1. Not for radio - Epic feel, feels like shyt played for an Emperor. The Diddy adlibs definitely made it sound even more epic. Nas's verses are solid but nothing groundbreaking, he chose content over flash here which I can appreciate. 4.0
2. Cops shot the kid - Great message, lazy lyrics though, sounds like he wrote it in 2 minutes, Kanye's verse was weak too. The beat overpowers both of their verses, and not in a good way. Best part of the song is Pryor. 3.5
3. White Label - Again, beat/sample almost overpowers his verses but his verses are strong here for the most part, especially compared to the previous 2 songs. Song feels kinda slow but it still knocks. 4.0
4. Bonjour - Refreshing as fukk, feels like the album has finally really started, probably should have been the first song on the album (Bonjour/Hello). The beat and singing is perfect and Nas's verses fit beautifully, and he talking his shyt. Favorite song so far easily. 5.0
5. Everything - Beautiful song, the singing and vibe particularly. Nas's lyrics are excellent here but in some parts his delivery sounds off, like he's rushing the bars when the beat doesn't require that, nothing big but something I noticed. Dope song though, probably would be even better without any rapping, sounds like something that Kanye gave Nas that was supposed to be on his album and just had him lay verses. 4.5
6. Adam and Eve - Kanye did his thing on the boards. Nas did his thing on the mic, both in they bags. I wish the whole album had this vibe, this and "Bonjour", like a traditional hip hop feel. When I first read the title of the song I thought it'd be a completely different record, not just Nas talking his shyt, but still fire. 4.5
7. Simple Things - Probably my least favorite song on the album, sounds lazy. I get it, the "simple" things, so I'm assuming they made it simple on purpose, from the beat to the lyrics, but Nas's verses sound so tired. The first half of the first verse is good but his flow sounds madd off towards the tail end of the verse, and the last verse is probably his worst verse ever, I appreciate he's at least attempting to incorporate a different flow here (which the album lacked) but nahh, lazy. Kanye should have gave this record to Teyana Taylor. 2.5
High points:
- Kanye's production is really good on here for the most part, he definitely did his part, salute to him.
- Nas is still a master at painting those visual pictures with the words unlike anybody else, you can close your eyes and vividly see them dead whites haunting my man's crib, lol. Even the description of the crib was vivid.
- Every song sounds true to Nas, he isn't trying to chase radio or women or the trap fans, etc..
Not so high points:
- 100% too short, album didn't even really gain momentum for me until like the 4th song, and by then the album is more than halfway over
- Nas doesn't sound as crisp with the flow or the delivery anymore, but I've been complaining about this for over a decade now so I guess it just is what it is at this point
- I wish he had more flare. He's never been a metaphor/punch guy but he should showcase some instances of wit here and there, just for the listener's sake. He's the Tim Duncan of this shyt, easily one of the greatest to ever do it (my personal number 1) but aint no monster dunks or crossovers on his highlight reel, especially not in the last 15 or so years
I give it a solid 4 out of 5, really good album, I got it like 5th on the list for my favorite Nas albums.
