For Myself & Others: Nas’ Latest Is Not His Greatest, But It Is Good
By Bomani Jones, Special to AOL BlackVoices
For months, the buzz behind Nas’ ‘Street’s Disciple’ has been deafening. Some early reviews put the double album on par with his incredible 1994 debut, ‘Illmatic.’ ‘Street’s Disciple’ isn’t as good as that, but it is a great record. In regards to subject matter, it’s all over the place, as can only be expected when an artist with his lofty ambitions attempts to fill two discs. But when it comes to quality, the album is definitely hot enough to legitimize all conversations about where Nas fits in the pantheon of all-time great rappers. But were it not for one fateful error in decision by him and his record executives, this question would have been answered five years ago.
After ‘Illmatic,’ it seemed only a matter of time before Nas would be on top of the game. Then came ’96’s ‘It Was Written’ -- a good album, but not half as influential as ‘Illmatic.’ Nas had escaped the sophomore jinx, but barely. Tracks like ‘The Message’ were as strong as anything on ‘Illmatic,’ but ‘If I Ruled the World’ and ‘Black Girl Lost’ may have made better fodder for soundtracks. His third album, 1999’s ‘I Am,’ was going to be the one to determine whether his debut or its follow-up was the rule or the aberration.
‘The Source’ magazine gave ‘I Am’ four and a half mics, and the record they reviewed earned those props and then some. The album was visionary, a collection of fascinating stories that proved that Nas was a talent nonpareil. Unfortunately, ‘I Am’ was ravaged by bootleggers before its release, causing about half of the original tracklisting to be substituted or re-recorded. The resulting disc was lesser than, and led to the masses getting a product that was only a fraction of what Nas intended for them.
In order to recoup any lost sales Nas released ‘Nastradamus’ later that year. And while he’s quick to note that ‘Nastradamus’ went platinum, I doubt anyone will blow the dust off the record anytime soon. While it did include some of the original ‘I Am’ tracks that were lost to the bootleggers, it also had pop songs like the Ginuwine-powered ‘You Owe Me’ -- the track most often cited as proof of Nas’ alleged contradictoriness.
While I recognize that Nas has better things to worry about than how a columnist like me perceives his legacy, it’s hard not to wonder how releasing the original ‘I Am’ would have changed things. Half of Jay-Z’s scorching diss on ‘Takeover’ would have been irrelevant. We would not have suffered through ‘Nastradamus.’ At that very moment, he would have been considered an all-timer.
But has Nas used those same issues to reignite the creative fire he’s used to scorch the industry with his last three albums? On 2001’s ‘Stillmatic,’ he sounded like a man with something to prove, particularly that Jigga could not end his career in one verse. And on ‘God’s Son’ the mission must’ve been to prove that although he’s a proven battle rapper, his rap skills are myriad. ‘Street’s Disciple’ has that same vibe. Now, Nas seems intent on proving that he can deliver a “message” as well as anyone. He’s decided that it’s his job to take hip-hop back to its roots, a point illustrated by ‘U.B.R.,’ a conceptually dope but averagely executed history lesson on Rakim.
Is Nas among the top-five rappers of all time? That would be a tough sell (this writer’s list has KRS-ONE, Rakim, Chuck D, Jay-Z and Scarface at the top), but no one will deny Nas’ talent with a pen. He’s got the rare gift of telling a complex story in 16 bars and can deliver all the minute details without missing anything important; only Slick Rick and B.I.G. could compare. But his missteps have been hard to watch, and lend credence to arguments that he’s contradictory. It’s unlikely Nas will ever live down some of the choice lines of ‘You Owe Me,’ like “Owe me back like 40 acres to blacks.”
From ’99 to ’01, Nas seemed as lost as the black girl he rapped about on ‘It Was Written.’ ‘Street’s Disciple’ is the album that will convince people that he’s found himself, as well as earned his place in the pantheon of hip-hop greats.
Dec. 3, 2004