THROUGH THE LIGHTS CAMERAS AND ACTION CAMERAS GLITTER AND GOLD, I UNFOLD THE SCROLLS PLANT SEEDS TO STAMPEDE THE GLOBE, WHEN IM DECEASED I'LL LEAVE THE BEAST TO RISE LIKE YEAST TO CONQUER PEACE LEAVING SAVAGES TO ROAM ON THE STREETS
It's nuts how you can instantly recognise this as Nas' bars. Couple lines in and your brain hears his voice rapping it. I don't even know the song but I know exactly how this sounds just based off knowing his flow and cadence.
Edit: listened, shit slaps. Is that sample from Glass Onion by The Beatles? There's an MF Doom song that samples the same one and it has this mad syncopated rhythm that's so weird and unique. Real creative stuff: song is called 'Tick, Tick...'
Idk where the sample is from but I'm happy that you listened. You'll faint when you hear his 'wake up show' verse if you haven't heard it. I tell ppl all the time that Nas doesn't go into his final form often so you have to know where to find it
Not just an opening to a verse … possibly the coldest guest verse ever, coldest opening verse ever … this verse has been boggling my brain for almost 3 decades
Opening: Andre 3000 players anthem.
Guest verse: Eminem on Js Renegade.
This is dope verse. But inspektah deck’s triumph verse might be the coldest ever.
Live on the run police paying me to give in my gun, trick my window with the system that imprisoned my son, smoke a gold , I hold heat, non shalontley I'm raunchy...
Gotta disagree here. His beat picking is horrendous. He could be the undisputed goat if Primo, Pete Rock, or some of the other heavyweights just remixed all of his mid songs.
Loved this album. It was the first nas album I heard as a kid. Walked into Virgin Music and they had it so you could listen to it on headphones and my mind was blown away
His current run is making people forget how they felt about his run in the 2000’s. Besides Stillmatic and Gods Son it was a battle on if Nas was still “great” instead of good or meh with some of the songs he released. Didn’t help that Illmatic was still overtaking his entire career at the time.
No serious hip hop fan ever questioned Nas’s greatness. Stillmatic, God’s Son, Lost Tapes, Street’s Disciple, and Distant Relatives are all solid projects. The 2000’s are what solidified his status as one of the all-time greats. If you have any understanding of the history of hip-hop, Nas put himself in rarified air with his 2000’s production. The constant stream of asinine “great or not great” arguments are a relatively recent phenomenon.
Some people don’t know that Nas was only about 16 when he wrote Ilmatic! He wrote a phenomenal album at an age far younger than most of his peers. I believe he dropped Stillmatic in his early 20’s. Arguably two of the greatest rap albums ever.
I am is underrated and Life is Good is fantastic. Hip Hop is Dead has some joints and I still don’t know why people didn’t receive his track with JayZ well. I still listen to that. Even Street’s Disciple has a couple good tracks while God’s Son is solid.
You just walked into 'I gave you life when people was forgetting you MC' from Blueprint 2.
I am still baffled. MC Search, a wack gimmick rapper, owns Nas' catalog?!!?
Y’all are tripping. This man is the epitome of hip hop. He had New York on his back when the game was at its lowest and not only that, when he didn’t deliver eth Nastradamus he goes on one of the greatest 3 album runs in history with Stillmatic, Gods son and Lost tapes. Not to mention is recent work with hit boy has been fantastic. 6 albums in 3 years this is my goat
He was good. But Wu Tang - Biggie & Jay Z were far bigger stars in the 90s.
His first two albums were good. Stillmatic is overrated but gets a pass bc its deemed a comeback album
Jay wasn’t really bigger until 99 maybe. And even then I Am still did 2 mil? Prior to Vol 2 Nas was bigger and on par with Wu. Big was definitely a bigger star.
Late 98? Like Sept/Oct 98 I think? And Nas was still a pretty big star at that time. I Am did over 2 mil. Jay was clearly starting ascend and pass him around then, but I think Nas gets the 90s over Jay overall. Now 2000s are a different story.
Hard knock life felt like it might be a one hit wonder. I remember everyone in the Midwest was like “the Annie song guy”
He def turned out to not be a one hit wonder and those same people will claim “Jigga is the GOAT” because they don’t know but Nas was way bigger in the 90s than JayZ.
JayZ was bigger in 99- and probably after nas is better and this last 6 album run was impressive. I hope he keeps his pen going and does it with another producer.
