Remember the time of REAL HIP HOP and SONGWRITING? How the hell did he not get inducted!? He was robbed! Genius and compelling songwriter, greatest rap songwriter no question.

Nasir is one of my faves. Truly gifted writer. In the past his biggest detriment was his poor beat/track selection.... I've always imagined an album where he had some of the best producers behind him. Here's a glimpse of what it might have sounded like....

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Musicslave said:

Nasir is one of my faves. Truly gifted writer. In the past his biggest detriment was his poor beat/track selection.... I've always imagined an album where he had some of the best producers behind him. Here's a glimpse of what it might have sounded like....

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Thanks for posting!

He was a exceptionally gifted songwriter

mjscarousal said:

Musicslave said:

Nasir is one of my faves. Truly gifted writer. In the past his biggest detriment was his poor beat/track selection.... I've always imagined an album where he had some of the best producers behind him. Here's a glimpse of what it might have sounded like....

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Thanks for posting!

He was a exceptionally gifted songwriter

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Thankfully he's still with us.

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One of the many reasons why I think 1994 was the greatest year in hip-hop history.

namepeace said:

Musicslave said:

mjscarousal said:

Thanks for posting!

He was a exceptionally gifted songwriter

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Thankfully he's still with us.

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He ISSSSSSSSSSSS an exceptionally gifted songwriter

mjscarousal said:

Musicslave said:

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Thankfully he's still with us.

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He ISSSSSSSSSSSS an exceptionally gifted songwriter

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LittleBLUECorvette said:

namepeace said:

One of the many reasons why I think 1994 was the greatest year in hip-hop history.

To me, 94 was the last year Hip-Hop got away from that old school style. Guys like Kane, Rakim, PE, Run, Heavy D were on their way out and the new breed of Wu, Bad Boy, Death Row, 2Pac, Nas, Outkast were taking over.

That, and also, in terms of the breadth and diversity of quality releases, in every region of the country, hip-hop hit creative and commercial highs not seen since, imo. That includes the great releases that bled over from the end of '93, including Black Moon and De La Soul.

namepeace said:

I wish we had this type of hip hop again. When hip hop was about art, geniuneness, authenticity, heart and passion. Now its all about making money.

"...mechanical movement, understandable smooth shit, that murderers move with..."

^that shit sounded so ill...and the beat was a classic Pete Rock joint, while Pete Rock was in his prime...

RJOrion said:

"...mechanical movement, understandable smooth shit, that murderers move with..."

^that shit sounded so ill...and the beat was a classic Pete Rock joint, while Pete Rock was in his prime...

Real hip hop touches the soul!

COMPUTERBLUE1984 said:

The album grew on me over time. Being a teenager back then, the hip hop scene had a little bit of something for everybody. "Ain't hard to tell" was the perfect marriage of lyrics/sample/mood. Just breezy and smooth!

I wish I had a time machine! The song is so genius, it totally defines the 90s.

IMHO, there's only a handful of albums I've come into contact with during my life that are absoltuely flawless, top to bottom, all-killer-zero-filler. Illmatic is one of them. Illmatic is over before you know it, so it doesnt really allow itself to be whack. Not to mention that it's unique because a good chunk of hip-hop albums historically are filled to the cd time limit with intermissions, guest spots, etc. Not here, though. 9 tracks (with the intro of course) of this 20 year old kid just RIPPING shit. I'm still hearing lines from it I've somehow missed. It's a shame he peaked that early on in his career. He just could never top it, even though he almost came close with It Was Written. Somebody above mentioned Nas' habit of picking pretty terrible beats and too many of them. I couldnt agree more. But the good thing with his catalog is that even though most of his albums aren't particularly great, each and every one post-It Was Written has at the very least 2-3 dope tracks on them. I was pleasantly surprised with Life is Good, however. That was his best album in years and years.

kygermo said:

NaS is one of my favorite rappers of all time. He is not one you put on in the clubs but one you take in personally and digest. I was not a fan of his first couple albums...Illmatic was okay but it may have came out at a time I wasnt really listening to rap music. His later albums are criminally overlooked especially Streets Desciple, God's Son, Stillmatic and Life Is Good.

I get sick of the 'back in the day' threads when no one is paying attention to that artist's current albums. Yeah they were good and they got those awards and accolades but that artist has grown and made plenty more than their debut....especially when it is just as good if not better.

In light of paisleypark4 post.... Here's a dope track from STILLmatic that still stands the test of time (that wasn't on Illmatic)...

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"They thought I'd make another Illmatic, but its always forward I'm movin, never backwards stupid here's another classic."

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Another forgotten gem...

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Nas has been on his "grown man flow" for years now...

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Musicslave said:

Nas has been on his "grown man flow" for years now...

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oh I bang these songs too. the whole album is good. "Bye Baby" is so good, I love the keys on that one..so warm and deep.

LittleBLUECorvette said:

kygermo said:

IMHO, there's only a handful of albums I've come into contact with during my life that are absoltuely flawless, top to bottom, all-killer-zero-filler. Illmatic is one of them. Illmatic is over before you know it, so it doesnt really allow itself to be whack. Not to mention that it's unique because a good chunk of hip-hop albums historically are filled to the cd time limit with intermissions, guest spots, etc. Not here, though. 9 tracks (with the intro of course) of this 20 year old kid just RIPPING shit. I'm still hearing lines from it I've somehow missed. It's a shame he peaked that early on in his career. He just could never top it, even though he almost came close with It Was Written. Somebody above mentioned Nas' habit of picking pretty terrible beats and too many of them. I couldnt agree more. But the good thing with his catalog is that even though most of his albums aren't particularly great, each and every one post-It Was Written has at the very least 2-3 dope tracks on them. I was pleasantly surprised with Life is Good, however. That was his best album in years and years.

