Just sharing some thoughts about the album opener which is the tone setter for this amazing project and I’ma admit up front I could be overthinking some stuff. It’s a discussion thread, though, so take it or leave it.
Starting with the production. Sonically “Speechless” is on the darker, dirtier, grimier side when looking at Hit-Boy’s production on these three albums with Nas. It has an eerie sound with the swirling sirens and other sounds. Perfect backdrop for Nas. Rhyme-wise you get flashes of the nostalgic, introspective, and braggadocious rhymes from Nas. He has seen it all in his 30 years in the game and is somehow still at the top. On the intro and throughout he gives you the Nas experience at 48. Man, I really love this collab. It truly has been magical.
I don't even know what's goin' on no more
I don't even know what's happenin', man
Ain't no answers
I'ma figure some shyt out though, ya hear?
You know? Yeah, yeah
Just tryna get my weight up
Tryna get all my watches in order
Get my safe up, get great
It’s interesting that the album starts with prophet Nas revealing he doesn’t know what’s going on. Maybe a touch of humility after all that he’s gone through. Perhaps reflection that comes in the wake of his childhood friend Taheim getting gunned down earlier last year. Or he is just reflecting the mood with our still going through this pandemic and wondering when we’ll come out of it. Or maybe pondering the political turmoil and social unrest we seem to be perpetually mired in. Whatever it is, Nas seems ready to forge forward and to make the best of it.
I'm twenty-one years past the 27 Club
It's like I went back into my past and then I sped it up
Robert Johnson, Winehouse and Morrison found where heaven was
Heaven on Earth, this shyt is magic with no fairy dust
Because Nas’s career now spans three decades it’s almost like he has this tapestry of rhymes where one bar from ages ago connects to rhymes of today and it documents his life in some ways. I can still vividly remember back when he was 12 and he was on his way to hell for snuffing Jesus. Then he woke up early on [his] born day at 20 and I recall him saying how it was a blessing and how the essence of adolescence had left his body. Now we’re 28 years from that and he’s an elder statesman; he’s literally grown up in the rap game and has documented his life along the way. As a fan, it’s that autobiographical component that has made the music even more compelling. With him referencing the cultural phenomenon that is some of the most famous musicians dying early at the age of 27 (it’s kind of spooky, you got Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain too among others), you can’t help but be grateful Nas is still alive especially as we have seen some of our rap legends not even make it to 27. Nas seems to align himself with musical greats while also waxing poetic about how magical music is, equating heaven to music. (Think about all the magic that has been lost from those who have past on.) It also serves to paint the scene of Nas going back in time when Nas was 27 and fast forwarding to now where he’s 48. When he was 27, it was 2000/01–the beginning of another Nas peak with Stillmatic, LT, and God’s Son on the way. This reflecting on the past and celebration of the now is a theme throughout the album and something that’s become signature of the QB veteran in these later years.
Home of the gully, gangsta, the gruesome and the scary stuff
I told my brother Jung', "fukk 'em, they gon' go through Hell with us
They don't have the history in the streets that compare with us"
Hood nikkas, they wanna be us, thugs in the St. Regis
Whereas there’s heaven in the music the circumstances that he grew up in was the opposite. The alliteration to describe his home is crazy. Feels like we’re back in QB for a moment. I’m not exactly sure who he’s addressing but he’s either dismissive of them or letting them know they can’t really match up. He also seems to be aware of his stature in his hood and how he’s viewed while embracing that he is still who they are but also highlighting that there’s some separation because of his success. Random but I always love the verses that mention his bro Jungle.
Only thing undefeated is time
The second is the internet, number three is this rhyme
One of my the coldest lines on the album.
What makes it extra cold is in this rhyme he’s recounting his rise and how he’s thrived through it all.
Before security, my dawg had to sneak in the nine
God must be on my side
I had to eat and provide, my winning streak is divine
I told dunn, "Leave the street shyt behind
Don't let 'em hype you, a slow run beats cheatin' the grind"
Dawg, I'm tellin' it like it is, you gotta deal with the consequence
When you runnin' in nikkas' cribs, nikka, you better be ready to sit
Again, the back and forth between then and now. Now he has professional security. But back then he had a friend who had to do everything on the low. But even then Nas had the knowledge and wisdom to know where the street life would end and the compassion and love for someone from his hood to encourage them to choose differently. Within this, he recognizes how blessed and favored he is that things turned out differently for him. Part of Nas’s legacy has to mention him constantly dropping these kind of jewels throughout his music.
Dope dealers, street hustlers, pop cases
Throw dice on pavement, cop chases
Big gamblers, skullies hide faces
Gang wars, hot spots, police raid it
Left 'em speechless (speechless, speechless, speechless)
Left 'em speechless (speechless, speechless, speechless)
Hot ass hook. The stop and go delivery and flow is dope. His identification and description of the street life—where he comes from and what are the consequences. The idea of folks not being able to say anything at all because of his life story/career is fitting when one has done as much as Nas has. This is rarefied air. Son is pretty much in this unprecedented third prime.
I’m sure a lot of rap fans have to be in awe when really thinking about what Nas has accomplished and the fact that he’s still going.
The only reason Nas is the greatest is because he didn't listen to his weirdo stans and critics. Shoutout to him. Plus, he himself thinks he's the greatest. Hov would reach out and make people reach out because he's unsure of himself. He always has been, so he looks for acceptance from everyone. If yall can't win yall little Nas is the greatest arguments because of some white boy articles at Pitchfork and Rolling Stone, that's on yall and says more about you