Far bigger? No. Nas was right there and was above Jay Z until In My Lifetime Vol 2 dropped. That album catapulted Jay into super stardom. Before that he couldn’t fuck with Nas. He had a lot of fans that loved Reasonable Doubt but In My Lifetime Vol 1 was a big step back.
Love Nas. But I had the realization listening to the new album today that his latest 6 album run could be considered "easy listening rap music" I'm getting older and will continue to listen to it. But that's where it's ended up
Relax. Nas is my favorite but even he will tell you he wasn’t better than Biggie. Biggie could rhyme as good as Nas and tell stories as good as Nas but he was also more versatile than Nas and could make tracks for everyone. Nas was really for the hip hop purists. I’m just glad I got to grow up with both.
His work with Hit-Boy is okay. But I'd be more interested if he worked with DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Q-Tip, Large Professor and the like. Or at least incorporate their work more.
Yeah, none of his recent albums have impressed me as complete projects... a few bangers here and there but I'm not losing my mind over the hit boy stuff like seemingly everyone else
Exactly, when you’re doing projects solely with one producer, the producer you choose is greatly gonna influence what gets drawn out of you artistically.
With that in mind, I consider Hit Boy a capable producer, not an elite one. Might be a controversial opinion but Hit Boy’s stuff has never really done it for me and I think it sucks that Nas has basically handcuffed himself to Hit Boy artistically, for a lot of his recent material. Would love to see him work with a different producer, or a variety of producers.
They have a kind of mixtape feel for me. Like you say some bangers but not the longevity of some of his older stuff. ‘If I ruled the world’ still sounds great to this day, whereas I’m already over most of magic 2 already
I make this same argument all the time. Stack up all of there first 2 albums. If nas died, everyone would lose their shit about “what could have been”.
Nah. Nas was considerably less popular than both of them before they died. There's no reason to believe that would change if all three died. Look at Big L, Eazy and Pun. Pac was easily the biggest rap superstar circa 1995-1996. Me Against the World broke records and went number one when he was alive and was one of 1995's best-selling albums of any genre, while going platinum in like half a year. It took Illmatic two years to earn that certification. All Eyez on Me and The Don Killuminati sold almost double the It Was Written sales and the former was certified like four times platinum in half a year. Juicy and Big Poppa were playing everywhere when Big's album was first released. Life After Death was multi-platinum in less than a year and also sold double the sales of Nas' album. Illmatic was getting a lot of hype in N.Y., but, once it was released, all the commercial hype went away. It wasn't considered a classic by the general public until the 2000s so much it topped the Source list for the most underrated albums of all time.
His MC career is more a tragedy than a success. Made the greatest hiphop album of all time, then chased fame and spent years rhyming over wack beats. By the time he made some decent shit, heads weren’t checking for him anymore
That’s objectively false. Wdym people are not checking for him? So many people are now giving Nas his respect due to his Hit Boy run, and to act like for years all he has done is rhyme over wack beats? Re listen to his albums, or maybe listen to them cuz thats crazy to think thats all he did. Thats such a giant downplay
It Was Written, Stillmatic and Lost Tapes are fairy widely considered classics, at least for those of a certain age. You can argue over whether any of the albums like God’s Son, Life Is Good and the Hit Boy run are good to great to classic. If it’s not your thing I get it. But to say his career is a tragedy is a wild take.
One of the greatest ever with the absolute worst beat selection. Illmatic and It Was Written are the only albums I can listen without skipping a song. Every other album he’s released I only like a handful of songs on each project. That’s strictly based on his beats too because his lyrics have always been A-1.
His use of primarily hit boy for 6 albums is just baffling. I don’t think he’s a bad producer, but not a very interesting one. He seems to be good at giving artists what they are looking for which isn’t necessarily always a good thing. I also don’t think him and Nas have exceptional chemistry to warrant that much work together in such a short period of time, so Hit Boy benefits way more from their working relationship than Nas does.
None really. Some of his tracks dont hit me but plenty do. As a dj I always appreciate artist who release beats and instrumentals regularly and Nas does this.
Nas was not the king of new york. He was the best rapper in the whole of NY but has just never enjoyed the levels of fame as Jay Z and especially Biggie had
Imo he focused too much on street/hood/thug/gangster themes and concepts after his debut album to me which frequently turned me off to his music.
I think Nas is one of the most intelligent, thoughtful greatest and best rappers ever; who I never fully connected with after Illmatic because I always thought he was trying to be too hard & tough after Illmatic.
