More Reasons Why Being Deaf Sucks/Rocks – Defending Nas

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Apparently I’m the only person in the world who enjoyed “Who Killed It” off of Nas’ latest offering, Hip Hop Is Dead. Aaron Cameron savaged it. XXL and The Source both hated (on) it. But I genuinely like the song. To me its an example of what sets Nas apart from most MC’s; he’s an artist who’s not afraid to try new things. It’s also an example of how Nas always seems to have one concept song on each album.

Look at Illmatic. One of the most written-about songs is “One Love” where Nas details the day-to-day aspects of ‘hood life in the form of a letter to an incarcerated friend. On his follow up Nas caused a stir with “I Gave You Power” in which he wrote from the perspective of a gun. I Am saw Nas revisit the “One Love” format on “We Will Survive”, only this time he wrote letters to murdered contemporaries (and rivals) Tupac and Biggie

“Shoot ’em up” from Nastradamus saw Nas adopt the flows from Christmas songs, while on Stillmatic‘s “Rewind” Nas told a tale in reverse Memento fashion. The bonus track on The Lost Tapes, “Fetus”, Nas rhymes from the perspective of the unborn. Even God’s Son featured “Book of Rhymes” where Nas showcased verses that never made it out of his rhyme book.

Street’s Disciple featured two “out of the box” moments; “Sekou’s Story” where Nas altered his voice to sound like Scarlett, the female character who’s perspective he was writing from, and his biography of Rakim.

Do I think that all of those songs are masterpieces? Nope, but I do think that as an artist Nas deserves credit for not doing a paint-by-the-numbers album and getting imaginative with things. After all, despite hip-hop’s vividness, most mainstream MC’s are lacking imagination.

The one thing you can expect from a Nas album, in addition to lyrical potency, is one curveball; one track that you never saw coming. And considering how predictable most hip-hop albums are these days, Nas should be commended for stretching artistically rather than blasted for trying to infuse the genre with some free thought.