NAS

Hip hop is really the last true new musical genre that has arisen, or at least the most important, and so it is that it still seems like the sole preserve of the young. It seems like from Oasis onwards any new rock band has had to wear the shackles of their influences, like being chaperoned by their parents at parties. Although the window of innovation is undoubtedly closing up now a lot of debut hip hop albums are refreshing in their youth, vibrancy and refusal to pay their dues to their supposed forefathers. Don't forget, someone as precocious and as influential as Ice Cube was all but a musical has-been by his mid-twenties, hence his change in career direction. Indeed, rap remains a singularly unsentimental genre with legends like Public Enemy unceremoniously ushered through the back door as soon as things went stale, whilst rock lightweights like the Eagles or Cheap Trick continue to enjoy the adulation and money of legions of loyal fans. In 1994 I was listening to Definitely Maybe so I ain't going to pretend I was down with the rap scene when Nas's debut exploded onto it but it is safe to say it was an artistic revelation then and has only grown in critical status since. It came at the end of rap's golden age ('87 to the mid-nineties), in the build up to the East Coast/West Coast murders and therefore just as gangsta rap was turning from visceral artistic expression to a globalised money-maker. Nas is of course a New York boy and a self-proclaimed gangster so it would be wrong of me to suggest he was above the sort of stylising that is equals parts lucrative and ludicrous. He even throws in two references to Scarface within the first three songs with the self-explanatory "The World Is Yours" borrowing its title from the film's famous and none-too-subtle iconicity, although his instant brag on the untouchable "N.Y. State of Mind" that 'I'm like Scarface, sniffing cocaine and holding an M16' is just so ridiculous it becomes almost endearing. Of course, it helps that it comes during the seminal "N.Y. State of Mind", perhaps the finest five minutes in hip hop history. "Life's a Bitch" and "The World Is Yours" are poppier, more mainstream, and the bigger hits for that reason but nothing lives up to the opening force of "N.Y. State of Mind" as Nas takes you on a stroll through his streets; 'laughing at baseheads trying to sell some broken amps', bemoaning the fact 'the game ain't the same with younger niggers pulling the trigger trying to bring fame to their name', drug dealing with 'crackheads who smoke nice rock' and advising you to 'keep your stash until the coke price drops'. The DJing is sparse, minimalist and immaculate, the prowling bass line matching the flow of the lyrics and Nas's simply perfect vocal technique, the whole track does not so much flow as pulsate, and it all kicks off with a wonderfully conceived false start. The lyrics are the perfect encapsulation of gritty realism, capturing the despair in the slums of one of the world's richest cities, ludicrous self-aggrandisement (a litany of guns, drugs, and champagne), and street poetry ('I never sleep 'cause sleep is the cousin of death') that the whimsical New York beat poets of the 50s and 60s couldn't hope to match. It is, simply, everything that makes hip hop great. The rest of the album could not really hope to live up to it - and it doesn't - but it takes a different enough approach that it still adds up to a compelling listen. Supportive of this is the fact that the entire album is just 10 songs long and over in less than 45 minutes - something one is quick to remember when vainly trying to struggle to the end of an otherwise enjoyable Outkast or Kanye West album. As I said, "The World Is Yours" and, particularly, "Life's a Bitch" are the more commercial numbers, although I am still unclear as to whether the message of the latter ('life's a bitch and then you die/that's why we get high/because you never know when you're gonna go') is pro- or anti-drugs. After the 'pop' songs, though, Nas calls a time out with "Halftime", another sparse prowler enhanced by his amazingly effortless word play and dry delivery. The second half is perhaps a little less gripping, a touch turgid at times, but it is still obviously a cut above not just hip hop now but rap music at the time, and it ends strongly with the biting "It Ain't Hard to Tell" (although look out for the superior mix on the 10th Anniversary Bonus Disc). Although a legend now Nas never repeated the success of Illmatic and it is not hard to see why. His talent may never have deserted him but never again was he able to offer such a fresh, invigorating, and dynamic exploration of his home town, his life style, and hip hop itself.

Ironically, very little has actually been written about Nas's sophomore album, released two years after Illmatic hit the streets and rewrote the rule book. Illmatic towers over the rest of his work to such an extent that the perceived wisdom is that not much is worth bothering with beyond his pioneering debut. (Indeed, the first time I heard his 2006 comeback single "Hip Hop Is Dead" on the radio the DJ actually suffixed the track by saying 'if you like that just get Illmatic instead'.) Now, I've not got into many of Nas's other albums (ironically up until he released the aforementioned Hip Hop Is Dead, the much-vaunted 'return to form') but I can confidently assert that it is a crime to place It Was Written in the same lower tier of most of his other albums-that-aren't-Illmatic. Sure, it stands in the shadow of his debut but it is still a superior rap album to the majority of efforts released by anyone since Illmatic. The DJing and production is not as stark, distinctive and, indeed, as impressive as Illmatic but then I guess that was to be expected. Like so many follow-ups to era-defining debuts it is forced to mostly stick to the same template with inevitably less striking results. The sound is at times more commercialised than Illmatic and although it gave him some big singles it is hard to really see it as an improvement. "If I Ruled the World" was obviously written/produced with an eye on the charts but, like "Life's a Bitch", the quality of the song makes up for it, even it compares unfavourably to, say, the underground menace and nascent genius of "Halftime". By contrast, "Street Dreams" is a disappointment. It over-relies on ripping the hook from Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams" and unnecessarily drags out a rather lazy idea for far too long. The brutal breakbeats of "Watch Dem Niggers", "Take it in Blood" and "Affirmative Action" are far more successful and impressive. Of course the only thing that remains steady over his entire catalogue is the fact that Nas is a great MC (probably the greatest ever) and an interesting and talented lyricist. Although most of his songs are based around the typical 'nuthin but a G thing' bullshit his wordplay is so dazzling that the poetry ends up transcending the subject matter. In any event, although Nas is ostensensibly a gangsta rapper it is often said that he is far more intelligent than most of his peers and therefore his vignettes of ghetto life capture both the macho glory and self-deluding tragedy of living in such a way. The most infamous example of this, of course, is the memorable "I Gave You Power" in which he literally narrates a tale from the point of a view of a gun, being passed around as each young owner meets their maker. It is of course an interesting idea - and a great song - but I have to say his 'oh shit, I'm a... gun' intro is rather duff. As I said, the sampling is a little more obvious second time around and after an introductory opening track (why not just launch straight into a normal song?) we're greeted with a burst of adult contemporary as Nas bases "The Message" around the guitar track from Sting's "Shape of Your Heart". Although the overall quality is not quite so high, like Illmatic this is a very consistent album and only really needs a couple of tracks cut towards the end to be a completely solid set. As it is, I'd still feel confident recommending this to anyone who liked Illmatic (which, let's face it, should be even the most casual fan of hip hop). Don't let anyone tell you (Jay-Z included) that Nas's genius began and ended with his debut.

