Official Nas Thread
- Thread starter Ronald
- Start date
InstantKlassik
...
KEEP THIS shyt STICKIED 
Man, i cannot stop listening to this album, this shyt is amazing brehs
it gets better with EVERY listen, and after every listen i pick up something new that makes me go
To me this is a flawless album from top to bottom. It's like a mature version of Illmatic with an updated subject matter, Nas flow is still as good as it was back then. Album is a classic.
Honestly, when was the last time an album had this many quality tracks?
It's like every verse makes you go You can blindly pick any song off the album to listen to, and whatever song you pick has a verse of the year candidate on it.
I've been trying to listen to other albums over the last couple days, but after a few minutes i'm like "This shyt ain't Nas
" and i immediately go back to Life Is Good
Oh yea, and "Stay" is indescribable, you can put this song right up there with all the best Nas songs that's he's ever recorded, the whole vibe of that song is next level, and that second verse really hits home for me, Classic shyt
I know i sound like a crazy ass stan, but that's how i really feel so fukk it
Man, i cannot stop listening to this album, this shyt is amazing brehs
it gets better with EVERY listen, and after every listen i pick up something new that makes me go
To me this is a flawless album from top to bottom. It's like a mature version of Illmatic with an updated subject matter, Nas flow is still as good as it was back then. Album is a classic.Honestly, when was the last time an album had this many quality tracks?
It's like every verse makes you go You can blindly pick any song off the album to listen to, and whatever song you pick has a verse of the year candidate on it.I've been trying to listen to other albums over the last couple days, but after a few minutes i'm like "This shyt ain't Nas
" and i immediately go back to Life Is GoodOh yea, and "Stay" is indescribable, you can put this song right up there with all the best Nas songs that's he's ever recorded, the whole vibe of that song is next level, and that second verse really hits home for me, Classic shyt
I know i sound like a crazy ass stan, but that's how i really feel so fukk it
InstantKlassik
...
How many times are people gonna ask about the wedding dress on the cover of the album? 
he has to be tired of answering that same damn question
he has to be tired of answering that same damn question
Last edited by a moderator:
prophecypro
Hollywood North
Great write up on the new album and Nas right now
With Life Is Good, Nas Is Great Again
With ‘Life Is Good,’ Nas Is Great Again | MTV Hive
Nas lost.
That was the refrain rumbling throughout the rap Internet for much of the last decade. It was a reference to the after-effects of the Summer Slam at Summer Jam, when Jay-Z and Nas war went public. Jay-Z did you-know-what with you-know-who. Nas made ether the best blog-popularized verb until Fanute. And hundreds of thousands of otherwise sane men and woman argued about whether one needed a mustache to be properly suave. Their findings were largely inconclusive.
When large groups of people bicker over the respective merits of two unquestionably great talents, theyre really arguing about archetypes. On paper, Nas and Jay-Z seemed identical: Two New York rappers with famous R&B singer wives, Horatio Alger narratives and close ties to the Notorious B.I.G, the dead king.
Jay-Z is fun. Jay-Z goes to yacht parties. Nas is invited, but he spends the party wondering how much the champagne cost and the level of corruption that afforded everyone the opportunity to enjoy such luxuries.
But behind the aviator lenses, they couldnt have been any more different. Nas was Gods son, the child prodigy blessed by Rakim and told to protect the temple armed with only a pen, a pad, and a 40. His debut dynamited the East Coast then amidst a cyclical search for a savior. The Source gave it 5 Mics; its widely called the best rap album ever and every one of his albums since has had to unfairly grapple with post-Illmatic stress syndrome. Nas is aloof, cerebral, opinionated, and hes never been comfortable with fame, money, or catering to radio programmers. He was too good, too soon, to ever truly give a fukk.
Jay-Z once wrote a song called You Must Love Me. Until he landed a fluke hit with Foxy Brown, he was already halfway to obscurity. Then he sampled Annie and well, youve heard the rest. The guy owns the Nets, gets called the Black Frank Sinatra with a straight face, and goes to Grizzly Bear concerts. Hes a cool guy and even if you dont like his new necktie, dont worry, hell be onto the next one soon.
The pair embody classic conflicts of art vs. commerce, underground vs. mainstream, adapting to the whims of popular fortune vs. braying that hip hop is dead. Even their spouses couldnt have been more diametrically opposed. One of them is the All-American Golden Girl who gave single ladies marital advice that sounded like it was scripted by DeBeers. Meanwhile, Kelis introduction to the world was a song that screamed, I hate you so much right now!
