Nasir Jones is certainly one of the best this genre has ever had to offer. His catalog, even with the rough spots, is pretty impeccable. It’s frustrating to some that Nas doesn’t return to his Illmatic routes, but to this reviewer, it is the more mature and smart approach. No one loves a good throwback more than your boy Deez; however, did we not get a pretty close throwback when we heard Stillmatic? Even so, I wasn’t even the hugest fan of that album, but I understand it was Nas saying that he is ‘still’ auto’matic’ally ‘ill’ and will always carry that NY State of Mind with him. With this album, you get the Nas you’ve come to love and respect in hip hop, but along with that, you get plenty of his flaws. While it already had plenty of steam behind it, Untitled had most of its talk surrounding the album name, but as Nas says on “Hero”: So Untitled it is/I never changed nothing/ but the people remember this. The album is passionate, but it is possibly too passionate and emotionally driven, which may alienate some of the listeners and the unique beat selection (but typical unsteady ear of Nasir’s) may throw the traditional Nas fans for a curve ball they can’t catch.
This album may be one of the most pro-black albums since Dead Prez’s Revolutionary But Gangsta and it is extremely politically charged and heavily aimed at Corporate America. The unique lyrical messages Nas always delivers are present, but it is clear to see that the original title of this album would’ve served a purpose. Untitled seems to have a theme of the despair, struggle, frustration and eventual overlooked up rise of the Black race. Simply from the song titles, one can see the angle he is approaching from, and it seems to be a blatant slap in the face, as opposed to the usual stealth Nasty Nas.
The good is what is expected. Lyrically, you can’t expect anything less than great from Nas, even on his worst day he can still pull out an unreal joint (Re: Nastradamus‘ “Shoot em Up”.) “Sly Fox” takes an uppercut at probably the second most corrupt television station in North America in a blunt and fuming fashion. The topic of propaganda is tackled with ease by Nas over the rather dope Stic. Man beat. “Fried Chicken” uses the stereotypical meal of choice for black people as a metaphor to explain the bigger picture of greed and symbolic obesity of a race. Busta contributes a verse, but was it really needed? “Project Roach” already has many fans reading between the lines of this very short, but extremely in depth song that has Nas flowing beautifully over a soft piano loop.
“The Slave and The Master” was one of the first songs heard and still remains a great track. It is possibly the most complete track due to the mood fitting beat and ridiculous lyrical viscosity of every sentence Nas spits. For the hip hop nerd or academic nerd, like myself, there is so much content on this album to sink your teeth into and analyze, but it more or less has Nas being very strong on his opinion regarding a very delicate topics. With that said, it leads to a big problem of this album.
The album seems to alienate a large amount of the listeners due to its content. The original title is an obvious taboo phrase/word for most people and there is plenty of content on the album that is hard to relate to unless you are of the black race. By no means am I attempting to be racist (I live in the most multicultural city in the world, so nice try) but Nas seems to come on strong at times to a point where there would be no chance in hell one should recite particular lines. “Testify” sticks out as he attacks the white race with some pretty bold statements, however, this IS Nas, an artist who always had so much more to the line than meets the ear. Take a song like that (as well as most of this album) with a grain of salt. But, this album seems heavily directed to a particular group of people as opposed to the general universal sound that Nas displays.
From a strictly hip hop point of view, this album has plenty of flaws. The album has some pretty terrible production. One of my friends hit the spot when he said it was too “electronic”. “Make The World Go Round” features The Game, reprising yet another useless feature, and has a Cool & Dre synth-filled beat that sounds really poppy. “America” has some extremely powerful lines speaking on the faults and fails of the USA but once again has added synths that hurt the vibe and flow of the song. The single, “Hero” is another prime example of the electric sound of the album. The production was at times unbearable and once again leads me to believe that Nas has the most inconsistent taste in beats…How do you go from Pete Rock, Large Pro, and DJ Premier to Stargate and DJ Green Lantern? With that said, the album is about 3-4 tracks too long. “Queens Get The Money” has a Jay Electronica beat (who got the co-sign from Nas) that seems to have just been thrown in on an acapella and not fit the theme or even the vocals for that matter. “Ya’ll My Niggas” and “Make The World Go Round” also contribute to the faulty flow and while the former can be a stamp of reassurance for EVERY listener, by that point in the album, it proved to be a little too late.
Nas is a beast, this is a fact. However, he has more than his fair share of flaws. This album exemplifies plenty of them: overambitious, too experimental, and his ear for a good and fitting beat. By all means, I urge you to buy this album to support great hip hop. Most hip hop fans are Nas fans; just don’t expect another Illmatic or It Was Written for that matter.
Overall Rating: 68/100
Standout Tracks:
You Can’t Stop Us Now
N.I.G.G.E.R. (The Slave & The Master)
Sly Fox
Fried Chicken
Related posts:
- Nas: Library of A Legend
- Nas: I Am… The Autobiography
- “Nas Is Like” Sample Revealed…
- Nas: The Complete Samples
- David Banner & Nas: Middle Finger
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