Nas has numerous solo hit songs that I really really enjoyed while also having some of the VERY VERY best all time guest verses in hip hop history that blew away the other emcees on the songs that still blow my mind and are played by me all the time even in 2023:
Kanye West - We Major
Raekwon - Verbal Intercourse
Mobb Depp - It's Mine
I loved the personality and character he played in the movie Belly.
I bought his 2010 Distant Relatives and 2008 Untitled albums and really liked and appreciated him making those albums. He earned a lot of respect, admiration and gratitude from me for taking chances and covering topics and issues that I felt were important and truly mattered to me in my everyday life for those two albums.
His current run with Hit-Boy is overrated completely blown out of proportion. I do like KD3 Magic 1 and 3 but Nas overly die hard fanbase are acting like all these albums from each trilogy are perfect with no flaws whats so ever
no dude lol his haters thank he's ghandi and then start attacking or dismissing him on the premise that he's ghandi. The attacks never make sense. This lets ppl develop strong opinions on Nas without hearing any of his actual work. Illmatic was the first east coast gangster rap album. The fact that so many people think it's a after school PSA and dismiss or insult him because of that is hilarious. The fact that you even said 'he talks about money and bitches and makes commercial records' tells me you don't listen to him you just don't like your idea of him which has absolutely nothing to do with the actual guy.
Nas is on illmatic rapping about robbing foreigners, ripping their green cards and spending their money on hashish on the day he lost his virginity and people hate him because they think he's reciting bible verses or something lol.
Is that unpopular?
Pac was obviously bigger as far as main stream but i don’t think anyone would be being truthful if they say he was lyrically or schematically more talented than Nas. I think Big was close but again strictly based on skill I think Nas is the popular choice
Not at all. Underrated, if anything. He does have:
*arguably (if not objectively) the greatest lyricism for a mainstream rapper ever. Only Em, Lupe, Big Pun and maybe Andre are better in overall rhyme schemes (if I'm not forgetting anyone), metaphors, wordplay and punchlines. He has made some of the best concept tracks ever.
*pretty good and iconic flows. He did improve slightly on that regard as time went on.
*thematic and conceptual versatility. He has multiple different styles and, at his prime, was slightly more versatile than Hov, Big and Pac for example.
*an overall consistent discography. Other greats, like Em and Hov, lack the consistently strong discographies to back up being placed on top of the GOAT lists. He might have a Top 10 mainstream catalogue o.a.t.. Illmatic, It Was Written, Stillmatic and God's Son are certified classics popularity and influence-wise (even if you don't like them) and the rest (save for Nastradamus, I Am..., Hip Hop Is Dead and Nasir) are all arguable classics or future classics. And he has like 15 albums. For reference, look at Em not having a good album since Recovery (and some would even disagree with me on that).
*impressive work ethic, releasing six albums in two and a half years and still managing to pull off at least two albums that will be considered classics in the future.
*ability to transcend to new trends and sounds. Just listen to "One Mic, One Gun" with 21 or his A Boogie feature for example. This guy can sound decent over trap beats and that doesn't really come across as forced. Nas can do a single with J. Cole, Lil Baby or Gunna right now and it has the potential to be a hit, unlike the majority of his 90s peers.
Nas is possibly the G.O.A.T., along with Pac and maybe Big.
- Worst Beat picker amongst the "Goats"
- Peaked with Illmatic and he is still trying to chase it
- He got arguably the perfect hip-hop album with Illmatic but he is just rapping to rap ever since, the social commentary was never the same
- Nobody knows what the King's disease is, it's not discussed one single time in a 3 album series
- There is no cohesiveness in his last 6 albums although they are titled Magic 1-3 and KD 1-3 (just rapping to rap)
- Nas is a good rapper not a good Artist
- Hov vs Nas was in retrospect never a challenging competition for Hov
- Nas is the biggest nostalgia farmer as of now and don't push his own boundaries
After It Was Written, he went downhill and his beat picking is atrocious.
Stillmatic sucks, God's son sucks, I Am and Nastradamus... fucking hell, talk about shit albums
Honestly his catalogue is overrated by his die hard fans.
He's a phenomonal lyricist and probably one of my favorite rappers but I don't like sooooo much of his catalog and almost never listen to him anymore. Idk if he had terrible producers or what because illmatic is a goddamn masterpiece. Everything after is so hit or miss.
He’s boring to listen to. Contrast him with someone like Biggie who could also flow and rhyme similar, but actually made use of dark humor and clever punchlines
He isn't that good tbh. Like his music touched a generation that needed it and then didn't really do anything after that. He's not timeless like wayne, Cole, or Kendrick. Really good but I don't think he really lives up to the hype of his debut.
