>And I never thought I'd see the day when Nas puts out a DJ
>Shadow album--wonder if they talked about the whole "living up
>to the potential of your classic debut" thing!
>
>

I just re-read that and I can see how it can be misinterpreted.

To be clear, I think that Shadow and Nas both far exceeded their "potential" from their classic debuts. Hence the quotation marks.

That Unkle LP, The Private Press, and The Less You Know pushed sample-based music beyond anything I've heard from anyone else.

And The Outsider showed how wide-ranging his talents are to the point that, to some, it hurt its acceptance as an "album". (Then think of it as a "compilation"!!!)

Dude's done enough to make an argument for the GOAT.

Same for Nas, and his catalogue speaks for itself.

Happy 50th D’Angelo: https://chrisp.bandcamp.com/track/d-50