Rap Reviews: Nas - Nas
Nas - Nas
Release Date: July 15th, 2008
Eyecalone says ….
I went back around my old hood the other day. I didn't see a lot of the brothers I used to hang with, and as much as has gone on in our respective lives, that should have come as no surprise. I still have love for them, but even if I did see many of them there wouldn't have been much more than a little small talk before I eventually "kept it moving". Why am I telling you this you ask? What does this have to with Nas's new LP, formerly titled "Nigger"? Well everything because listening to this LP I often feel like Nas is one of my old homies' from the neighborhood. Not because his music is dated; Nas is clearly still one of the most gifted MCs to ever pick up a microphone and this LP is not a complete departure from that status. Even the album's intro "Queens Get the Money" is an impressive exercise in word play. However, what separates myself and Nasir Jones, in the same way many adults come to find themselves separated from childhood friends is that in many ways only one of us has grown up. Indeed Nas takes on adult subject matter as he is known to do quite regularly these days so his growth has not been stunted in that arena, but intellectually and politically speaking clearly much has passed him by.
Nas originally planned to name this LP, "Nigger", which I personally think was a really cheap and confused publicity stunt, but after much pressure from label executives and the business side who understandably were very uneasy about an album titled "Nigger" sitting on the rack at Walmart he changed the name. In the past I've probably given Nas numerous passes for acts and statements of clear political and social confusion, after all he is just a rapper, even if he has some measure of a social consciousness. However, when you take on the hefty task of essentially redefining and championing the N-word you better have your thinking cap on tight and come correct with it.
As a social and political statement "Nas" is at least cohesive if not quite coherent. From interlude to song social and political commentary is a consistent current of the album . "You Can't Stop Us Now" is a decent cut though I'm not sure what anyone or anything is trying to stop anyone from doing. "Make the World Go Round" highlights a strange musical chemistry that Nas and Game seem to have that makes them sound really good on a track together, although they've only done about 2-3 songs together. "Hero" almost seems as it was designed as a club or party song and it could have worked if some female singer, in this case Keri Hilson, wasn't singing on the overdone hook. The song does feature some choice words though, as Nas describes the run-up to this album's release and the controversy over the title. In it he remarks about the industry blocking people from going to the stores and buying the LP (under it's former title) and then refers to himself as a "true rebel", fashioning the LP title issue as more of a censorship issue. If only I, or more importantly Nas, had a clear idea of what he was rebelling against such commentary would be so much more satisfying. Nas, do you really want to get be a "true rebel", deal with censorship, or bring the industry down on your head? Try recording a song that bigs-up the Palestinians in their struggle against occupation or goes hard at the Zionist oppression in the occupied territories. Nas get over yourself, you're the diet Pepsi of revolution - just one calorie.
"Sly Fox" is a strong cut that takes on the media, particularly FOX, which at this point I don't know how any fair-minded individual could take seriously as a news organization. "N.I.G.G.E.R." and "Ya'll My Niggas" are tight cuts which are about as far as Nas needed to go with the whole "Nigger" thing on this album. "Fried Chicken" and "Project Roach", where Nas raps as if he were a roach, are creative songs though the latter is not very compelling. Overall "Nas" is a decent LP though I found issue with the beat selection, which could have just as well come from some Hip-hop R&B singer's LP. "Fried Chicken" is arguably the best beat on the album and overall "Nas" is too soft and mellow for an album that was supposed to deal with such "deep" and weighty content.
This basically brings us to the near end of the LP when Nas finally exposes his political and social confusion in full frontal nudity. At the end of "We're Not Alone" which deals with Extraterrestrial life of all things, and leads right into his last second add on cut, "Black President", which is a nod to Barrack Obama, Nas basically states some portion of his political and social perspective. He recounts how he "loves all mankind" which is laudable. He then goes on about how he thinks "just recently its just been recent where everyone started to feel like their was an elite group that runs everything and everyone else was sheep, ignorant, making all ethnicities colors and creeds, Niggas/ers. Blind to what's really going on so I say take off the wool from your eyes. Out with the old America, in with the new, end all racism, all injustice, all oppression to poor people, any people, anywhere on this planet. Let's come together a new day is rising."
The clichés sound so familiar and so confused, that it seems fitting this speech would lead into an ode to the ascendancy of yet another bourgeoisie Democratic politician. Indeed when you lack a global perspective, incomplete historical viewpoint, and most importantly, no class analysis, the extent of one's change and "new day" would be confined to America's current sham, single-party elections.
I wont' take Nas to task for his past incarnations, i.e. Escobar, every man has the right to grow up but even in his more adult presentation too much of Nas' political and social perspectives are a strange mixture of conspiracy mythology, malformed and incomplete ideas/theories, occasional "Black Nationalism", part-time misogyny, hyper-consumerism, and street knowledge. Nas is like your cousin who read part of the dictionary, a few pages of an encyclopedia, and maybe some NOI pamphlets, in prison and now believes he "got his mind right", and in all likelihood with peers who are even less developed, who is to tell him otherwise? How does he seek to end all racism, injustice and oppression to poor people, etc while thoroughly embracing politicians produced by the current system? How can he address these pressing issues without almost never mentioning the current Capitalist economic system from which all such things grow? I won't hang Nas all the way out to dry, as an artist I do still like most of his stuff and he is one of the few mainstream artist that tries to infuse his music with some social relevance, and seems to honestly care about making quality Hip-hop at least as much as his record sales. I suppose timing is a factor however, and with artist who actually "get it" socially and politically in my opinion, such as Immortal Technique dropping LPs in close proximity to this LP it's a bit disappointing, and maybe frustrating to see Nas failing to put it all together even at this late stage in the game.
Lyrics: A // Content: B // Production: C- //
Creativity: B // Quality %: C // Bonus: N/A
Overall: B- :Review by Eyecalone
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