But Nas lost. Im not talking about who won the battle between him and Jay-Z. That doesnt matter any more if it ever did. If both arent in your all-time Top 10 then youre doing it wrong. No, Nas lost the way that normal people lose at life. He had money stolen through careless business deals. He owed money to the IRS. He got divorced. He dealt with the temporary insanity of a teenaged daughter. His mother passed. He made some mediocre albums. But he survived. More importantly, the carnage allowed him to reclaim his soul.
Soul is a four-letter word for good reason. Its invocation inevitably conjures images of angels, dull liturgy, and Cee-Lo at his winged worst. Musicians might not need it to be great, but artists do. The most superficial comparisons for Life is Good come from rock and R&B, genres with a more sizable chunk of divorce opuses. You could compare it to Fleetwood Macs Rumours or Marvin Gayes Here, My Dear. But those seething antecedents are far different from Nas tenth solo album. Bye Baby is the only song explicitly written about his marriage. While No Introduction, offers outright love to his ex-wife.
If anything, Nas renaissance reminds me most of Neil Young in the late 80s and early 90s the Harvest Moon era that unleashed his third wave of artistic vitality. It followed a period that Young described as having My soul completely encased. I didnt even consider that I would need a soul to play my music. Thats when I shut the door on pain, I shut the door on my music. Thats what I did. And thats how people get old.
If you listened to Nas cranky last two albums Hip Hop is Dead and Untitled, the Queensbridge native seemed prematurely ancient and embittered. The role call of semi-retired 90s rappers that was Where Are They Know, may be the closest rap ever gets to Abe Simpson screaming We Want Matlock. (RIP Andy G).
But where he was once enraged, Nas now feels empathy. Daughters grapples with the lack of discipline that often accompanies being a cool parent. He sagely considers the paradox of players bearing daughters and hypocritically lying in wait with a shotgun for younger players trying to scheme on said teenage daughters. No Introduction finds him naked with a 21-year old Brazilian girl. Rather than glorify it (as hes often done in the past), he retreats and tells the listener not to applaud. Hes pushing 40 and shes only four years older than his daughter. Hes exhausted but struggling with temptation, doomed to repeat the sins of his father. Rarely has he felt realer.
Jay-Zs ferocious Takeover landed one particularly lacerating wound on Nas: You are not deep. This tendency to drop knowledge has led to some of Nas most pedantic moments. At its worst, he can feel like hes rapping an 8th grade history textbook. Paradoxically, when hes not trying too hard to be deep, Nas can achieve poignancy equal to anyone who ever picked up a mic. And Cherry Wine, his collaboration with Amy Winehouse finds Nas striking the rare balance of commercial sensibilities and artistic honesty thats often eluded him. As the late singer scats on the sax-elevated outro, Nas refrain fades out: life is good no matter what. We understand why its good without the need for explanation. This is victory as survival. He is breathing, he can afford New York City rent, he still has a recording contract and the freedom to create. Hes a legacy artist in an industry that no longer mints them. How else to explain that Summer on Smash is the only ill-fitting radio grab on a Def Jam-released record?
Life is Good is a Nas album, in the classic definition. Subway cars clatter, he speaks with criminal slang, rappers are monkey flipped. It was no accident that Nasty was the leaked street single. The heads have been waiting for Nas to reclaim that nastiness since he dropped it in favor of Esco. And Life is Good finds his tek-in-the-dresser poetics the most rejuvenated theyve been since Stillmatic.
Throughout his career, Nas has often valued easy-bake ideas over concrete images. But on Life is Good, he lets the symbols and spray paint speak for him. It plays almost like a memoir of New York City from 1975-2000. Dead friends float around him. Everyone from Stretch from the Live Squad and 2Pac to anonymous Queens hustlers flash the steel for a second. There are memories of getting a gun at 15 and robbing trains the next year. Listening to Slick Rick, copping the Kareems before there were Air Jordans, burning his mouth on a slice of pizza. He threads the narrative through his contemporary alienation: Moroccan apartments and empty sexual encounters. Hes too hood to hang with the rich and too rich to hang in the hood.
If that doesnt sound like fun, its because it probably isnt. Whenever Nas tries to sound like hes having fun, well, see Braveheart Party. Hes much better as a seeker, striving for contentment and serenity, observing his surroundings with a skeptical eye. Jay-Z is fun. Jay-Z goes to yacht parties. Nas is invited, but he spends the party wondering how much the champagne cost and the level of corruption that afforded everyone the opportunity to enjoy such luxuries. On Life is Good, hes finally come to terms with the fact that hed rather be the guy bringing a biography on Stalin to the beach. Thats cool too.
That's my MC....
With Life Is Good, Nas Is Great Again
With ‘Life Is Good,’ Nas Is Great Again | MTV Hive
Nas lost.