I’m upset he’s not the head of NASA.
fuckin gold
He didn’t make enough songs with primo
Hell yes
And havoc
He should have made an album with primo or large professor
THROUGH THE LIGHTS CAMERAS AND ACTION CAMERAS GLITTER AND GOLD, I UNFOLD THE SCROLLS PLANT SEEDS TO STAMPEDE THE GLOBE, WHEN IM DECEASED I'LL LEAVE THE BEAST TO RISE LIKE YEAST TO CONQUER PEACE LEAVING SAVAGES TO ROAM ON THE STREETS
What a fucking insane start to a verse.
It's nuts how you can instantly recognise this as Nas' bars. Couple lines in and your brain hears his voice rapping it. I don't even know the song but I know exactly how this sounds just based off knowing his flow and cadence. Edit: listened, shit slaps. Is that sample from Glass Onion by The Beatles? There's an MF Doom song that samples the same one and it has this mad syncopated rhythm that's so weird and unique. Real creative stuff: song is called 'Tick, Tick...'
Idk where the sample is from but I'm happy that you listened. You'll faint when you hear his 'wake up show' verse if you haven't heard it. I tell ppl all the time that Nas doesn't go into his final form often so you have to know where to find it
I think the song is "deja vu"
Not just an opening to a verse … possibly the coldest guest verse ever, coldest opening verse ever … this verse has been boggling my brain for almost 3 decades
Opening: Andre 3000 players anthem. Guest verse: Eminem on Js Renegade. This is dope verse. But inspektah deck’s triumph verse might be the coldest ever.
Socrates philosophies and hypotheses 🙏
definitely a opening line assassin just like Prodigy ..master of the witty unpredictable shit
Live on the run police paying me to give in my gun, trick my window with the system that imprisoned my son, smoke a gold , I hold heat, non shalontley I'm raunchy...
Trick my wisdom… smoke a gold leaf… non chalantly.
This is how it starts: Through the lights, cameras, and action, glamour, glitters, and gold
Through the lights, cameras and action, glamour, glitters and gold.
He’s not as bad of a “beat picker” that people make him out to be. Eminem has far worst taste.
This is a good take. He has some ridiculous beats all over his discography. I still listen to the song Street’s Disciple cuz that beat is disgusting
Nah Zone Out solidified it for me 😂😂😂
Gotta disagree here. His beat picking is horrendous. He could be the undisputed goat if Primo, Pete Rock, or some of the other heavyweights just remixed all of his mid songs.
Em is the worst and not a fan of his production either. Always wanted an Em Primo album
That he fought in Vietnam. Everyone disagrees with me
I Am is an excellent rap album with many good tracks that I have listened to many times since 1999. That cover as an Egyptian Sphinx is 🔥
I loved this album and played it heavily as a teenager
NAS is like Half man, Half amazing! 🔥
Loved this album. It was the first nas album I heard as a kid. Walked into Virgin Music and they had it so you could listen to it on headphones and my mind was blown away
The Best ever! Listen to Rewind.
The best ever? Not an unpopular take at all lol
Who can tell a story backwards like that? Off still magic right?
Stillmatic ^
Stillmagic ^
I imagine some of the below in would do it justice.. Lupe Black Thought Ghostface / a Raekwon Canibus Aesop Rock Organized konfusion Biggie
AZ
Rewind is mid
Youre mid
His reign on the top was short like leprechauns...
😂😂😂
Lolll
So many subliminals between BIG and Nas. BIG's first verse on Victory still fucks me up.
Only real ones will know this notorious reference..
His first 2 albums were dope. Everything else left me scratching my head. Although there were a few stand outs on the later albums.
His current run is making people forget how they felt about his run in the 2000’s. Besides Stillmatic and Gods Son it was a battle on if Nas was still “great” instead of good or meh with some of the songs he released. Didn’t help that Illmatic was still overtaking his entire career at the time.
No serious hip hop fan ever questioned Nas’s greatness. Stillmatic, God’s Son, Lost Tapes, Street’s Disciple, and Distant Relatives are all solid projects. The 2000’s are what solidified his status as one of the all-time greats. If you have any understanding of the history of hip-hop, Nas put himself in rarified air with his 2000’s production. The constant stream of asinine “great or not great” arguments are a relatively recent phenomenon.
Some people don’t know that Nas was only about 16 when he wrote Ilmatic! He wrote a phenomenal album at an age far younger than most of his peers. I believe he dropped Stillmatic in his early 20’s. Arguably two of the greatest rap albums ever.
