Nas

Stillmatic

The Name Says It All: The Brotha's "Stillmatic"

Review Score:

(10/10)
When Nas first hit the scene in 1994 with the classic "Illmatic" (that rhymes!), he was considered to many as one the greatest lyricists ever. "It Was Written..." was also just as good, but then he switched his flow for awhile on "I Am...", "Nastradamus", and the QB's Finest album, which had many people doubt his real skills. Jay-Z...tried to sneak attack him with "The Takeover", but Nas came back at him REAL GOOD with "Ether", probably one of the greatest dis records ever. He put Jay in his place on that track...

Anyway, "Stillmatic" proved to the world that Nasty Nas was back and better than ever. The alteregos, Nas Escobar and Nastradamus (as well as those corny pop-rap songs he previously put out, think "Oochie Wally" and "You Owe Me") are gone for good. In its place is the good-ol' hardcore Nas we all know and love. "This is my ending and my new beginning", he proclaimed on the intro of this 14-track album. Nas doesn't wait for Jay-Z very long, "Ether" comes right after the intro. Another dis track, and my personal favorite, "Destroy & Rebuild", goes after Cormega, Nature, and Prodigy of Mobb Deep. With its Slick Rick-style verses, he goes into detail about why they hate him and why he hates them. He also talks about them getting out of Queensbridge to make it better. "Got U'r Self A...", the album's first single, with it's Soparnos-style chorus, is one of the best tracks on this album, as well as "Smokin'", "You're Da Man", & the DJ Premier-produced "2nd Childhood", which is about grown people in the hood still acting like children. The second single, "One Mic", is one of the deepest tracks on this album, as well as one of the deepest songs ever put out by anyone. Who cares about the cars and the jewelry, all our hero needs is one mic to be heard. "Rewind" is a new style for Nas, telling a tale about sex, drugs, and murder backwards. "The Flyest" is yet another classic Nas/AZ collabration. Tight beat and lyrics, and Nas himself produced the track (as well as "One Mic"), so well done. "Rule" is pretty lame if you ask me, but his lyrics still shine as usual. "What Goes Around" is a warning that, well, what else? "What goes around comes around".

All in all, I can't find anything else wrong with this album. White Mike gave the album 5 out of 5 stars. It's not "Illmatic", but it's a pretty solid album. Welcome back, Nas, forget all that lame pop-rap. You are definitely "Stillmatic".

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