I actually pretty much agree with you for Life's a Bitch and Verbal Intercourse... except I'd excluded them because they only have one Nas verse (AZ even does the hook on Life's a Bitch). Deja Vu, however, has the Verbal Intercourse verse in it, plus two more. So I included that.

I think there's an overall dark humour in life's a bitch (even in the title). You're right that "buck that bought a bottle" is not emphasizing hope, although I think it's kind of ironic more than anything else (I believe we've had this conversation before). Same with the "rich or doing years in the hundreds" - I mean this has got to be humourous, you ethier make loads of money of a drug smuggle... or go to jail for a very long time.

I feel Memory Lane is just kinda unfocussed... my opinion of it has changed several times, and I'm still openminded about it.

It's also true that One Love is the most easily comprehended on Illmatic. At first I didn't like it too much because of that. But when I listened carefully I noticed how subtle it was. You're right about the "mask and gloves" line being ominous, and then the dark atmosphere takes a sort of unreal turn at the start of the 3rd verse. The changes in mood are pretty much unparalleled, I think.