Disc One

Intro (Get Down)
Retro as fuck. You will recognize the sample immediately. And Nas .....as always...creates a new flow that fits it perfectly. He rides it throughout with no problems. Good intro indeed.


The Cross

Haunting piano. I thought this shit was gonna be wack. But the way he plays the concept of carrying the cross "even if the Virgin Mary had an abortion" is interesting. He explains how Nas now means "Niggas Against Society" and explains why he is the King. Interesting shit.


Made You Look

I don't think I need to explain this one. Yall been bumping it for some time now.


Last Real Nigga Alive

Now "this" one right here opened my ears up. Storytelling is one of the things that will seal it for me on any album when they do it right and he did it. He told the story of his come up along with Puffy's, Kim, Foxy,Wu-Tang's, Jay-Z's,AZ's, and B.I.G's and how they intertwined. Even how "Kick In The Door" was intended for him. This shit floored me. A must peep. The chorus was about to turn me off but I see why he chose to use it.





Zone Out(feat Bravehearts)

Nicely produced Salaam Remi track. The downfall....them damn Bravehearts. They do nothing for this track. Lyrics is needed for this and they have nothing but slang and very bland punchlines and already used street jargon. You almost "don't" want to wait for Nas to show up to save the day on this one, as you begin to "zone out" on this yourself. He should have rocked this with AZ. I think others who have heard this will agree.



Hey Nas(feat Kelis and Claudette)

This is a pretty refreshing party joint compared to Nas's track record of past attempts. But it's almost like "Girls, Girls, Girls" on the chorus. "Hey Nas how you doing?/Take my name and my number" but oh well....to each his own.



I Can

The beat starts.....the Beethoven sample comes in...niiiiiice. Thing is I don't know if he's attempting another Slick Rick on this one. Cause he changes his voice up where it definately sounds like it. The chorus is border line corny but the message is enjoyable. The kids on the chorus seems overdone but it's too late for that now. The end is kinda corny but .....it gets a laugh. Nice track but could have been done better.



Book Of Rhymes

He explains how he brought many of his book of rhymes to the studio and how he don't remember when he wrote these joints but he gonna try it. He spits as the beat goes and indecisively changes when he doesn't like it while spitting and then you hear him actually flipping pages....while rhyming. Nice concept. But the beat is kinda bland to me. Overall interesting track. Cause we all been through this (emcees/poets).







Thugz Mansion (feat Tupac and I Pheonix)

I don't know abou this one. It has a really beautiful vibe to it. But Tupac being on it kinda threw me. But as I listen....the shit works. Nice indeed. The acoustic guitar blends well with each of their voices. Message fits perfectly.



Mastermind

I don't think I need to speak on this one either. A very 80''s old school feel to it. Like the way songs used to be made when this Hip Hop shit was at it's purest. This was posted in the Lesson along with "Made You Look" so I'm sure folks heard it.



Warrior Song (feat Alicia Keys)

I can see how people will "like" this one and I can also see how people will "dislike" this one. I'm still undecided about this one.



Revolutinary Warfare (feat Lake)

Nice beat and nice lyrics. Nothing too groundbreaking. Lake don't need to be on this though. He kills the mood on this one.


Dance

A tribute to his late mother. Very heartfelt. Having lost my mother I can relate. He speaks of wishing he had one more dance with her. I feel that.




Heaven (feat Jully Black)

Beat is sick. Sick as "fuck". The fast flow on this aint what cats is used to hearing from Nas but it fits the track. A head nodder for sure.




Disc Two


Thugz Mirror (freestyle)

Sounds aiight. Nothing I would pump continuously. But to each his own.


Pussy Killz

I heard this sample before on the Ghostface album "Supreme Clientel". He used more of the sample than Ghost did and it seems to work but you can't help but think "I heard this before" when the sample comes in again.



The God

This shit is nasty. The way it starts just gets your head nodding hard. He revisits the BDP style with this one and it works. I'm feeling this shit. What's confusing me....why was a second disc needed? This could have replaced one of the few tracks on disc one that was so so.


The overall feel of this joint that I'm getting is retro. In the timeline of Nas albums it appears that this would fit perfectly after Illmatic. But it's refreshing to hear now. A good change of pace from the mainstream blah blah that's out here now. I give it a 8 out of 10.









-©

Omni:
Lunchbox tha Narcoleptic
Ginseng
Warlock
Xcaliber
Divine Versatile
Fathom 9
Die Hard
Izno
Ralph FLeezy
T1000
Obsidian Blue


Death to Smoochie "and" Anthea.

Lunch and Yank - Spitters Union
Lunch and Chuck - Lunchbox For President
Lunch and Obsidian - Vivid Strokes Of Reality
Lunch and tREB - FreeLunch
Lunch and Dutch - Mr.Shhhhh You Only Live Twice
Lunch and Kneegrow - Know Games