52. "That was an interesting listen" In response to In response to 0 Wed Jan-11-23 10:57 AM by mista k5
I always liked Nas but I didn't keep most of his albums in rotation. I was one of those people that thought It Was Written was his first album and hadn't listened to Illmatic until all of a sudden everyone was saying it was a classic. I think it took me a few listens to appreciate Illmatic too. I remember like You Can Hate Me Now when it came out and I had bought the Nastradamus CD (probably from those CD clubs). I listened to that Nastradamus CD so much. I think his lyrics kept interested enough to stomach the rest of it lol
Stillmatic, The Lost Tapes, God's Son all stayed on repeat. I didn't think Streets Disciple was that bad, it had some good songs. I remember really liking Hip Hip is Dead when it came out.
Untitled, Distant Relatives, Life is Good were all dope to me.
I liked Nasir when it came out. I like the Hit-boy albums but I always felt like not as much as others do.
I did expect there to be some rough stretches going back through his albums but some surprised me. I only own Illmatic on vinyl. I always pass up It Was Written and I'm not sure why. Stillmatic I haven't come across much. Kind of always feel like I don't know which album of his should be my second one. Going through these I found It Was Written is really good but just doesn't connect with me, don't know why. I can see why some people say it's just as good as Illmatic but not for me. I Am was basically completely forgettable. I don't think I want to come back to it. Kind of same level as Nastradamus for me. Stillmatic is better than I remember, so is God's Son. SD, HHiD and Untitled are not as good as I remember. I think I was just remembering the songs I liked from them and not the ones I left out. DR and LIG are not as great as I remember but still really good. I did not like Nasir at all now. It sounds rough and unfinished. The Hit-Boy albums are interesting. Since these are recent I did have tracks for them thumbed up and I noticed basically on each album I removed a couple thumbs up but added a couple. I think they're too new to put in proper context. I felt like all 4 blend together for me but I do think KD3 is my favorite.
As a whole I think Nas is as good as we say he is lyrically. I don't know that he had any verses that were even mediocre. Of course he does have questionable lines we might not agree with now but lyrically he has stayed sharp. I think he likes to try concept songs and that's where he misses a lot. He does hit on some but I find the songs I don't like as much I at least appreciate what he was going for. For the most part. I think he also has a style of beat that he likes that he just kept trying to get to work. I think his discography as a whole is like Lupe's. Some of the best albums ever made and a lot of questionable songs with good verses.
This is how I rated them based on the scale Album Rating Key: 10 - A perfect or near perfect classic album 9 - An amazing album with unlimited replay value 8 - A great album though not without some filler 7 - A really good album but hardly essential listening 6 - A good album that doesn't move the needle 5 - A completely middle of the road album 4 - A below average album with more bad/meh than good 3 - A bad album with loads of filler and maybe a handful of good songs 2 - A really bad album with maybe a song or two of enjoyment 1 - A terrible album with no decent songs
Illmatic - 10 It Was Written - 8 I Am - 6 Nastradamus - 6 Stillmatic - 9 The Lost Tapes - 8 God's Son - 9 Streets Disciple - 7 Hip Hop is Dead - 7 Untitled - 7 Distant Relatives - 8 Life is Good - 8 Nasir - 6 The Lost Tapes 2 - 8 King's Disease - 8 King's Disease II - 8 Magic - 8 King's Disease III - 9
I'm putting together playlists of my favorite songs by each artist that we rate. In case anyone is curious here is the one for Nas. A ton of great songs but I wouldn't want to shuffle his whole discography.