Due to the joy of Bittorrent I've been able to make my way through Nas's entire catalogue for the mere fee of a few extra rungs on the electric meter. Sadly, it seems the rumours were true. None of his other albums, after the underrated It Was Written, rise above the mediocre and if it were not for the street-wise funk brilliance of "Get Down" (the opening to 2002's God's Son) I would be hard pushed to recommend anything he had done since. As it is, I can advise anyone to at least download "Get Down", along with "N.Y. State of Mind" and "Halftime", one of hip hop's truly great tracks. On a whole, though, it seems that the incandescent, nascent genius behind hip hop's most promising debut burnt out before he had even hit 25. No matter how galling it was to be called up on this by a performer as limited and as overrated as Jay-Z Nas did not appear to have any real comeback. Until now. Frankly, releasing this album took balls. Not since Jose Mourinho announced himself as the 'special one' to the British press did a statement seem so likely to blow up in the maker's face. And, to be honest, if this album had been near the quality of his previous ones it no doubt would have done. If this album had been panned and flopped, there would be no coming back. Thankfully, this is the strongest album Nas has put out for a decade. And it is the content and theme of hip hop being dead that makes it so. This is an album stemming not from a hatred of hip hop, but from a love of it. From a love of the artistry in its purest sense, back to two turntables, block parties, swapping obscure records, and saluting the latest MCs. This album is the sound of Nas maturing, coming over almost paternal, decrying the current state of hip hop ('everything's the same/they've commercialised the game/remember when it wasn't all business?') with thinly veiled barbs against the new generation of corporate whores, with a reference to 'get rich or die tryin' quickly appearing. The bottom line is this is an album by hip hop's greatest artisan reminding everyone what made the genre great. Obviously, the production is quite retro but, in a strange way, this actually dates the album less than other contemporary releases. Indeed, the theme of the album obviously encouraged a back to basics approach and one of the best tracks, "Where Are They Now?", is a throwback to the sparseness of the eighties, with just the slimmest of funk breakbeats for company. That track comes in the middle of a conceptual 'suite', beginning with the biting, impassioned "Carry On Tradition" and peaking with the high tempo, unrelenting title track, relying rather incongruously on the riff from "In a Gadda Da Vida". The 'hip hop' suite comes on after the first two tracks, "Money Over Bullshit" and "You Can't Kill Me", the former seeing Nas rip his money-obsessed inferiors and the latter a typically evocative account of gangland New York, both instantly heralding a return to action and a return to form. The album is obviously front-loaded and "Who Killed It?", the coda to "Hip Hop Is Dead" is, regrettably, perhaps the single most stupid idea Nas ever committed to tape - a Godawful punning monologue of hip hop references narrated by a film noir detective. It is hard to decide whether it sounds worse in print or, unfortunately, on the stereo. Anyhow, skip past that and you're back in vintage Nas territory, with the ten plus tracks (the album being a shade too long) concentrating mostly on puffed-up bragging and gangsta bravado. It has just one highlight, a crushing, quasi-religious declaration of his brilliance with a gospel backing track ("Let There Be Light"), but the consistency is unmatched since It Was Written as almost every song has something to recommend it. He also, perhaps predictably, uses it as a chance to sell his record through a series of cameos by hip hop's contemporary stars. "Black Republican" is almost an independent effort by Jay Z (with Nas contributing just one verse) and it is the match for anything on the Black Album (Jay Z's only half-decent LP). The ol' ball and chain (Kelis) does the Linda Thompson trick on "Not Going Back" and Kanye West makes his obligatory appearance on "Still Dreaming". Generally, there is no cause for complaint, apart from a phoned-in contribution from Snoop Dogg on the instantly forgettable "Play on Playa". It seems unfair, really, that these contributors should be considered bigger draws than Nas as, Snoop apart, all of them owe most of their career to him. On the other hand, it is just a relief to see such a genuine talent showing the upstarts what the game is all about. It might have taken a little longer than we would have liked but, as an artistic force, Nas is back. Form is temporary, class is permanent.

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Email me at: jackfeeny@yahoo.co.uk