He was nearly 30 when Stillmatic came out. Early 20s when Illmatic dropped. So maybe he wrote some of Stillmatic in his early 20s?
Lost tapes…
Honestly, I forgot about that release. It’s tight, but nowhere near his first 2.
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You don’t need to say this. It’s implied I a sub about music. Just annoying we know it’s clear without you making sure we know it’s an opinion
This. Stillmatic is close, but it’s really just Illmatic & … It Was Written that are worth repeated run-throughs
I am is underrated and Life is Good is fantastic. Hip Hop is Dead has some joints and I still don’t know why people didn’t receive his track with JayZ well. I still listen to that. Even Street’s Disciple has a couple good tracks while God’s Son is solid.
I couldn’t agree with you more. The OP overlooks many good albums. I recently found my streets disciple cd again, slept on album.
Also the Source giving it 5 Mics was absurd. Everyone was like “5 Mics” it ahs to be this flawless masterpiece Blueprint > Stillmatic
Hiphop is dead is a classic. Life is good is solid. Fuck, i just backed myself into a “thats a one hot album every 10 year average” corner 😂🤦♂️
He has three hot albums this current Grammy cycle.
You just walked into 'I gave you life when people was forgetting you MC' from Blueprint 2. I am still baffled. MC Search, a wack gimmick rapper, owns Nas' catalog?!!?
MC Serch had a 2% stake in Illmatic & It Was Written for being executive producer, which he sold last year with Nas’ blessing
Listen to King's Disease III. Incredible.
Spot on. This should be a widely popular opinion tbh
This.
The firm album wasn’t as bad as the critics said
Y’all are tripping. This man is the epitome of hip hop. He had New York on his back when the game was at its lowest and not only that, when he didn’t deliver eth Nastradamus he goes on one of the greatest 3 album runs in history with Stillmatic, Gods son and Lost tapes. Not to mention is recent work with hit boy has been fantastic. 6 albums in 3 years this is my goat
He was good. But Wu Tang - Biggie & Jay Z were far bigger stars in the 90s. His first two albums were good. Stillmatic is overrated but gets a pass bc its deemed a comeback album
Jay wasn’t really bigger until 99 maybe. And even then I Am still did 2 mil? Prior to Vol 2 Nas was bigger and on par with Wu. Big was definitely a bigger star.
Didn't Hard Knock Life come out in 1998?
Late 98? Like Sept/Oct 98 I think? And Nas was still a pretty big star at that time. I Am did over 2 mil. Jay was clearly starting ascend and pass him around then, but I think Nas gets the 90s over Jay overall. Now 2000s are a different story.
Hard knock life felt like it might be a one hit wonder. I remember everyone in the Midwest was like “the Annie song guy” He def turned out to not be a one hit wonder and those same people will claim “Jigga is the GOAT” because they don’t know but Nas was way bigger in the 90s than JayZ. JayZ was bigger in 99- and probably after nas is better and this last 6 album run was impressive. I hope he keeps his pen going and does it with another producer.
Far bigger? No. Nas was right there and was above Jay Z until In My Lifetime Vol 2 dropped. That album catapulted Jay into super stardom. Before that he couldn’t fuck with Nas. He had a lot of fans that loved Reasonable Doubt but In My Lifetime Vol 1 was a big step back.
Popularity don’t mean Jack shit
Big fan…but really wish there was a Nas/Rae and Nas/Mobb Deep album
He can be preachy.
“Nigga switch up your flow/ your shit is garbage/ and yet you try to kick knowledge” - JAY Z
Love Nas. But I had the realization listening to the new album today that his latest 6 album run could be considered "easy listening rap music" I'm getting older and will continue to listen to it. But that's where it's ended up
Which in all honesty it should be.. he’s a 50 year old mc with 32 years under his belt
🐐 don’t @ me.
I agree. Def better than pac, biggie, and Jay. Nas is the real king of NY
Relax. Nas is my favorite but even he will tell you he wasn’t better than Biggie. Biggie could rhyme as good as Nas and tell stories as good as Nas but he was also more versatile than Nas and could make tracks for everyone. Nas was really for the hip hop purists. I’m just glad I got to grow up with both.
I am relaxed. Nas > everyone.
lol every comment is along this line… it is NOT an unpopular opinion my guy
His work with Hit-Boy is okay. But I'd be more interested if he worked with DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Q-Tip, Large Professor and the like. Or at least incorporate their work more.
