98-01 Era Nas

[Gizza]

Been on a “illMatic” “IWW” “I Am” “Nastradamus” “Lost tapes” “Stillmatic” “God’s Son” “HHID” “KD 1-3” “Magic” “Magic 2” music binge for 2 weeks. “I Am” to “Lost tapes” is peak lyricism songs like “Big Girl” “Zone out” not bad the beat be damned & “Nas is coming” is pure gotta be some kinda inside joke wit Dre

 

[Mike the Executioner]

Nas' Illmatic voice is different from his It Was Written voice though. Nas' delivery was rawer on Illmatic. On It Was Written it's super polished and smooth, and his voice is even a bit higher pitched. Then 98-02 he went back to a rougher, deeper delivery but more polished than Illmatic. And since about 2009 his delivery's become way more aggressive. And since the late 2010s his flow's a bit more rigid and glued to the beat than it used to be. A Pitchfork writer described it well:

"As late as 2012’s “Nasty,” he was staking his albums on ostentatious displays of raw technique. Here he seems to stride atop Hit-Boy’s beats where he once would have scurried back and forth through a network of tunnels he’d dug beneath them. On “WTF SMH,” he makes nearly every point—about Big Daddy Kane’s influence and how profitable his publishing has been for MC Serch, about “cowards” who “cut the tough guy shyt”—land with percussive single-syllable bursts."

The thing I notice about Nas' voice is that he's not as aggressive as he used to be. He doesn't really have a reason to, but even on Street's Disciple and HHID, he sounded pissed, like he was going to attack the beat no matter what. Life is Good had a little bit of lightness to it, but he was still dense with his lyrics.

I definitely think the last decade or so has calmed him down, but he has his urgency back since Magic.

 

[Playaz Eyez]

This thread is gonna have me go back and listen to 96-00 Nas. I’ve listened to more Nas from Stillmatic to Untitled and the Hit-Boy/Nas collabs than I did early early Nas.

 

[Playaz Eyez]

It’s the slang and his accent. That nikka NY slang and accent were heavy on Illmatic/IWW cuz he was still kid from the block. nikka had a whole lotta “nomsayin’” and “son/thun” talk, that 5% knowledge god verbiage lmao

Even in his interviews you could tell the nikka was reserved and not media trained. After 96 he started more world touring, seeing new places and things it kinda expanded his vernacular. His voice also got a lil more bass after 96

He still has one of the greatest rap voices ever after that period, it was just more refined. I definitely get what you saying tho

I lament on Styles P and Lupe’s actual old voices all the time

I’ve never been a consistent Lupe listener, so I can’t really speak on him, but I’m a huge Styles P fan and his voice is MUCH different than his early years. He was super raw and angry on songs like Holiday, fukk You, the State Property, and stuff like then, then gradually went to a somewhat deliberate and chilled out flow, basically a lot of his post 2006 music. Gonna assume it’s regular weed usage

 

[Playaz Eyez]

Been on a “illMatic” “IWW” “I Am” “Nastradamus” “Lost tapes” “Stillmatic” “God’s Son” “HHID” “KD 1-3” “Magic” “Magic 2” music binge for 2 weeks. “I Am” to “Lost tapes” is peak lyricism songs like “Big Girl” “Zone out” not bad the beat be damned & “Nas is coming” is pure gotta be some kinda inside joke wit Dre

Literally just listened to “Nas Is Coming” I don’t think I liked any of that early Dr. Dre Aftermath production until 98 or 99

 

[UnQuantized]

Some incredible writing in this period; Drunk By Myself, Doo Rags, Purple, Fetus, Amongs Kings, Sometimes I Wonder, Nas Is Like, Project Windows...

 

[UnQuantized]

Seems like the aftermath of Pac & Big dying, QB street shyt, issues with Carmen, Jay Z beef growing and his Mother dying put him in a really dark place.

 

[Controversy]

Seems like the aftermath of Pac & Big dying, QB street shyt, issues with Carmen, Jay Z beef growing and his Mother dying put him in a really dark place.

Was listening to Carm's audio book on youtube recently...it really puts that time period into perspective, esp as it relates to Jay & his mom

Nas was stretched thin financially after Nastradamus...he had to take care of his mom, pay Carmen child support, bought a big, empty mansion in long island, and found out Carm was messing with Jigga...Steve Stoute got close to Jigga during this period too...she implied he was fighting demons in his sleep, he was angry & unhappy during this period

I'm gonna start a Nas supernatural playlist that focuses on him including angels, demons, hell, satan, fire, brimstone, etc in his bars

 

[Controversy]

Some incredible writing in this period; Drunk By Myself, Doo Rags, Purple, Fetus, Amongs Kings, Sometimes I Wonder, Nas Is Like, Project Windows...

