Nas – Hip Hop Is Dead
Def Jam (release date: 12/19/2006)
Rap
When I first heard about the latest release from Nasir (Nas) Jones, I figured Hip Hop Is Dead would follow the pretentiously dull preaching that overwhelmed his bloated ’04 album, Street’s Disciple.
Make no mistake: Disciple was a disaster and unequivocally answered the question of whether or not we’d ever hear the 1994 Nas again.
But, just two years later, there was reason for optimism. Nas and his bitter rival Jay-Z had not only patched up their differences, but they were now working together to oversee the release of this latest Nas LP. And, as longtime rap fans have slowly asphyxiated on the sonic vomit from the South, the notion that hip hop just might be on its deathbed isn’t so far-fetched.
The title track features Will.i.am, who generally annoys me, but he’s pretty harmless here on both the vocals and guitar-heavy production. Nas goes back to the “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” sample, but doesn’t seem able to get this one out of second gear. His flow is nice, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that Nas has said all this before and said it better, elsewhere.
That can especially be said about “Who Killed It”. Nas sets out to solve the mystery of just who killed hip hop, but uses an almost unlistenable imitation of Edward G. Robinson’s voice. Think “Chief Wiggum” from The Simpsons. Yep, it’s that bad. The lyrics are actually very strong, which make this, uh, “creative decision” all the more nonsensical.
Nas tried something similar on Street’s Disciple to similarly cataclysmic results. And, speaking of which, he goes for the cheap pop again here with “Where Are They Now?” On his last album, Nas dropped an ass-kissing ode to Rakim and this time he just name-drops a few dozen long-forgotten rappers for about three minutes.
OK, now that we’ve got the negative out of the way”¦
“Black Republican” features Jay-Z and a phenomenal sample from the score of The Godfather, Part II. For everyone wondering if Jigga would sabotage the release of his one-time foe and current subordinate, this one is easily better than anything from Jay-Z’s Kingdom Come album.
A pair of West Coast kings lift the already exceptional tracks, “Play on Playa” and “Hustlers”. Snoop Dogg continues his lyrical renaissance on the former over a smoothed-out Scott Storch beat, while The Game gets a majestically funky Dr. Dre beat to carry the latter.
“Not Going Back” is more of that Nas and Kelis thang, but the message come through in spite of the marital mess that these two usually bring to the mic. It’s one of the more honest anthems you’ll hear from hip hop and doesn’t even attempt to hide behind predicable posturing. “Carry on Tradition” is another “message” cut, but is similarly more about the music than preaching to the listener.
My expectations weren’t all that high for this album, but damned if Nas hasn’t resurrected himself from the ashes once again. The beats are uneven, but there’s much more good than bad. Lyrically, it’s the same old Nas”¦ not as good as he was 10 years ago, but still better than just about anyone else out there.
The only glaring negatives are that Nas probably didn’t go far enough with his criticism of current hip hop (sadly typical of Nas, who’s always been a little more bark than bite).
Oh, and that Chief Wiggum voice. Just f’n terrible.
Rating:
