Nas

The Lost Tapes

Like finding money in an old pair of Levis

Review Score:

(10/10)
NaS' Illmatic was one of the dopest albums I remember listening to in the early 90's. The formula for his success was simple; a banging beat and his gift for street storytelling. No gimmicks. No singing or guest appearences were involved and he had me hooked. Deservedly so, he was crowned the next "King of New York" before his feud with Jay-Z and unfortunately, failed to live up to expectations with his next 5? albums. I discovered this CD after listening to his recent God's son release and found it to be even better. Although God's son is one of Nas' best lyrical and personal work, I found the it to sound awkward at times. Not that there werent a plenty of great songs on it ("Get Down", "I can", "Last real..")but the mix of R&B and his rappin sounded a bit unfamiliar to the Nas fan who thought Illmatic was his greatest. "Warrior ong" "Dance" and "Heaven" are good examples of that. The Lost Tapes is even more reminiscent of Illmatic than either Stillmatic or God's son. No singing involved anywhere on the album, just rappin. This is "street-hop" to the fullest. Every song on the album is classic material. Standout tracks include "Nothing Last forever", "U gotta love it", "No ideas", and "Purple". Funny how an artists best work can thrown together together and be called B-sides.

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