Nas

Nastradamus

Nastradamus revisited

Review Score:

(6/10)
Don't get me wrong, I'm not an ultra-conservative underground hip-hop backpacker who has nothing to do but ridicule this album for it's shortcomings like many others have. Further more, I'm not following the popular belief that Nas sold out here. I respect artists that do different things each album they drop (i.e. experimenting with new sounds, lyrics, producers, concepts, etc.) Quite simply, Nas changed for the worse on this album, and I don't particularly enjoy it. Whether Nas made his music more radio-friendly for commercial appeal or sales is debatable, but he sounds uncomfortable with a more simplistic, and materialistic outlook in his lyrics. It doesn't work. Even if I hadn't been introduced to Nas with earlier material, I doubt it would make much of a difference. Nas's flow is confident and compelling as well as powerful, and with lyrics on this album (excluding some of the more adventurous, subject-matter driven tracks and "You Owe Me" where he attempts to sound slick but ultimately fails to make any lasting impression), it sounds out-of-place (think Onyx praising the police and anger management). Understand I have absolutely nothing against what he tried to do on here; it purely has to do with how he executed it. It doesn't upset me that he isn't living up to the street poet reputation he had in earlier days. Basically, he tried to do something he hadn't done before on "Nastradamus" and failed to garner much in the way of success. Artists such as Jay-Z are able to succeed in creating good commercial music because it is a style that appears to fit them best. Nas on the other hand falls flat on his face in attempt to duplicate the success of those who utilize this style of bragging.

However, this really isn't as bad an album as many will tell you. In all honestly, the only tracks I find myself having beef with are "Big Girl", "You Owe Me", "God Love Us", "Family", and "Quiet N***az". A quick rundown:

"Big Girl": By far the worst song he's ever conceived and put on wax, this is Nas at his most ridiculous. Nas tries his luck with Twista's trademark triple-cadence-flowing and while he does decently, it sounds so out-of-place that its unlistenable. I'll refrain from saying anything about the subject-matter and lyrics. All I can say is that this is one of the corniest songs i've heard in my life, and had Nas continued making songs like this, he would have sodilified his space in the Hall Of Fame for Herbs. Skip at all costs

"You Owe Me": While Timbaland's beat evokes a memorable, moderately low-key club atmosphere and Ginuwine's appearance is welcome enough, Nas flows awkwardly and ruins the overall appeal of the song. To top that off, Nas's subject-matter is purely juvenile and forced.

"God Love Us": This reminds me of one of those simplistic prison inmate poets in the movie "Slam". Nas could have presented an interesting, provocative, and controversial topic going from the line that criminals were hung on the cross beside Jesus. But the narrow-minded approach and one-dimensional treatment kills the song.

"Family": The cinematic, intense production and a good performance from Prodigy are overshadowed by Nas's cornball, poorly-conceived lines. It's actually worse than it sounds.

"Quiet N***az": The piano beat is serviceable, but the Braveheart's terrible, ill at ease lyrics don't do the decent track any justice.

These four tracks I'd advise you to avoid, but that's just me. Other flaws are present throughout the album, but don't completely deteriorate the quality of the songs.

Strictly-speaking, the production on "Nastradamus" is good. "Shoot Em Up" has an absolutely sick beat from Havoc that utilizes an interpolation of a Christmas Carol and a syncopated drum-loop. "New World" sports a catchy synth rhythm that sounds like early-1980s-era Rush. "Life We Chose" has some ill horns, creating a relaxed yet strong atmosphere with a sense of melancholy sentiment. The title track has a high-pitched scaling synthesizer that is admittedly enjoyable to listen to, even if you don't like Nas's lyrics. DJ Premier brings his usual goodness on "Come Get Me". There is some bad production, but not excessive in amount by any means. "Project Window" was originally produced by Carlos Broady and his version was quite good. However, the Trackmasters rendition on this album is weak and overblown. "Some Of Us Have Angels" doesn't have enough of a backdrop to have any punch.

"Project Window" stands out as average. The song has Nas's best lyrical performance on the album by far, as he spits street poetry at a high caliber. Unfortunately, Ron Isley's guest appearance is terrible! His crooning is grating and gratuitous, though some may find him to be a refreshing voice to hear occasionally. So, while Nas does a superb job, too many things bring the track down and prevent it from being one of my favorites. A quick run down of my favorites:

"Life We Chose": Nas flows well over the beautiful beat as he speaks on the mentality of criminals and redemption.

"Come Get Me": The beat is very good. Nas comes ok, but if you ignore him, it sounds great.

"New World": A what-if concept track that has Nas laying out what could have happened if Y2K had occurred and what would become of humanity.

"The Genesis" and "The Outcome": Brilliant verses from a female poet.

In conclusion, the execution of the tracks has something to be desired, but you might as well judge for yourself. Nas has seen much better days.

Then again, there was always a much better tomorrow.

Recommended: If you wish.

Overall rating: 3.4 stars

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