Nas

Stillmatic

The official return of Nas...

Review Score:

(10/10)
First off, this album is incredible. I have been a fan of Nas since his 1991 debut "Illmatic" (which is one of the most classic rap albums to date). I lost track of Nas after his two 1999 efforts "I Am..." and "Nastradmamous", the first of which i loved, but the latter of the two being the worst album i've ever heard from Nas. When "Stillmatic" first appeared with the lead single "Got Ur Self A...", I liked it, but i was very doubtful that "Still" would match "Ill"'s incredible sounds. I picked up "Stillmatic" and i was blown away by Nas spitting such real lyrics. Just so you know how much i liked every song, here's a track-by-track review of "Stillmatic":

1. Stillmatic (The Intro) - I'm not doing the star ratings cause every song deserves 5 stars. This is such an excellent intro, Nas paints a visual picture of the beginning to "Stillmatic", incredible.

2. Ether - This is the song everyone's heard, where Nas rips Jay-Z apart. I'm not that big of a fan of Jay-Z, anyway. This song is so harsh if i were Jay Z i would back down right now.

3. Got Ur Self A... - The previously mentioned first single, good lyrics, good beat, nice sample of the Saprano's thing. It's also supposed to be a tribute to 2Pac & Biggie, cool song.

4. Smokin' - This song is awesome. The beat is great, Nas spits really tight lyrics, and its just the right thing to fit on this album.

5. You're Da Man - At first i didn't listen to this one that much, but now i like it OK. It's short, too, so it's not that annoying, good beat, good rhymes.

6. Rewind - This is one of the shining moments on the album. Nas sets up an incredible story while rapping it backwards! Something i have never heard done before by any other rapper, incredible. Should've been longer, but it's great anyway.

7. One Mic - Another shining moment. This song has so much power its unbelievable. The video is very influential, and the song is just amazing.

8. 2nd Childhood - A kind of old-school beat, but some incredible lyrics from Nas.

9. Destroy & Rebuild - This is another diss track, where Nas disses a handful of rappers including Prodigy of Mobb Deep. Nas is really good at these disses, but the Jay Z diss was WAY harder.

10. The Flyest - Not my favorite on the album, but a really good rap from Nas, i like that verse about Ma$e, Nas says "i'm proud of Ma$e for giving himself to the lord/so he wouldn't have to think about BIG anymore..."

11. Rule - A very positive song about not going to war but trying to make peace with the world. This was the last thing i thought i'd hear on a Nas album, a very good song.

12. My Country - Another song about America, only this one's about Nas disliking the government, good song.

13. What Goes Around - This is yet another very powerful song about all the 'poison' in the world. Drugs, surgeries, and many more strong subjects are delt with here. Excellent song.

14. Every Ghetto - A powerful song to end a powerful album. Nas rapping about the hard times on the street, very good raps, very good beat.

That's all i have to say about Nas' "Stillmatic", it's definitely worth picking up. Here's a list of all the Nas albums in my order of favorite to least favorite:

1. "Illmatic"
2. "Stillmatic"
3. "Lost Tapes"
4. "I Am..."
5. "It Was Written"
6. "God's Son"
7. "From Illmatic To Stillmatic: This Is The Remix"
8. "Nastradamous"

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