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Alicia Keys:
As I Am
DJ Unk:
Beat 'n Down Yo Block
The-Dream:
LoveHate
The Homie Jaz:
SUPACALI-
GANGSTAWITIT
J. Holiday:
Chocolate City Mixtape Vol. 1: (They Don't Sing No More)
NWA:
Straight Outta Compton 20th Anniversary
Nas:
Hip-Hop Is Dead
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Hip Paul dot com
Nas: Hip-Hop Is Dead
So when I first saw the video for Nas -- Hip-Hop is dead, on BET Rap City this afternoon, I was ready to doubt. Matter of fact, just watching Nas come out in a tight-fitting track-suit turned me off. And the beat sounded a little too "back-packer" Nas-can't-fake-being-a-drug-dealer-ie.-Escobar-so-I'm-on-some-grassroots-shit-now" stuff., But then, as I listened to the song and his lyrics, the quotables just began accumulating -- "Who's the greatest rapper, MC SHAN or MC REN?", and some other ones... "Call rap legalized crack"... Soon enough, I was saying to myself, "You gotta be kidding me." Not only was all doubts of Nas in my head dispersed, I began to realize that this might be the greatest Nas song of all time! Plus, Nas seemed to be finally comfortable with his swagger, compared earlier videos (see "Hate Me Now"). Then, the 'N' flag started dropping and rolling down. I would think it is a reference to Rakim, and the 'R'.
Afterward, I got to listening to his album. Okay, I admit, at this time, I was still not totally convinced. The beat to "Hip-Hop is Dead" still sounded kind of strangfe. I started listening, and I'd have to say that this album is amazing. On "Who Killed It", Nas switches up his personality by imitating the voice of an old dude almost to perfection. Nas displays some newly founded charisma. The guest-appearances are great. The Game and Nas together sounded natural. After all, I Nas did commend Game in an interview a while ago, saying something like it was good for a youngster to respect the Greats, (when an interviewer asked Nas' opinion of Game's "name-dropping".) And after Game's appearance in Damian Marley's video for "Road to Zion" which features Nas, plus Nas' appearance on the track "Why You Hate the Game" off of Game's newly released album, it was expected the Compton spitter would make an appearance on Nas's newest, called "Hustlers". Hearing Jay-z on "Black Republican" sounded eerie. It is one of those things, which takes a while before it hits you. Still, his appearance didn't live up to my expectations. The track titled "Never going back" in which Nas states "I'm not going back...(to the hood)" would seem like a suicide move for today's young rappers; but Nas pulls it off and the track is awesome. "Still Dreaming" feat. Kanye West is my favourite track on the album. Listen to this track for yourself. "Hold Down the Block" is another favorite of mine with a bumpin' beat. Again, listen for yourself.
Overall, I would say this album is better than Stillmatic.
Reviewed by Yuze P. Yuan
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