended up on the album that this could be left off. "My baby's mom made a book about me, she tried to out me / In Barnes & Nobles new release section she's confessin'." Nas has said that after this song not making the Life Is Good album, that he went back and changed the lyrics to some of the first verse to avoid it sounding dated, because he still wanted to use it for a future album.
This is easily better than NASIR, which I have seen being debated. Kanye didn't produce this whole thing though... I was feeling more pessimistic in the lead up to this release than I probably should've been due to my positive feelings towards Nas. Maybe I just didn't want to feel let down like I was with the aforementioned seven-track album. I'm enjoying Nas' writing and rapping more, the beats suit him, proven by the way he raps so naturally over so many of them and while I still don't think this is him at his topical best, he is touching on some more interesting subjects. Unsurprisingly, this doesn't reach the high points of The Lost Tapes, I haven't yet found a peak Nas song here, but the consistency is fairly high. Strong bookends with the other strong songs scattered. I can't give this less than a 3.5 at the moment. There is plenty I'll be going back to. Hopefully the real 'Nas Album Done' album isn't too far away.
Beats: ★★★☆
Rapping/Bars: ★★★★☆
Hooks: ★★★
Best Tracks No Bad Energy, Vernon Family, War Against Love, QueensBridge Politics, Beautiful Life
The only two songs with much replay value are 'Pt. 2' and 'Famous' and even then they are not touching Kanye's best work. I don't get the fuss with 'Ultralight Beam'. I don't hear what people are hearing for the rep that song has. As a whole, the album just sounds rushed and scattered. Overrated because it has Kanye's name on the sleeve.
Best Tracks: Pt. 2, Famous
The beats really aren't as bad or poppy as some other reviewers say. A number are more jazzy than poppy, and a number of others are standard boom-bap beats. The kid is an amazingly enjoyable rapper for a 13-year-old to go with it, and it's a shame, like many children in the entertainment business, that he didn't go much further with his career. There aren't any classic songs here, but it's a good cohesive album.
Best Tracks: Intro, Move On, Me & My Microphone, Gusto, Hard Times, Parkside Coalition
I don't love Jay-Z as a whole or the 'American Gangster' album, I have it at 3/5, so it wasn't surprising that I have found some improvements here from the original album. 'Sweet' and 'Success' are such tracks that I like more than the originals. Others offer a good alternative. All in all, if you liked American Gangster you should find something here that you enjoy, but recently 9th Wonder hasn't been someone you'd hold your breath for waiting for him to produce a brilliant beat.
Best Tracks: Pray (for Me), Success, No Hook, Sweet, Fallin', Black American Gangster
