Nas: Untitled

Back in 2006, Nas induced a plethora of pouting lips from hip-hop's contemporary culturist with his polarizing premise and title of his eight LP: Hip Hop Is Dead. As next-generation MCs like Young Jeezy scuffed at Nas' sentiments, rap's purists were elated to see a mainstream artist proclaim the position that many had held on the state of rap music for years. What many of Nas' detractors saw as a discredit to their finger snapping songs was more of an obituary for the balanced hybrid of music that once encompassed hip-hop. One of which includes those dance friendly hits that dominate the airwaves as well as more socially conscious music that has, unfortunately, become more and more sparse as hip-hop "evolves."

Nas' music serves as the only comprehensive embodiment of what hip-hop truly represents. Think about the versatile body of records that he has produced throughout his career and you'll agree that he's covered the entire hip-hop spectrum. Nas' music is political, gangsta, conscious, ostentatious, informative, infectious and now, more so than ever -- rebellious. Untitled (or N.I.G.G.E.R. if Nas had his way) is a scathing social commentary, sprinkled with sentiments of hope and satiric depictions of what many consider a N-word.

By displaying his multifaceted personality throughout the album, Nas paints a complicated portrait of African Americans, skewing the one-dimensional stereotypes imposed on his people throughout history. On the chorus of "N.I.G.G.E.R. (The Slave and the Master)," Nas raps, "They say we N-I double G-E-R, we are / Much more, but still we choose to ignore / The obvious, we are the slave and the master / What you lookin' for? You the question and the answer," to DJ Toomp's majestic orchestra of violins. "You Can't Stop Us Now," finds Nas and longtime collaborator Salaam Remi accompanied by seminal civil rights crusaders The Last Poets and Eban Thomas of the 70s soul group The Stylistics. To the track's hybrid of jazzy guitar riffs and soulful trumpets, Nas teeters along the historical timeline of blacks in America with lines like, "Good old pickpockets / Sip moonshine / So-called coons, shines and darkies / I love ya'll / Pyramids to cotton fields to Wrigley Fields / Forgotten men who didn't get killed."

While many may marvel at Lil Wayne's witty wordplay, "Queens Get The Money" is a reminder of the sublime stanzas that Nas has been dropping for over a decade. To Jay Electronica's minimalist production of looped piano plucks, Nas proves that he's still the "verbal assassin" that he proclaimed himself to be back on Main Source's "Live at the Barbeque." "Take 27 MCs, put them in a line and they out of alignment / My assignment / Since he said retirement / Hiding behind '8 Mile' and The Chronic / Get's Rich but dies rhymin' / This is high science / Now add 23 more / From Queens to B-More [Baltimore] / I'm over they heads, like a bulimic on a see-saw," he raps, evoking Rakim's lyrical mastery. Like Rakim, Nas is one of the very few rappers that can simultaneously woo audiences with intricate wordplay and the profoundness of his statements. Take for example "Sly Fox," where Nas accuses Fox News of bias reporting and racism, to name a few. The Queens MC exposes the news corporation's Republican alliance with exceptional execution: "The Fox has a bushy tail / And Bush tells Lies and Foxtrots / So I don't know what's real."

Not to be heavy-handed, Nas creates some lighter moments on this mostly militant album. "Fried Chicken" is Nas at his metaphorical best. He brings the animated Busta Rhymes along for the ride and with tongue-in-cheek candor both rappers compare the lure of their precious poultry to that of a "fly vixen." Nas raps, "Driving in your bucket seats all the way from Kentucky to f*** with me," while Busta weaves his own meticulous metaphors with lines like, "I sit and watch the grease sizzle, bubbling on your skin / Despite the funny fragrance, still I lick my fingers frequent." It's the most entertaining "nigger" moment on the album.

What's most impressive about Nas' Untitled album is the balance and continuity he maintains throughout. Even on his forays into more hip-pop records like, "Hero" -- the infectious lead single produced by Polow Da Don -- and "Make the World Go Round," which features Chris Brown and The Game, Nas still finds a way to infuse his overall message into these songs. And in other instances where he inevitably starts sounding a bit preachy, it's still worth a listen just to hear him drop jewels like, "This old German said I was a thug with a notty head / Looked at my Benz and called that a Nazi sled ('America')." Nas' latest opus could have been perfect with just a dash of grittier production. His heavy content would've been better suited with some equally heavy baselines and drums, instead of the predominantly R&B-propelled beats. Though not hardcore, sonically speaking, this album is hard to the core conceptually and creatively and is one of Nas' and hip-hop's best outputs to date.

GO BACK TO SITE