The problem with BP2 wasn't the beats though - that's an all star cast of producers and is full of dope beats (Heavy D, Just Blaze, Kanye, Timbo, Neptunes, Dre etc). It's like a summer blockbuster movie that costs a lot of money and isn't good. Looks expensive, sounds expensive, has some good moments but doesn't work as a cohesive body of work (and isn't good). Jay was way off sonically on that album, not balancing the street/rap shyt with the pop shyt.
I compare SD and Black Album because one came out in November and the other came out the following November. And I disagree about the anti-industry argument for SD because anti-industry doesn't mean bad or forgettable beats. Him and Salaam took Thief's Theme to radio...that's anti-industry and dope. There are multiple dope beats on that album with similar vibes. The problem is it's basically two album ideas mixed together: the street shyt and the married life stuff. So ironically like BP2, Nas veers off sonically due to the conflict and the balance hurts the album.