NAS, "Queens Get The Money"

Nas is back with a new album, after the release of his 2006 release, Hip Hop is Dead.

Unless you have been hiding somewhere, you probably heard the original title for this album, but due to heavy pressure from corporate and public figures, Nas opted for simply, NAS.

On this track, reppin N'orleans, Jay Electronica produces a simple loop driven solely by piano and Nas' lyrics. ‘Queens Get The Money.’

On other tracks, Nas raises the racial tension. On ‘You Can’t Stop Us Now’ (feat. Eban Brown of The Stylistics & The Last Poets). Highlights for me include the line “Betsy Ross sold her first American Flag/bet she had a n**** with her to help her old ass.”
'Sly Fox,’ takes aim at the Fox Television Network long with other media giants. “I watch CBS, and I see BS/tryin’ to track us down with GPS/make a n*gga wanna invest in PBS.” WORD TO THAT.

Seriously.

IN SHORT:

Although I was not blown away by this album, politically OR musically by any means, I have to give credit to a hip hop artist attempting to use his anger and frustration in a somewhat intelligent manner. The problem is, when people tell you that you are a genius, you start to believe it. And Nas' ego seems to be leaving something lacking, like he doesn't feel the need to finish what he started. As Tal Rosenberg of the LA Times states in his review, “ Nas is about observation, not contemplation. The latter breeds the former instead of the other way around.”

I understand what he is trying to get at, and although his political arguments are not always backed up, and songs seem to fall flat, I commend him for breaking through in a world where songs about Apple Bottom Jeans and cocksucking rule the airwaves.

AND aside from "Fried Chicken" and "Queens Get The Money," the beats are weak and his arguments seem, well, half-assed.

THOUGHTS? ARGUMENTS?

Nas, "NAS"

GRADE: TWO and a QUARTER OUT OF FIVE TACOS.

Listen for yourself:

Nas, "Queens Get The Money"

"Fried Chicken"