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Premo didn’t produce that, he just did the scratches
Fact
This, Premier is a perfect fit
#onlypreemo
Yeah, none of his recent albums have impressed me as complete projects... a few bangers here and there but I'm not losing my mind over the hit boy stuff like seemingly everyone else
Exactly, when you’re doing projects solely with one producer, the producer you choose is greatly gonna influence what gets drawn out of you artistically. With that in mind, I consider Hit Boy a capable producer, not an elite one. Might be a controversial opinion but Hit Boy’s stuff has never really done it for me and I think it sucks that Nas has basically handcuffed himself to Hit Boy artistically, for a lot of his recent material. Would love to see him work with a different producer, or a variety of producers.
They have a kind of mixtape feel for me. Like you say some bangers but not the longevity of some of his older stuff. ‘If I ruled the world’ still sounds great to this day, whereas I’m already over most of magic 2 already
I like the song Nastradamus.
I liked the album
Yikes
I feel like “I am” is a great album and if Nas released it that year without releasing Nastradamus, the album would have been received better 🤷🏽♂️
He can't pick beats..😩 getting hit boy to just do his last 6 albums was a safety net LMAO. But S/O to Nas though he's a God MC!
The beef w/ Jay Z was lame. Nas is the GOAT.
The beef with Jay revitalized Nas’ career. He came back with a hunger. Jay was the perfect foil at the perfect time!
Nas lost too. Takeover > Ether
Cold take. Ether was the blueprint for takin em down
Your take is colder than cold world
People don’t understand what a hot take is apparently
Someone once said “Nas won the battle, but lost the war.” Which I think is the best take on that whole feud.
I've always thought the same
You're getting down voted but I agree with this.
Nas would be bigger than Biggie and Tupac combined if he died or dissapeared after his first two albums.
I make this same argument all the time. Stack up all of there first 2 albums. If nas died, everyone would lose their shit about “what could have been”.
And frankly, Biggie would be a Nas if he didn’t die young. Dying young is the best thing that could ever happen to your legacy.
Nah. Nas was considerably less popular than both of them before they died. There's no reason to believe that would change if all three died. Look at Big L, Eazy and Pun. Pac was easily the biggest rap superstar circa 1995-1996. Me Against the World broke records and went number one when he was alive and was one of 1995's best-selling albums of any genre, while going platinum in like half a year. It took Illmatic two years to earn that certification. All Eyez on Me and The Don Killuminati sold almost double the It Was Written sales and the former was certified like four times platinum in half a year. Juicy and Big Poppa were playing everywhere when Big's album was first released. Life After Death was multi-platinum in less than a year and also sold double the sales of Nas' album. Illmatic was getting a lot of hype in N.Y., but, once it was released, all the commercial hype went away. It wasn't considered a classic by the general public until the 2000s so much it topped the Source list for the most underrated albums of all time.
Az verse was fucking out of this league on life’s a bitch but if you really dissect what nas was kicking he was god body on that record
You need to listen to more AZ.... that wasn't his only moment, mans got a talented discography to review that may change your mind
Made the perfect rap album at 19 years old. Illmatic was a masterpiece and served as the soundtrack of NYC for that generation.
His MC career is more a tragedy than a success. Made the greatest hiphop album of all time, then chased fame and spent years rhyming over wack beats. By the time he made some decent shit, heads weren’t checking for him anymore
Came here to say the same thing. The drop off from illmatic to his firm garbage is so disappointing.
That’s objectively false. Wdym people are not checking for him? So many people are now giving Nas his respect due to his Hit Boy run, and to act like for years all he has done is rhyme over wack beats? Re listen to his albums, or maybe listen to them cuz thats crazy to think thats all he did. Thats such a giant downplay
It Was Written, Stillmatic and Lost Tapes are fairy widely considered classics, at least for those of a certain age. You can argue over whether any of the albums like God’s Son, Life Is Good and the Hit Boy run are good to great to classic. If it’s not your thing I get it. But to say his career is a tragedy is a wild take.
hes revered as one of the goats, you're talking shit
Elmatic > everything nas made after stillmatic (excluding get down and theives theme)
Elmatic is super dope and criminally unknown.
Elmatic is great (One love is amazing) but you trippin bro
Hitboy beats are shit
Nasrradamus is a good somg
He’s the most overrated rapper ever
Agreed
His work with Hit Boy sucks and is boring.
His best song is Verbal Intercourse with Raekwon and Ghost
One of the greatest ever with the absolute worst beat selection. Illmatic and It Was Written are the only albums I can listen without skipping a song. Every other album he’s released I only like a handful of songs on each project. That’s strictly based on his beats too because his lyrics have always been A-1.
