Time has been unkind to Nas. His albums have not aged well, or either we overlooked alot of bullshit to get to the good stuff.
I find myself deleting over half the tracks on his albums to keep the good stuff on my phone. I've listened to them all, in order, up to "Streets Disciple" (that I actually liked then, and it still holds up, even better than most of his catalog), and other than Illmatic and Gods Son?? Nah..
I went back to "Life Is Good" right after "4:44" came out and...same thing.
*Streets Disciple actually touched on the "grown man rap" first.
2. "i only use stars in my itunes at 5 or 0" In response to Reply # 0
just to sep. out my fave songs, not really as a tiered ranking system or anthing - its like "fire" or "not fire "basically lol. So lets see how many faves i have from each record (this isn't the most scientific but...)
illmatic - 8 it was written - 7 the firm - 2 I Am - 6 Nastradamus - 6 Stillmatic - 11 Lost Tapes - 3 God's Son - 4 Streets Dis - 6 Is Dead - 4 N - 2 Life is good - 4 Nasir - 2
4. "I still love Stillmatic cause it revived him but ..." In response to Reply # 3
>I remember "Stillmatic" being better than it actually is.
... I'd have to begrudgingly agree that it sounds very "of its time." I hate the term "dated" because it carries such negative connotations but it's a time capsule for sure.
5. "Illmatic, IWW, stillmatic, god’s son, distant relatives and life is go..." In response to Reply # 0 Thu Aug-30-18 10:01 AM by Nick Has a Problem..
Are the only albums I go back to. The lost tapes goes without saying. Probably the best project with Nas name on it. Disc 1 of street’s disciple is very strong too. Disc 2 is weak as hell imo. Still my favorite emcee. Discog doesn’t hold up well though.
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6. "The albums between IWW and Distant Relatives are on the shaky side" In response to Reply # 0
During that period, the only ones I ever really revisit as a whole are "The Lost Tapes" and "Hip-Hop is Dead." There are some great songs on God's Son and Street's Disciple, but overall they don't hold together.
I will say that for the most part, I've very much enjoyed his output during the '10s. Both Distant Relatives and Life Is Good are excellent. I don't blame him for NASIR's weakness; that mess is on Kanye.
7. "HHID and God's Son are my favorites in that period." In response to Reply # 6
But admittedly God's Son has some low moments sprinkled throughout. I just have a sort of nostalgic love for that album cause it came out my freshman year in college and a sexy Asian girl I used to fuck around with who lived on my floor gave me an advance copy cause she was interning for Sony at the time.
>During that period, the only ones I ever really revisit as a >whole are "The Lost Tapes" and "Hip-Hop is Dead." There are >some great songs on God's Son and Street's Disciple, but >overall they don't hold together. > >I will say that for the most part, I've very much enjoyed his >output during the '10s. Both Distant Relatives and Life Is >Good are excellent. I don't blame him for NASIR's weakness; >that mess is on Kanye.
8. "I like the first half of God's Son" In response to Reply # 7
"Made You Look" is very much one of the best songs that Nas ever did (and one of the best songs of the '00s). And i'm the guy who likes "Zone Out" beyond Nas' verse. Second half of that album kind of falls apart. Some of those tracks on the back end are really bad. Or needed a remix.
>But admittedly God's Son has some low moments sprinkled >throughout. I just have a sort of nostalgic love for that >album cause it came out my freshman year in college and a sexy >Asian girl I used to fuck around with who lived on my floor >gave me an advance copy cause she was interning for Sony at >the time.
Well, that's as good of a reason as any. Can't hate on that.
9. "RE: I like the first half of God's Son" In response to Reply # 8
>"Made You Look" is very much one of the best songs that Nas >ever did (and one of the best songs of the '00s). And i'm the >guy who likes "Zone Out" beyond Nas' verse. Second half of >that album kind of falls apart. Some of those tracks on the >back end are really bad. Or needed a remix.
I went back to it last week and was like "HELL YEAH NAS!! THIS HERE IS WHAT I...oh...wait...for real? You just gon fall off like...damn"
"Get Down" was a perfect album opener, but it just went left after "Book Of Rhymes"
14. "You nailed it. Such a strong first half, hit or miss second half." In response to Reply # 8
>"Made You Look" is very much one of the best songs that Nas >ever did (and one of the best songs of the '00s). And i'm the >guy who likes "Zone Out" beyond Nas' verse. Second half of >that album kind of falls apart. Some of those tracks on the >back end are really bad. Or needed a remix.
Totally. It lost focus but there's still a couple gems in there.
12. "is it all kanye's fault" In response to Reply # 11
I mean Nas is damn near a god emcee. How you gonna just let Kanye take the blame for a clunker. Hold yourself accountable to the sound of your music. And if you don't, it's your fault.... not Krazy Kanye.
17. "To be fair, we could say this about a few artists" In response to Reply # 0
A good chunk of 90 early 00's hip hop has given me pause. Tastes just change, and so much of what makes music dope is the impact it had at the time. Going back 20+ years for any artist is many times a task. I say the same with early 90's R&B.
18. "Here you go..." In response to Reply # 0 Fri Aug-31-18 07:31 AM by Anonymous
Illmatic > Reasonable Doubt It Was Written > Vol 1 I Am > Vol 2 Nastradamus > Vol 3 QB < Dynasty Stillmatic > Blueprint God’s Son > The Black Album Street’s Disciple > Blueprint 2 Hip-Hop is Dead > Kingdom Come Untitled < American Gangster Life Is Good > Blueprint 3 Nasir > MCHG Distant Relatives > The Carters
I guess Jay does have 4.44 as one up...
But Nas has Lost Tapes so Jay loses there too.
And honestly...the only changes I’m willing to accept are;
Vol 3 > Nastradamus Blueprint > Stillmatic The Black Album > God’s Son
21. "See...I went through Jay's catalog before Nas'.." In response to Reply # 20
I skipped American Gangster, The Black Album and 4:44, cause AG and TBA are certified classics, and 4:44 is certified mediocrity, but Vol. 3 and The Dynasty are FAAR better than I remembered them to be...as is MCHG.
If you havent listened to these in a while..go back..seriously.
32. "RE: Revisiting Discographies-Nasir Jones" In response to Reply # 0
I feel his discography holds up with most solo rapper's with 10 albums or more. I like most Nas albums tho despite realizing most have a lot of flaws.
I'm a fan of both Nas and Jay and put their discography's about equal, Jay maybe a notch ahead mainly due to production but not really much.
I guess we have to list artists with that many albums with better discographies. Scarface is the only one I can think of really. Everyone has highs and lows. People might argue Ghostface but only about 4 albums I really go back to in his.
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