Nas Fans Unite...Almost 20 Years After The Fact It’s Probably Ok Now To Admit...
- Thread starter Devil Plisken…CMS
- Start date
filial_piety
Banned
Sorry... for fans from Day 1 like myself....none of them lived up to the Illmatic/IWW era. He had a few gems like "nas Is like" , "project windows" etc ....everything else was GOOD but on the low end of Nas good...but still better than most rappers best songs. After the Firm, he just went steadily downhill....but I'll take the I Am/Nastradamus era (98-99) over the Oochie Walley/The General 2000s) era too.
By 2000 I think he was at his lowest point...he had a few good songs (like the General and the song Stillmatic), but it was still pretty watered down and weak, and by then it seemed like he was on his way out.
With that rationale Prodigy mattered just as much as Nas
I guess Meeno & Jayo Felony mattered just as much in rap at that time since Jay got at them too
I’m beginning to think you wasn’t around back then...I know for a fact you couldn’t have been in NYC at the time. We can’t talk about this anymore
Well, Prodigy did matter. Jay gave the rest of them half a bar and never bothered mentioning them on "Takeover". He didn't mention Jayo or Meeno on "Takeover", but went hard at Nas and Prodigy.
Devil Plisken…CMS
Veteran
Bingo
Why do people feel like objectivity is a sin when you’re a fan of someone? Nas was always an immense talent but it was apparent that his illmatic level output was getting less & less as the years went. By 99-00 he was rapping like he was more concerned with buying his next QB chain than performing up to his standard Of artistry
This shyt was common knowledge bro
Who doesn't acknowledge that Nas dropped some wack/mediocre material during that period. What's often understated and overlooked are the gems he dropped during that era. A lot of that is attributed to the ridiculous standard of Illmatic. "Undying Love" sounds nothing like Illmatic Nas, but it is an excellent storytelling song. Although I don't agree, some people think "New York State Of Mind Pt. 2" is better than the original. "Nas Is Like" and "Small World" are excellent. "Last Words" from Nastradamus has one of his best verses. "Project Windows" is one of Nas's best songs.
Nas was inconsistent in 1999. He was all over the place and a lot of the music was disposable. Meanwhile some of his best music was left on the cutting room floor.
That said, Nas's career wasn't exactly dead by 2000. He still mattered. He was just making a lot of more radio friendly music, which didn't showcase the street poetry he was known for. Nas was still a platinum rapper, but the focus and the lyricism was suffering overall even though he still had gems here and there.
I'm not arguing you that I Am was as consistent as Illmatic/IWW, it's not (it is underrated tho - and I'm also keeping in mind that the I Am leak fukked his whole plan up). All I'm saying is The General ain't that good, mostly cuz of Swizz's doo doo casio production.
RealestSinceKumbaya
The God
That and Braveheart Party
prophecypro
Hollywood North
Nas was still getting magazine covers and people buzzing bout his cuts on clue tapes months before takeover
Again understand what Im saying:
In retrospect, dude still had people watching what he had next after disappointment of Nastradamus because he teased the Death of Escobar tape. Takeover definitely had him on the ropes but if he was forgotten no one would have really given too shyts about Hov burying him on that record
He was probably better shape then in later years
Takeover resonated with people cuz people heard the critiques of nas not living up to illmatic. Most of that was because they thought he had gone to commercial or pop not because he wasn't one of the biggest stars in the game. Two completely different things.
Jack Trippa 3z company ho
Superstar
Camel purposely went at Nas knowing he was with his dying mother. He really tried to kill his career, little plotting fakkit, in love w Nas, wanted to be Nas, wanted Nas woman, wanted Nas Respect. Jealousy and envy is a mf
Camel is such a conflicted fakkit
Honestly it’s amazed nobody really got touched off this whole situation. I give credit to Nas for that as well.
This nikka acting like Nas had to defrost...didnt hate me now drop in like 2000 or some shyt.
I didn't even realize how slick this was until years later. The bootlegging really ruined that original double album concept
I'm a fan of both but I wasn't really feeling Nastradamus and when The Blueprint dropped and I heard The Takeover I thought it was over for Nas.
Once Jay dropped the Blueprint he kinda had an aura of invincibility at the time, plus I thought his style was better suited for battle rapping than Nas.
Nas style reminded me of a poet and I didn't think he had it in him for that type of battle rap...boy was I wrong lol.
I remember the first time I heard Ether in the car and when Nas said "you no mustache having, with whiskers like a rat" we swerved in the car a lil.
Has there ever been a thread about where were you when you first heard Ether?
in retrospect Prodigy caught the worst of it cuz Jay AND Nas both dissed him, although Nas ain't diss him on Ether but the album itself.
Jay survived, Nas thrived, but Prodigy got the worst of it in my opinion.
But at the end of the day Nas won. And not only did I not think he had it in him to beat Jay in a battle I never thought Nas could sound so genuinely FURIOUS, lmao.
However even tho I have no problem saying Nas won, I always liked The Takeover as an overall song and still bump it till this day.
But Nas won, it is what it is.
Once Jay dropped the Blueprint he kinda had an aura of invincibility at the time, plus I thought his style was better suited for battle rapping than Nas.
Nas style reminded me of a poet and I didn't think he had it in him for that type of battle rap...boy was I wrong lol.
I remember the first time I heard Ether in the car and when Nas said "you no mustache having, with whiskers like a rat" we swerved in the car a lil.
Has there ever been a thread about where were you when you first heard Ether?
in retrospect Prodigy caught the worst of it cuz Jay AND Nas both dissed him, although Nas ain't diss him on Ether but the album itself.
Jay survived, Nas thrived, but Prodigy got the worst of it in my opinion.
But at the end of the day Nas won. And not only did I not think he had it in him to beat Jay in a battle I never thought Nas could sound so genuinely FURIOUS, lmao.
However even tho I have no problem saying Nas won, I always liked The Takeover as an overall song and still bump it till this day.
But Nas won, it is what it is.
T.he I.nformant
1st Ballot HOF Teller
Yeah, that shyt sounds like it would have been fire. The content was definitely there.
YoungMoneyCashMoneyBoy
Superstar
If they tried, probably. Every one was going platinum back then.
I remember when source magazine did an end of the year recap of platinum and gold albums around that time, damn near every rapper that dropped achieved either status. Muhfukkas were buying any and every album every week. Scrubs were going gold. Mainstream rappers were easily going platinum.