Official Nas Thread

[spliz]

I was looking at an old interview with Jungle from when the Time Is Illmatic documentary came out. Guess what Jungle favorite Nas album is? And look at what the smug ass interviewer says to him. This is Nas' BROTHER he's talking to I might add.

Is Illmatic the best rap album ever?

It’s up there. I like It Was Written better.

Ugh, you’re one of those guys.

I ain’t gonna lie. It Was Written is my favorite Nas album, then Stillmatic, then Illmatic.

Why do you like it better?

To me, they were bigger songs, bigger and better ideas. I remember living the moment, and that moment was more fun than theIllmatic moment. Illmatic was so ill and everyone was praising it and loving it, but when It Was Written came out, everything was so excellent.

Illmatic documented the struggle. IWW was about the spoils. As someone who lived through it, of course you’d prefer the music associated with the spoils.

I liked the album, though. When It Was Written came out, even though I had heard all the songs already, I bumped that in my car every day.

 

[H.S.]

I was looking at an old interview with Jungle from when the Time Is Illmatic documentary came out. Guess what Jungle favorite Nas album is? And look at what the smug ass interviewer says to him. This is Nas' BROTHER he's talking to I might add.

Wow. lol For one, he's wrong for trying to paint those album as simply about the struggle and the spoils. For two, even if that was the case, that's not even a good reason to chose one as being definitively better than the other.

 

[spliz]

Wow. lol For one, he's wrong for trying to paint those album as simply about the struggle and the spoils. For two, even if that was the case, that's not even a good reason to chose one as being definitively better than the other.

U see that bullshyt? These the type of nerds that try to shyt on IWW. The man's own brother likes IWW better. I think Nas likes it better as well. Most of Nas' fans came from IWW and went backwards. So for people to act like IWW was some trash is ridiculous.

 

[spliz]

Also. Check what Jungle has to say about Nas' ghostwriting rumors.

On Nas’s latest record, The Season, he addresses rumors that he’s used ghostwriters. He says, “Jungle the only brother I take shyt from.”
Yeah. He said something about people writing for him or something? Nobody. He don’t need a writer. He could write for the whole music business if he wanted to. If I say stuff, he knows what I mean for the song that he’s trying to do. If I say something, he’ll listen to that. Nobody else really can tell him what to say.

In the movie you said, “I knew [Nas] was the best as soon as I heard him rhyme.” Is your brother the best rapper of all time?

To me, yeah. The best lyricist to ever rap is Nas, then 2Pac.

 

[H.S.]

U see that bullshyt? These the type of nerds that try to shyt on IWW. The man's own brother likes IWW better. I think Nas likes it better as well. Most of Nas' fans came from IWW and went backwards. So for people to act like IWW was some trash is ridiculous.

Right. The thing is, I don't even mind if someone prefers one over the other. I like both. But this kind of reasoning has always been kind of suspect to me. They're BOTH street albums. One Love and Street Dreams are both about "the struggle."

 

[Soymuscle Mike]

Right. The thing is, I don't even mind if someone prefers one over the other. I like both. But this kind of reasoning has always been kind of suspect to me. They're BOTH street albums. One Love and Street Dreams are both about "the struggle."

And even the "spoils" part is wrong, most of the times Nas rhymed more about how the spoils might get him killed or lose his soul or turn him into someone else or change him or lose his friends etc.

People hear the trackmasters production and assume it's a lighthearted album but it's actually pretty dark. People just need to LISTEN.

ALSO, I've experienced that a lot of these "Hip Hop critics" love to hear black people talk about poverty and struggle. Not so much about getting money, fukking bytches and success

 

[Piff Perkins]

A lot of rap purists dislik IWW because Nas sold out to them. Honestly he did sell out and it worked. IWW secured Nas' career and ensured he didn't become another G Rap or Masta Ace: guys who never transitioned from the street to the mainstream. I'm not mad at it.

When it comes to sell out records IWW is one of the best. I like way more than Vol 1 from Hov.