That was the refrain rumbling throughout the rap Internet for much of the last decade. It was a reference to the after-effects of the Summer Slam at Summer Jam, when Jay-Z and Nas war went public. Jay-Z did you-know-what with you-know-who. Nas made ether the best blog-popularized verb until Fanute. And hundreds of thousands of otherwise sane men and woman argued about whether one needed a mustache to be properly suave. Their findings were largely inconclusive.
When large groups of people bicker over the respective merits of two unquestionably great talents, theyre really arguing about archetypes. On paper, Nas and Jay-Z seemed identical: Two New York rappers with famous R&B singer wives, Horatio Alger narratives and close ties to the Notorious B.I.G, the dead king.
Jay-Z is fun. Jay-Z goes to yacht parties. Nas is invited, but he spends the party wondering how much the champagne cost and the level of corruption that afforded everyone the opportunity to enjoy such luxuries.
But behind the aviator lenses, they couldnt have been any more different. Nas was Gods son, the child prodigy blessed by Rakim and told to protect the temple armed with only a pen, a pad, and a 40. His debut dynamited the East Coast then amidst a cyclical search for a savior. The Source gave it 5 Mics; its widely called the best rap album ever and every one of his albums since has had to unfairly grapple with post-Illmatic stress syndrome. Nas is aloof, cerebral, opinionated, and hes never been comfortable with fame, money, or catering to radio programmers. He was too good, too soon, to ever truly give a fukk.
Jay-Z once wrote a song called You Must Love Me. Until he landed a fluke hit with Foxy Brown, he was already halfway to obscurity. Then he sampled Annie and well, youve heard the rest. The guy owns the Nets, gets called the Black Frank Sinatra with a straight face, and goes to Grizzly Bear concerts. Hes a cool guy and even if you dont like his new necktie, dont worry, hell be onto the next one soon.
The pair embody classic conflicts of art vs. commerce, underground vs. mainstream, adapting to the whims of popular fortune vs. braying that hip hop is dead. Even their spouses couldnt have been more diametrically opposed. One of them is the All-American Golden Girl who gave single ladies marital advice that sounded like it was scripted by DeBeers. Meanwhile, Kelis introduction to the world was a song that screamed, I hate you so much right now!
But Nas lost. Im not talking about who won the battle between him and Jay-Z. That doesnt matter any more if it ever did. If both arent in your all-time Top 10 then youre doing it wrong. No, Nas lost the way that normal people lose at life. He had money stolen through careless business deals. He owed money to the IRS. He got divorced. He dealt with the temporary insanity of a teenaged daughter. His mother passed. He made some mediocre albums. But he survived. More importantly, the carnage allowed him to reclaim his soul.
Soul is a four-letter word for good reason. Its invocation inevitably conjures images of angels, dull liturgy, and Cee-Lo at his winged worst. Musicians might not need it to be great, but artists do. The most superficial comparisons for Life is Good come from rock and R&B, genres with a more sizable chunk of divorce opuses. You could compare it to Fleetwood Macs Rumours or Marvin Gayes Here, My Dear. But those seething antecedents are far different from Nas tenth solo album. Bye Baby is the only song explicitly written about his marriage. While No Introduction, offers outright love to his ex-wife.
If anything, Nas renaissance reminds me most of Neil Young in the late 80s and early 90s the Harvest Moon era that unleashed his third wave of artistic vitality. It followed a period that Young described as having My soul completely encased. I didnt even consider that I would need a soul to play my music. Thats when I shut the door on pain, I shut the door on my music. Thats what I did. And thats how people get old.
If you listened to Nas cranky last two albums Hip Hop is Dead and Untitled, the Queensbridge native seemed prematurely ancient and embittered. The role call of semi-retired 90s rappers that was Where Are They Know, may be the closest rap ever gets to Abe Simpson screaming We Want Matlock. (RIP Andy G).
But where he was once enraged, Nas now feels empathy. Daughters grapples with the lack of discipline that often accompanies being a cool parent. He sagely considers the paradox of players bearing daughters and hypocritically lying in wait with a shotgun for younger players trying to scheme on said teenage daughters. No Introduction finds him naked with a 21-year old Brazilian girl. Rather than glorify it (as hes often done in the past), he retreats and tells the listener not to applaud. Hes pushing 40 and shes only four years older than his daughter. Hes exhausted but struggling with temptation, doomed to repeat the sins of his father. Rarely has he felt realer.
Jay-Zs ferocious Takeover landed one particularly lacerating wound on Nas: You are not deep. This tendency to drop knowledge has led to some of Nas most pedantic moments. At its worst, he can feel like hes rapping an 8th grade history textbook. Paradoxically, when hes not trying too hard to be deep, Nas can achieve poignancy equal to anyone who ever picked up a mic. And Cherry Wine, his collaboration with Amy Winehouse finds Nas striking the rare balance of commercial sensibilities and artistic honesty thats often eluded him. As the late singer scats on the sax-elevated outro, Nas refrain fades out: life is good no matter what. We understand why its good without the need for explanation. This is victory as survival. He is breathing, he can afford New York City rent, he still has a recording contract and the freedom to create. Hes a legacy artist in an industry that no longer mints them. How else to explain that Summer on Smash is the only ill-fitting radio grab on a Def Jam-released record?
