I feel the same way about all of Nas' Def Jam albums. Each one had a very specifically marketed theme or concept, and each album doesn't match it. HHID has a couple thematic tracks but largely feels aimless and bloated. Untitled sticks to the theme more than HHID but the commentary/theme doesn't really match the explosive initial title or marketing of the album. And Life Is Good, which a GREAT album, is NOT a breakup album or comparable to Here, My Dear like it was made out to be. It's almost entirely about nostalgia, with a couple tracks about Kelis/relationships.
I thought Untitled was going to be aggressive, thought provoking, in-your-face and it's not really any of that to me. There's nothing subversive about it either. When you think about it from an influence perspective, the obvious thought would be Nas making a Public Enemy album right? Mix that with more modern sounds (working with Dead Prez) and it just seemed like we were going to get some "punch the white establishment in the face" type shyt, directed by Spike Lee. Instead he dropped a mixtape that sounded far harder/better than the actual album. The album just sounds like a battle with Def Jam. And while I think the obvious reaction here would be "well that's because it was too black for the label" I think the real issue was that it wasn't that good. I can think of all types of ways that album could have been commercially viable without compromising the theme, and I'd imagine LA Reid could too. Instead the direction was just...well, yea.
I can think of so many albums that came out before Untitled or around the same time that did "that" better on every level. Lyrically, beats, theme, etc. It starts with the singles up front, which tells you right away who is doing the sequencing (the label). Then you get a variety of uninspired, slow tempo beats. Not a single track on the album matches the energy or tempo of stuff from the mixtape like Gangsta Rap, Cops Keep Firing, or Legendary. I was expecting Ice Cube shyt. Think...Amerikkka's Most Wanted, Endangered Species, True To The Game, Us, etc. Those first three albums touch a variety of topics yet feel more in tune with what "Untitled" wanted to be than the album. Or think Mos' first two albums. Or think about The Coup's albums. Even Dead Prez' albums, which tend to be less in-your-face production wise than some of the stuff I mentioned, still FEEL right because of the lyrics and tone. I just don't feel that on Untitled.
It's not a bad album, it's just forgettable to me and should have been better. And back to the sequencing, putting Fried Chicken and Project Roach back to back just felt like the ultimate head shake moment. There are some narrative devices you only get away with once. I Gave You Power was that, and it worked because it had never been done before. So to do it again, but twice, back to back on the same album...nah. It doesn't work for me.