The subject matter & depth was best during this period imo

 

[Controversy]

This thread is gonna have me go back and listen to 96-00 Nas. I’ve listened to more Nas from Stillmatic to Untitled and the Hit-Boy/Nas collabs than I did early early Nas.

Quintessential Nas to me at his peak was IWW to God's Son era...he never remained stagnant, every album was distinctly diff than the previous

 

[HHID]

It was an experimental time, but the fact that Nas even states that it was a dark time explains why I'm feeling that era so much. Sorry, it was a sad time for the God, but I love when Nas spits introspective rhymes over moody music, and there was a lot of that in the era. I'm from Chicago, where it's cloudy and grim every damn day, so I feel that moody, introspective vibe. Nas spits about the streets, issues, street drama, and beef; it represents what many of us were exposed to in hoods nationwide.

Yo! Let's try to keep this thread bumped.

Same here. It's cool he's on that positive/happy vibe for the past years, but what made me definitely rank him over anybody else is that 98-01 dark introspective run, especially all the side stuff, unreleased and Lost Tapes shyt. IMO this is peak Nas lyrically, content wise. That's why tracks like Stay and the bonus tracks on LIG hit so hard with me on his more "recent" shyt.

That's something I'm not finding with his work with HB but I guess he's just not in the state of mind to write this type of content no more

 

[Big Mark]

Same here. It's cool he's on that positive/happy vibe for the past years, but what made me definitely rank him over anybody else is that 98-01 dark introspective run, especially all the side stuff, unreleased and Lost Tapes shyt. IMO this is peak Nas lyrically, content wise. That's why tracks like Stay and the bonus tracks on LIG hit so hard with me on his more "recent" shyt.

That's something I'm not finding with his work with HB but I guess he's just not in the state of mind to write this type of content no more

Right! It's not a detriment to his recent work. I think this new era of Nas is CRAZY!! When I was in a certain space in my life, trying to come up through some ups and downs, I needed some of that thoughtful but yet murky and moody shyt to match cloudy, grim-ass Chicago. Nas' work was just that. Now, like him, I can celebrate and vibe to much better life but still never forget my past and the feeling of what I've been through.

 

[reserved_one]

This era of Nas was my first exposure to him period….mainly because of Belly and Hate Me Now. It’s crazy the perception was that he fell off but as a kid I see his videos getting air play and hearing his singles on the radio consistently.

So in my mind I’m thinking Nas is successful. I wasn’t reading magazines at that point to hear what the critics were saying.

But looking back at it now…I understand why people were writing him off because of the machine Jay Z had behind him. Nas wasn’t just battling Jay and the Roc but against Hot 97 as well. That makes Nas’s victory over Jay Z even more impressive.

But back on track, that era of Nas is underrated. Some of those songs off the OG I AM… album were GOAT level.

Rise and Fall for example….One of my favorite Nas songs ever. Fetus? Drunk By Myself? Poppa Was A Player? Cmon man.

 

[Controversy]

This era of Nas was my first exposure to him period….mainly because of Belly and Hate Me Now.

It’s crazy the perception was that he fell off but as a kid I see his videos getting air play and hearing his singles on the radio consistently.

So in my mind I’m thinking Nas is successful. I wasn’t reading magazines at that point to hear what the critics were saying.

But looking back at it now…I understand why people were writing him off because of the machine Jay Z had behind him. Nas wasn’t just battling Jay and the Roc but against Hot 97 as well.

That makes Nas’s victory over Jay Z even more impressive.

But back on track, that era of Nas is underrated. Some of those songs off the OG I AM… album were GOAT level.

Rise and Fall for example….Incredible song.

Fetus? Drunk By Myself? Poppa Was A Player? Cmon man.

Your observations are very relevant

Oochie Wally, You Owe Me, and Hate Me Now were huge records on Philly radio

Nas knew the dynamics at play & that's why God's Son was his answer to all the industry politics

I mentioned earlier...the disappointment of Nastradamus coincided with the rise of Rocafella...which is why I hold Stillmatic in such high regard...it's his most impt album bc Rocafella and the industry would've buried him with another lackluster project

 

[Alexander Wiggin]

that was the time when Nas was the most introspective and when his pen shibed the most? he was more impressive flow wise during the illmatic iww era and later on lig and from kd2 to now. But he really grabbed you and was deep as hell during that time