Nas tried to go commercial in the late 90s-early 2000s with songs like Ochie Wally (wack) and You Owe Me (cool, but not Nas.) He still had goods like One Mic and Made You Look.

Yep, to very mixed results. I feel like most times he tried something commercial, it just didn't work (for me, at least). He's not that type of soul. It always seemed...beneath him. I still think "Hate Me Now" is just awful. The title track for Nastradamus?

.

But like I said before, evey album of his has at least 1-3 absolutely fucking fantastic cuts on them. A perfect example is God's Son. Overall, not a super-strong album of his (but better than Stillmatic IMHO), but it contains two of my favorite Nas cuts ever, Get Down and Heaven. Shit, I'll even go as far as saying Get Down is one of the most badass album openers I've ever heard, hip-hop or otherwise. Stillmatic has Rewind, one of the most clever hip-hop tracks ever. You get my point. When he's inspired and steps up to the plate, Nas is unstoppable. But my man just isn't consistent enough. And you know what Head Detective? I don't hold it against him. It can't be easy being an MC of his pedigree, and making records that can appeal to all the different kinds of fans he has. A little quality control could go a long way is all I'm saying. But still, he's easily in my top 5. Maybe even my top 2.

[Edited 7/5/17 6:11am]

kygermo said:

LittleBLUECorvette said:

kygermo said: Nas tried to go commercial in the late 90s-early 2000s with songs like Ochie Wally (wack) and You Owe Me (cool, but not Nas.) He still had goods like One Mic and Made You Look.

Yep, to very mixed results. I feel like most times he tried something commercial, it just didn't work (for me, at least). He's not that type of soul. It always seemed...beneath him. I still think "Hate Me Now" is just awful. The title track for Nastradamus?

.

But like I said before, evey album of his has at least 1-3 absolutely fucking fantastic cuts on them. A perfect example is God's Son. Overall, not a super-strong album of his (but better than Stillmatic IMHO), but it contains two of my favorite Nas cuts ever, Get Down and Heaven. Shit, I'll even go as far as saying Get Down is one of the most badass album openers I've ever heard, hip-hop or otherwise. Stillmatic has Rewind, one of the most clever hip-hop tracks ever. You get my point. When he's inspired and steps up to the plate, Nas is unstoppable. But my man just isn't consistent enough. And you know what Head Detective? I don't hold it against him. It can't be easy being an MC of his pedigree, and making records that can appeal to all the different kinds of fans he has. A little quality control could go a long way is all I'm saying. But still, he's easily in my top 5. Maybe even my top 2.

[Edited 7/5/17 6:11am]

...But that Life Is Good though......

paisleypark4 said:

kygermo said:

Yep, to very mixed results. I feel like most times he tried something commercial, it just didn't work (for me, at least). He's not that type of soul. It always seemed...beneath him. I still think "Hate Me Now" is just awful. The title track for Nastradamus?

.

But like I said before, evey album of his has at least 1-3 absolutely fucking fantastic cuts on them. A perfect example is God's Son. Overall, not a super-strong album of his (but better than Stillmatic IMHO), but it contains two of my favorite Nas cuts ever, Get Down and Heaven. Shit, I'll even go as far as saying Get Down is one of the most badass album openers I've ever heard, hip-hop or otherwise. Stillmatic has Rewind, one of the most clever hip-hop tracks ever. You get my point. When he's inspired and steps up to the plate, Nas is unstoppable. But my man just isn't consistent enough. And you know what Head Detective? I don't hold it against him. It can't be easy being an MC of his pedigree, and making records that can appeal to all the different kinds of fans he has. A little quality control could go a long way is all I'm saying. But still, he's easily in my top 5. Maybe even my top 2.

[Edited 7/5/17 6:11am]

...But that Life Is Good though......

Oh yeah. In my previous post (before the one you quoted here), I show my love and appreciation for Life is Good, and how it was his best album in years. Some really great stuff on it.

LittleBLUECorvette said:

namepeace said:

That, and also, in terms of the breadth and diversity of quality releases, in every region of the country, hip-hop hit creative and commercial highs not seen since, imo. That includes the great releases that bled over from the end of '93, including Black Moon and De La Soul.

And ATCQ and Wu all late 93 releases.

Indeed. As I see it, other than maybe '87-'88, we haven't seen a 2-year stretch in hip-hop that had so many creative and commercial successes as '93-'94.

People always say he didn't have good beats but having good beats does not define a MC's rapping or songwriting skills. Nas focused on his artistry, lyricism and story telling since that s where most of his talent was and IS lol. You have to sit down and really listen to rappers like him. You don't dance to Nas and I think partially the reason why some might not like Nas is because they are not intellectually sound. You have to have a high degree of intelligence and insight to listen to appreciate rappers like him.

[Edited 7/5/17 12:04pm]

mjscarousal said:

People always say he didn't have good beats but having good beats does not define a MC's rapping or songwriting skills. Nas focused on his artistry, lyricism and story telling since that s where most of his talent was and IS lol. You have to sit down and really listen to rappers like him. You don't dance to Nas and I think partially the reason why some might not like Nas is because they are not intellectually sound. You have to have a high degree of intelligence and insight to listen to appreciate rappers like him.

[Edited 7/5/17 12:04pm]

Yeah there is like only 3 or 4 NaS songs you can really bump in the club or with your friends like Life's A Bitch, You Wont See Me Tonight or U Owe Me, but those were not essential to his career, it's his deep tracks that make his artistry what it is.