Life is Good is a Nas album, in the classic definition. Subway cars clatter, he speaks with criminal slang, rappers are monkey flipped. It was no accident that Nasty was the leaked street single. The heads have been waiting for Nas to reclaim that nastiness since he dropped it in favor of Esco. And Life is Good finds his tek-in-the-dresser poetics the most rejuvenated theyve been since Stillmatic.
Throughout his career, Nas has often valued easy-bake ideas over concrete images. But on Life is Good, he lets the symbols and spray paint speak for him. It plays almost like a memoir of New York City from 1975-2000. Dead friends float around him. Everyone from Stretch from the Live Squad and 2Pac to anonymous Queens hustlers flash the steel for a second. There are memories of getting a gun at 15 and robbing trains the next year. Listening to Slick Rick, copping the Kareems before there were Air Jordans, burning his mouth on a slice of pizza. He threads the narrative through his contemporary alienation: Moroccan apartments and empty sexual encounters. Hes too hood to hang with the rich and too rich to hang in the hood.
If that doesnt sound like fun, its because it probably isnt. Whenever Nas tries to sound like hes having fun, well, see Braveheart Party. Hes much better as a seeker, striving for contentment and serenity, observing his surroundings with a skeptical eye. Jay-Z is fun. Jay-Z goes to yacht parties. Nas is invited, but he spends the party wondering how much the champagne cost and the level of corruption that afforded everyone the opportunity to enjoy such luxuries. On Life is Good, hes finally come to terms with the fact that hed rather be the guy bringing a biography on Stalin to the beach. Thats cool too.
That's my MC....
NV-ME
Make It Hot-ta
^^^backhanded article. must be a jay stan. all types of dumb shyt starting with "fanute" upending "ether" and then the whole him "winning the battle doesnt matter if it ever did" shyt.
get this muhfukkkka all the way outta here.
get this muhfukkkka all the way outta here.
Khalil's_Black_Excellence
The King of Fighters
KEEP THIS shyt STICKIED
Man, i cannot stop listening to this album, this shyt is amazing brehs
it gets better with EVERY listen, and after every listen i pick up something new that makes me go
Honestly, when was the last time an album had this many quality tracks?
I've been trying to listen to other albums over the last couple days, but after a few minutes i'm like "This shyt ain't Nas
Oh yea, and "Stay" is indescribable, you can put this song right up there with all the best Nas songs that's he's ever recorded, the whole vibe of that song is next level, and that second verse really hits home for me, Classic shyt
I know i sound like a crazy ass stan, but that's how i really feel so fukk it
I whole-heartedly agree with this post. I've listened to the album at least 10 times front to back now and some songs like Stay & Queen's Story over 50 times by themselves. Only thing else I've been able to listen to outside of this album is classical music.
Shammago
By Any Means
I totally forgot Nas used to say "Life's a Bytch" and now its "Life is Good". 
Jone2three45
Supporter
Nas I know you are reading these forums, you better say a smooth slick line how you the Cosby in the game on a remix or next album 
show these rappers and the world you can age in style in slik socks and sweaters bumping Sade while still spiting pottery in the game how the king is back.
show these rappers and the world you can age in style in slik socks and sweaters bumping Sade while still spiting pottery in the game how the king is back.Asdfhhklpiyrewss
All Star
Nas expected to draw 25,000+ to tonight's Twilight concert
Nas expected to draw 25,000+ to tonight's Twilight concert | The Salt Lake Tribune
Nas expected to draw 25,000+ to tonight's Twilight concert | The Salt Lake Tribune
that wack ass article dissed "Untitled" on the lowgtfoh
Khalil's_Black_Excellence
The King of Fighters
Nas I know you are reading these forums, you better say a smooth slick line how you the Cosby in the game on a remix or next album
Yeah Nas. Spit that Pottery.
"YOU fukkING GO BOOOOOYY!!!"
SquirtleSwag
Rookie
I refuse to believe Nas with a live band is wack.
I saw Talib Kweli perform gutter rainbows with a drummer, keyboardist and something else random like a saxaphonist or something and it was one of the sickest concerts I've ever been to. The asian keyboardist was off the fukking chain.
Nas Looks Back at "Illmatic" - YouTube
Esco said he could have made Life Is Good better and that he's in the zone.
He's gonna give us another classic
even better