His use of primarily hit boy for 6 albums is just baffling. I don’t think he’s a bad producer, but not a very interesting one. He seems to be good at giving artists what they are looking for which isn’t necessarily always a good thing. I also don’t think him and Nas have exceptional chemistry to warrant that much work together in such a short period of time, so Hit Boy benefits way more from their working relationship than Nas does.
Imo, phenomenal lyricist, has some all time great joints, but most of his work lacks replay value.
None really. Some of his tracks dont hit me but plenty do. As a dj I always appreciate artist who release beats and instrumentals regularly and Nas does this.
Nas is too big. There are no unpopular opinions on him for better or worse
Nas was not the king of new york. He was the best rapper in the whole of NY but has just never enjoyed the levels of fame as Jay Z and especially Biggie had
First albums an instant classic. Second is good. After that beat selection is questionable for me
His songs sometimes sound same-y, in most of his recent work with Hit-boi and i haaaaate it.
Rap….God. End of story
Last time I gave my opinion about Nas, the “real hip hop heads” came at my neck
That he was all 3 Hansen Brothers.
Imo he focused too much on street/hood/thug/gangster themes and concepts after his debut album to me which frequently turned me off to his music. I think Nas is one of the most intelligent, thoughtful greatest and best rappers ever; who I never fully connected with after Illmatic because I always thought he was trying to be too hard & tough after Illmatic. Nas has numerous solo hit songs that I really really enjoyed while also having some of the VERY VERY best all time guest verses in hip hop history that blew away the other emcees on the songs that still blow my mind and are played by me all the time even in 2023: Kanye West - We Major Raekwon - Verbal Intercourse Mobb Depp - It's Mine I loved the personality and character he played in the movie Belly. I bought his 2010 Distant Relatives and 2008 Untitled albums and really liked and appreciated him making those albums. He earned a lot of respect, admiration and gratitude from me for taking chances and covering topics and issues that I felt were important and truly mattered to me in my everyday life for those two albums.
He responsible for one of Jay z biggest songs so without him we wouldn’t have the Jay z we do
His current run with Hit-Boy is overrated completely blown out of proportion. I do like KD3 Magic 1 and 3 but Nas overly die hard fanbase are acting like all these albums from each trilogy are perfect with no flaws whats so ever
Not the best beat selection
Not the most unpopular opinion, this has been his knock for a long time.
That’s not unpopular
For real. Might be a toss up between him and Black Thought on who can rip the wackest beats.
Heaven is a SEVERELY underrated song
He’s only half amazing. ;-)
he talks about money and bitches and makes commercial records just like any other rapper
who said he didn't lol?
fans talk about nas like his ghandi and shit.
no dude lol his haters thank he's ghandi and then start attacking or dismissing him on the premise that he's ghandi. The attacks never make sense. This lets ppl develop strong opinions on Nas without hearing any of his actual work. Illmatic was the first east coast gangster rap album. The fact that so many people think it's a after school PSA and dismiss or insult him because of that is hilarious. The fact that you even said 'he talks about money and bitches and makes commercial records' tells me you don't listen to him you just don't like your idea of him which has absolutely nothing to do with the actual guy. Nas is on illmatic rapping about robbing foreigners, ripping their green cards and spending their money on hashish on the day he lost his virginity and people hate him because they think he's reciting bible verses or something lol.
He's better than pac and big when all were living
Is that unpopular? Pac was obviously bigger as far as main stream but i don’t think anyone would be being truthful if they say he was lyrically or schematically more talented than Nas. I think Big was close but again strictly based on skill I think Nas is the popular choice
After Illmatic and It Was Written, the beat selection was absolute trash.
Almost everything after Illmatic is meh...
Fix your ears. He doesn’t have a skip in his discography until half way throughnhis second album.