 

[IllmaticDelta]

A lot of rap purists dislik IWW because Nas sold out to them. Honestly he did sell out and it worked. IWW secured Nas' career and ensured he didn't become another G Rap or Masta Ace: guys who never transitioned from the street to the mainstream. I'm not mad at it.

When it comes to sell out records IWW is one of the best. I like way more than Vol 1 from Hov.

IWW is less commercial/radio friendly than Ready To Die and Reasonable Doubt...It's no point even making the comparison to Vol 1 since that was a pure Bad Boy type sound. IWW is actually dark sounding but with a certain degree of gloss.

 

[H.S.]

A lot of rap purists dislik IWW because Nas sold out to them. Honestly he did sell out and it worked. IWW secured Nas' career and ensured he didn't become another G Rap or Masta Ace: guys who never transitioned from the street to the mainstream. I'm not mad at it.

When it comes to sell out records IWW is one of the best. I like way more than Vol 1 from Hov.

Respect your opinion Piff, and I agree with the bolded, but how is IWW anymore of a "sellout" record than Doe or Die, 456, Life After Death, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, Reasonable Doubt, etc?

 

[ChiTownGuevera]

man fukk what that smug cac interviewer thinks....


honestly ill say this...on It Was Written Nas elevated his hyme schemes & storytellin to a whole anotha level...thats why songs like The Message, Take It In Blood, n I Gave you Power still feels like a monumental hip hop record & gives off that special vibe when you play those records..

and lyrically id say both on the same level...

only difference is the production on Illmatic is more of a boomp bap rap heaven...

ill say this tho It Aint Hard To tell is a once in a lifetime kind of a record n that gives the edge to Illmatic, but as far as a complete album goes id have to go with IWW as Nas best...


both 1a 1b as far as im concerned when it comes to best hiphop album of all time

 

[Piff Perkins]

Respect your opinion Piff, but how is IWW anymore of a "sellout" record than Doe or Die, 456, Life After Death, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, Reasonable Doubt, etc?

Cuban Linx is a straight up street album to me. IWW always sounded like a mainstream, shiny street album to me. People who hate on IWW really don't like the gloss of the beats and samples. That Trackmasters sound.

Life After Death is definitely a sellout album. I don't think the others are, in fact all of them sound grittier than IWW to me production wise. Imagine only fukking with boom bap shyt and then hearing Watch Dem nikkas in 96 lol. Nas went from a somewhat underground steez to having the biggest song on the radio with an r&b hook. Biggie went from Juicy to Mo Money Mo Problems. I'm not knocking it, but that's the perception from those 90s purists.

tbh I've met a few purists who don't even like Ready To Die lol.

 

[H.S.]

Cuban Linx is a straight up street album to me. IWW always sounded like a mainstream, shiny street album to me. People who hate on IWW really don't like the gloss of the beats and samples. That Trackmasters sound.

Life After Death is definitely a sellout album. I don't think the others are, in fact all of them sound grittier than IWW to me production wise. Imagine only fukking with boom bap shyt and then hearing Watch Dem nikkas in 96 lol. Nas went from a somewhat underground steez to having the biggest song on the radio with an r&b hook. Biggie went from Juicy to Mo Money Mo Problems. I'm not knocking it, but that's the perception from those 90s purists.

tbh I've met a few purists who don't even like Ready To Die lol.

Breh, how are songs like "Fast Life," "Ain't No nikka," and "Sugar Hill," gritty though?

Songs like "Shootouts," "Live nikka Rap," "Take It In Blood," and "Silent Murder," are somehow not gritty?

 

[IllmaticDelta]

 

[IllmaticDelta]

 

[Piff Perkins]

Breh, how are songs like "Fast Life," "Ain't No nikka," and "Sugar Hill," gritty though?

Songs like "Shootouts," "Live nikka Rap," "Take It In Blood," and "Silent Murder," are somehow not gritty?

I'm not saying the entire album is glossy. Stretch and Havoc's beats are grimy. But most of the album is the Trackmasters. It has a very mainstream sheen that 456 and Doe Or Die do not have overall. Fast Life is basically the only mainstream sounding track on 456. Most of Doe or Die is straight forward boom bap. Reasonable Doubt has a couple rap n bullshyt singles but that's it.