Album Review: Nas - Untitled

Nas
Untitled
Def Jam Recordings/Columbia
4/5

Written By: Samir Siddiqui

‘”The game needs him,
plus the people need someone to believe in,
So in God’s Son we trust, cause they know I’ma give ‘em what they want
They lookin’ for a hero, I guess that makes me a hero”

It may have been the recent onslaught of super-hero movies that
inspired the lead-single of Nas’ latest LP, but “Hero” is a good
representation of Nas’ current position in hip-hop today. Nas is like a
disgruntled super-hero who has been unsettled by recent conditions;
disheartened by the state of the game, Nasir Jones incited applause and
fury with his 2005 album Hip-Hop Is Dead. But after deciding
to name his follow-up after the N-word (a title which was later
scratched), Nas left heads wondering whether his provocations were just
attempts at garnering attention, rather than sincere, bold statements.
Now, with his controversial title removed, Nas presents arguably his
boldest album to date with Untitled, an unwavering artistic statement that follows through with its ambitious intentions.
At the heart of Nas’ latest project is the aforementioned “Hero,”
and it’s by far his best “pop” achievement to date- surrounded by
impressive synths, courtesy of Polow Da Don, Nas weaves in an out of
the grand production with rhymes worthy of the song’s title: “Nas’
the only true rebel since the beginning, still in musical prison/ still
in jail for the flow, try tellin’ Bob Dylan, Bruce, or Billy Joe they
can’t sing what’s in their soul!” On the opposite site of the
sonic spectrum, DJ Toomp provides the lush strings-backing for
“N.I.*.*.E.R.,” an inspiring track that chronicles the
under-appreciation of African-Americans achievements under slave
society.
Unlike on Hip-Hop Is Dead, where Nas would drift in and out of relevant subject matter, most of Untitled
sees Nas’ lyrics focused and potent. Nas holds nothing back on the
wordplay-heavy “Sly Fox,” a seething attack on Fox News, with lines
such as, “What’s a fox characteristic? Slick shit, censored,
misinformation, pimp the station, over stimulation/ reception,
deception, Comcast, digital satan, the fox has a bushy tail, and Bush
tells lies and fox trots, so I don’t know what’s real.” Likewise,
the closing “Black President” is well-written and engaging, as Nas
presents his honest inclination towards accepting Barack Obama’s calls
for change and equality.
And although some off-topic, generic verses creep in through the
cracks, the high-level of lyrical quality holds up for much of the
album, as Nas challenges the practice of the principles that founded
“America,” and later, cleverly compares the appeal of “Fried Chicken”
to that of a no-good vixen (the horns provided on the latter songs is a
stroke of production mastery by Mark Ronson). While Untitled
is an LP chalk-full of winning moments, the album isn’t void of
slip-ups. “Make the World Go Round” is a flat pop tune full of empty
synths and out-of-place Chris Brown vocals, and an otherwise solid
track, “We’re Not Alone” is needlessly dragged into boredom due to its
excess length. The album also could have benefitted from an extra punch
in the form of the would be single “Be A Ni**er Too,” among other
scratched tracks.
Still, Untitled features an invigorated Nasir Jones, and
showcases one of hip-hop’s greatest emcees as still one of the most
prolific acts in the game today. Lyrically, Nas challenges himself to
be better, taking on serious subject matter and taking the time to
tackle it with dense, well thought-out raps that do the music justice.
Aided by a production line-up that is highlighted by lesser-known
beat-makers such as stic.man of Dead Prez, DJ Green Lantern, and Jay
Electronica, Untitled is another great achievement to add to Nas’ already stellar catalogue.

---

yea w/e say i dont support hip hop by coppin' this before it dropped...
but i couldn't help myself from downloading this after seeing the links for it on almost every blog/forum on the internet...
What does it really take to get a 5/5 on the review? I mean seriously...
Nas did his thing on this one, & his score isn't horrible but in my opinion it deserves a 5/5.

I have not heard the entire album Wayne's was leaked way before the release date which I still bought the album, but didn't really have a big suprise when I did seeing as how I already heard it. So I ain't gonna listen to Nas' album just heard a few tracks waiting for the release date to cop it. Think it will be good. Lookin' foward!