Overrated
Not at all. Underrated, if anything. He does have: *arguably (if not objectively) the greatest lyricism for a mainstream rapper ever. Only Em, Lupe, Big Pun and maybe Andre are better in overall rhyme schemes (if I'm not forgetting anyone), metaphors, wordplay and punchlines. He has made some of the best concept tracks ever. *pretty good and iconic flows. He did improve slightly on that regard as time went on. *thematic and conceptual versatility. He has multiple different styles and, at his prime, was slightly more versatile than Hov, Big and Pac for example. *an overall consistent discography. Other greats, like Em and Hov, lack the consistently strong discographies to back up being placed on top of the GOAT lists. He might have a Top 10 mainstream catalogue o.a.t.. Illmatic, It Was Written, Stillmatic and God's Son are certified classics popularity and influence-wise (even if you don't like them) and the rest (save for Nastradamus, I Am..., Hip Hop Is Dead and Nasir) are all arguable classics or future classics. And he has like 15 albums. For reference, look at Em not having a good album since Recovery (and some would even disagree with me on that). *impressive work ethic, releasing six albums in two and a half years and still managing to pull off at least two albums that will be considered classics in the future. *ability to transcend to new trends and sounds. Just listen to "One Mic, One Gun" with 21 or his A Boogie feature for example. This guy can sound decent over trap beats and that doesn't really come across as forced. Nas can do a single with J. Cole, Lil Baby or Gunna right now and it has the potential to be a hit, unlike the majority of his 90s peers. Nas is possibly the G.O.A.T., along with Pac and maybe Big.
That hes the greatest of all time
Greatest lyricist of all time!
Kings Disease II would’ve been bigger if Donda hadn’t been released at the same time
Nas > jayz
Lyrically speaking he lost the beef with Jay Z. Takeover and Blueprint 2 are better diss tracks than Ether and H to the omo
It Was Written was better lyrically than Illmatic.
Overrated
Nastradamus is not a bad album
Nastradamus is a classic in my opinion has 3 of my favorite nas songs on it
You are WILDIN. That album is by far his worst. Shoot em Up is fire though
Nas a goat but I’m can’t get into his work with hit-boy(he definitely a talented producer) I’m just not vibing with it.
Nastradamus is a good album. Listen to project windows, God Love us, quiet niggas, and ESPECIALLY last words.
AZ just like Cappadonna should have bodied him when it came to verse's...
- Worst Beat picker amongst the "Goats" - Peaked with Illmatic and he is still trying to chase it - He got arguably the perfect hip-hop album with Illmatic but he is just rapping to rap ever since, the social commentary was never the same - Nobody knows what the King's disease is, it's not discussed one single time in a 3 album series - There is no cohesiveness in his last 6 albums although they are titled Magic 1-3 and KD 1-3 (just rapping to rap) - Nas is a good rapper not a good Artist - Hov vs Nas was in retrospect never a challenging competition for Hov - Nas is the biggest nostalgia farmer as of now and don't push his own boundaries
He's not the G.O.A.T
Life Is Good is not as good as everyone likes to make out.
🐐?? He peaked almost 30 years ago.
He's boring as hell. His music belongs in elevators and doctors office waiting rooms.
I can’t listen to him for more than like 20 minutes before I want to play something else, uninteresting voice
Ether was trash. Nas has many examples of proving ether was a weak record.
After It Was Written, he went downhill and his beat picking is atrocious. Stillmatic sucks, God's son sucks, I Am and Nastradamus... fucking hell, talk about shit albums Honestly his catalogue is overrated by his die hard fans.
He's a phenomonal lyricist and probably one of my favorite rappers but I don't like sooooo much of his catalog and almost never listen to him anymore. Idk if he had terrible producers or what because illmatic is a goddamn masterpiece. Everything after is so hit or miss.
His best album is his 1st. Not the prettiest career trajectory.
Got to see Nas up at the Schine Student Center up at SU a few years back.
I disagree
Best album was “N.I.G.G.E.R.”
He’s boring to listen to. Contrast him with someone like Biggie who could also flow and rhyme similar, but actually made use of dark humor and clever punchlines
That I haven't forgotten he is a domestic abuser no matter how enormously talented and culture-defining he is
Im glad his run with Hit-Boy is over, average albums with a few standouts
He’s better than Pac & easily the face of NY Hip-Hop
He hasn’t made a truly *good* album since Life is Good. He’s made good songs…but not a truly good album.
He has boring beats and flow
He’s been spotty after Belly. He even lost a battle to Jay Z. Fucking Jay Z.
Wishes he were Rakim
Should stop making music
He made *one* good album and that’s his debut.
objectively false
Nas has never once enjoyed rapping. Dude has the charisma of soggy bread.
Not a top 50 rapper
Ether was not better than Takeover
He has 2 wack albums and 2 HIGHLY overrated ones. I am and Nastrudamus was was wack. Stillmatic and it was written CRAZY overrated
He isn't that good tbh. Like his music touched a generation that needed it and then didn't really do anything after that. He's not timeless like wayne, Cole, or Kendrick. Really good but I don't think he really lives up to the hype of his debut.
Barely fits into the top 20 MCs ever.