Because a lot of people view Lost Tapes as a compilation and not an album, which in my mind makes absolutely no sense at all. ALL albums are compilations that have tracks recorded over periods of time. If Lost Tapes isn't an album, neither is Illmatic. "Halftime" was on the Zebrahead soundtrack in 1992 and was two years old by the time the album dropped.
Lost Tapes has songs that were floating on the net from the era of 1999-2001 of his career with a few brand new songs on it. To me, that is what makes Lost Tapes a classic album. Lost songs are typically disregarded songs from a catalog that aren't really significant or aren't up to par with the rest of the artists catalog. You could see why the songs were scrapped. Nas's Lost Tapes are some of the BEST songs he's ever made and had us questioning why they were omitted. These songs would've amplified the albums they were intended for rather than being filler.
Lost Tapes flows like an album despite the songs being intended for different albums. It is one of the most cohesive albums in his catalog. It rivals his best work and is about as close to an Illmatic 2 that we have gotten from him. Genius level work.
