Reviewed by: David Drake
Reviewed on: 2004-11-29

Posted 11/29/2004 - 06:06:29 AM by deadbody:
	8! Have to disagree, double-d. The beats on this album are terrible.
Posted 11/29/2004 - 09:38:35 AM by yoshi4:
	I liked that review a lot, nice one. Sorry 'deadbody', but it aint about the beats, mr drake is looking at the bigger picture and I totally see what he's getting at... I look forward immensely to hearing this for myself though. peace, Y.
Posted 11/29/2004 - 01:25:13 PM by badhaircut:
	I've got Illmatic. Pick up this new one next or something else first?
Posted 11/30/2004 - 12:38:13 AM by rollie_p:
	it's more of a 6 or 7 for me. it has strong points, but ultimately, it's a little forced in the old-school revivalism sometimes. in the end, i hear too much shit that i'll skip in future listens. a lot of it is half-baked in the same way that the most extraneous stillmatic and god's son tracks were. filler is the killer in this case. i agree with you in that the album is focused on his personal life like never before, but it's really awkward, it's too forced. when he talked about his everyday life on illmatic, it was effortless and immediately accessible. 'i'm a nike head, i wear chains that excite the feds' tells me so much more about the struggle than a series of songs about how hard it is to fuck one person, regardless if how well sequenced. how you didn't mention ice cube when talking about 'american way', i dunno. nas invokes amerikkka's most wanted literally and figuratively.
Posted 11/30/2004 - 03:18:21 AM by ddrake:
	Rollie, The thing I love about it is that it doesn't really sound forced to me at all, which Stillmatic and God's Son unquestionably did at times (exceptions of course being "Made U Look" and "Get Down" and I donno the 3 tracks off Stillmatic worth paying attention to). I don't think there's much filler at all; in fact, as far as hip-hop double-albums go, I'd rank this second only to Biggies (People step off; Wu Tang Forever is fulla filler and although BP2 is underrated it is still an average Jay release.) I think the personal-life stuff was really forced on songs like "Dance" from god's son. I mean, he sings "One...more...dance...with you mamaaaaa" for god's s[ake]. Nas isn't NEARLY as personal on Illmatic - I'm not exactly sure how "I'm a nike head, I wear chains that excite the feds" is nearly as specific as the personal stuff on this album. Not that I think this is as good as Illmatic (what could be, etc. etc. etc.) but it is an entirely different album. I think it succeeded because the personal seems to have truly inspired him on this release; like how his love for Kelis seems to have informed that whole 4-song series. And yeah obviously "American Way" is an homage to Cube but I was more interested in Nas' sudden interest in people; he is much more insightful and cutting on that trick than he was on Stillmatic's "political" tracks ("My country shitted on me"?)
Posted 11/30/2004 - 07:45:33 AM by yoshi4:
	deadbody u could listen to the album a million times and id still be able to understand and appreciate it more than u do. As Kool Keith said "I know your type!" thats what kind of different level we're on when it comes to understanding of music and the direction in which Ive already felt Nas going in the last few years. Plus I already heard quite a bit of this LP online anyways. Regarding beats- "NY State of Mind" on ILlmatic was a very unimpressive beat to me, but its still one of Nas' best songs, easily one of his best... So I know what I'm talking about. innit. nuff said. silence ur rude self. y.
Posted 12/01/2004 - 03:18:42 AM by deadbody:
	Really, come on. Street’s Disciple only {2} beneath his classic Illmatic...? Please. Rest assured that this album will not be seen as anything that close to a classic.
Posted 12/01/2004 - 03:26:45 PM by j.diddy:
	I disagree with nearly everyone here. I'm not going to get into a guessing game about whether or not this album will be considered a classic, but from where I'm sitting it looks pretty hot. Just copped it yesterday, but a couple of comments: * A Message to the Feds is brilliant and perhaps the most searing (and intelligent) indictment of the war on drugs ever put to wax. He calls the war out for the racist gentrification that it is and links the wrongful imprisonment of black youth to the assassination of MLK and even Jeses ("same regime"). * I love how Kelis' ironic last bit both supports and undercuts the message of "American Way." * There seems to be calls for afro-separatism throughout, from American Way to Coon Picnic. I'm not saying that this is correct, but it is interesting. * I love that Nas -- perhaps the most complex MC in the game -- is able to express himself simply and beautifully on "Me and You." *The beats are decent. Mos def not great, but serviceable. It's no Illmatic, but I really think that this is the best album Nas could've made at this point in his career. He's a grown man now, and this is some grown man, serious hip hop.
Posted 12/06/2004 - 05:37:13 AM by NickSouthall:
	Anyone who uses the word "classic", possibly even ironically, is a dead-eyed rockist freakazoid. Do you only want to listen to "classic" albums? Balls to that. I only want to listen to records I enjoy - balls to classicism! What are you, Eagles fans?!
Posted 12/08/2004 - 08:04:45 PM by deadbody:
	Nice straw man, Nick.