It's been four years since Nas' last solo effort, but it's clear the wait was worth it after just one listen to Life is Good. Whereas Nas' two previous solo albums addressed heavy cultural and social themes (Hip Hop is Dead and Untitled respectively), this time Nas gets personal with the poetic brilliance and insight that first captured listeners' ears over 20 years ago. On the epic opener, "No Introduction", he rhymes, “Hood forever, I just act like I’m civilized/Really what’s in my mind is organizing a billion Black muthafuckas/To take over JP and Morgan Goldman and Sachs/And teach the world facts and give Saudi they oil back." And "Locomotion" is Illmatic material for this generation. However, this album is not all about reaffirming past achievements. On "Daughters", Nas discusses being a single father to a teenage daughter and "Bye Baby" addresses the issue of his split with R&B singer Kelis. Clearly, there is a strength in Mr. Jones' vulnerability and that is such a refreshing thing to hear in the current rap climate, especially from someone as gifted as Nas. The Mary J. Blige-assisted "Reach Out" has the Queen of hip hop soul singing over flawless scratching and "Accident Murderers" finds Rick Ross, the album's only guest MC, dropping a surprisingly solid verse. The album's only misstep is the Swizz Beatz produced "Summer on Smash"- Nas' clear attempt at radio spins, but it sounds forced and it's unnecessary. With his legendary status in hip hop, radio is not required to draw an audience for Nas. He can do that himself. He has proven with Life is Good, like he has many times before, that real personal hip hop is powerful stuff and can connect with people in extraordinary ways (and the excellent production courtesy of No I.D., Salaam Remi, among others, doesn't hurt either). And this just happens to be one of the best examples of that that hip hop and Nas have offered up in a very long time.
No comments:
Post a Comment