Re: Nas: Untitled
People always forget about it but after Illmatic it's my favorite Nas album.
Not to mention one of his most underrated albums, The Lost Tapes.
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Originally posted by Blzer -
Re: Nas: Untitled
It's definitely top 3 for me. Along with Illmatic and I Am..., which I thought was a sleeper.
I think the reason that The Lost Tapes is overlooked is because it is not a studio album, but rather a compilation of old unreleased material. The Lost Tapes, aside from being an absolute banger, tells me two things:
1. Nas cannot pick songs or beats for crap. Because the songs left off his albums are some of his best (not to mention that he shines like crazy when he guest stars on tracks that have great production).
2. I Am... could have been Nas' greatest album ever had bootleggers not of gotten a hold of it, and it was released like it should have been. The concept for was I Am... The Autobiography to be a double-disc album with an autobiographical theme (thus, songs like "Fetus", "Poppa Was a Player", and "Drunk by Myself" were recorded, but left off the album as it was changed to a single disc due to heavy bootlegging).Comment
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Re: Nas: Untitled
"It drops deep, as it does in my breath
I never sleep, cause sleep is the cousin of death
Beyond the walls of intelligence, life is defined
I think of crime, when I'm in a New York state of mind"
"I switched my motto -- instead of sayin **** tomorrow
That buck that bought a bottle could've struck the lotto"
"Life's a Bitch, but God-forbid the bitch divorce me
I'll be flooded with ice so hellfire can't scorch me"
"As the night close down on the Earth like gray dark rings
Light of cities in the nights, destination for Kings
with big dreams, like Castro, overthrew Bautista
from Cuba, and pointed nukes toward the U.S.
About to shoot us for revolution; that's how you gotta move
A lot of rules, some locked in solitude
Curse the day of they birth confused, who's to be praised?
The mighty dollar -- or almighty Allah
I'm like the farmer, plantin words, people are seeds
My truth is the soil; help you grow like trees
May the children come in all colors, change like leaves
but hold before you, one of those, prophetic MC's
with blunted flows, seven hundred souls in me
Each channelin, from past to present times, heaven shines
light on those, innocent to how the world grows
Some men become murderers, and some girls become hoes
And you accounted for, everything that you heard
Do not speak to fools; they scorn the wisdom of your words
My heart is wise, bloodshot eyes, the saga never dies
Ghetto prisoners rise rise rise"
"Life is every man's kingdom, a dyin man's past
and a newborn's, first time to be here at last
And shouldn't have to grow up fast, and suffer our pain
Hustlin harder than the generations here before he came
Goin through the same bull**** as our fathers
Readin history, but who's the authors?
For some the game is easy, for most of us the game is much harder
But never lose faith; through the years just get smarter"
"Look at what this country's got
There shouldn't be nobody homeless
How can the president fix other problems when he ain't fixed home yet?
The earth wasn't made for one man to rule alone
To all colors increases, to home it belongs"
"Look way deep inside yourself
Discover the diamond inside, find ya wealth
Once you get it, you gotta live it the limit
Niggaz never wanna see you with it, **** THEM THO'"
"He who has ears, let him hear
And he who has sight, let him see
He who has life, let him be
See everything goes through change
Those who know don't talk
and those who talk don't know a thing
Men are born soft and turn tough
Dead lay a stiffened heart, I've been kissed by God
I've been hurt, I've been marked for death, almost ripped apart
by the beast but he missed his mark"
I could go on ALL DAY (lol). The man is a poet, and he's a storyteller. I posted some snippets showcasing the poetic/intelligent side of Nasir, but if you wanna hear the man spit whole stories, you have to listen to songs in their entirety.
- In "Rewind" he spits a hood tale from the ending back to the beginning.
- In "Poppa was a Player" Nas recalls how his dad used to cheat on his mom, but he still loves him because he was always there".
- In "I Gave You Power" he raps from the perspective of a gun.
- In "Drunk by Myself" he raps about life from the perspective of a lonely alcoholic dealing with his own demons
- In "One Love" he raps as if he is writing a letter to all his friends in jail.
- In "Fetus" he raps from the perspective of himself as an unborn baby.
- "Blaze a 50" is a sinister tale about Nas and his girl scheming to get their hands on her husband's life insurance money.
- In "Undying Love" (VERY underrated song) he raps about a man at the end of his rope who catches his wife cheating on him, kills her, then kills himself. It's a song filled with passion and crazy emotions, but the part that kills me every time is at the end, you can hear a cop walk in and he only sees the aftermath... two dead bodies. He looks and you can faintly hear him say "Stupid f***ing n***rs". Powerful line, because he only sees the aftermath, not the story/buildup to that point.
And again... I could go on all day.Last edited by Streets; 07-05-2008, 06:59 PM.Comment
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Re: Nas: Untitled
To me, It Was Written has aged nicely and is a classic album IMHO.Huge Fan of the New Orleans Saints & New Orleans Pelicans!!!!!!!!!!!!!Comment
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Re: Nas: Untitled
IWW is a lot of people's favorite Nas album and is largely regarded as a classic today. When it first dropped, Nas was criticized heavily because it wasn't Illmatic. People were saying Nas "sold out" and who is this "Escobar" cat? But like I said, each album is different and he's always looking to grow and change. Now people look back and say its a classic album, but duke was (and I believe always has been) ahead of his time.
Interesting fact: Lupe Fiasco (one of my top 3 favorite rappers) cites IWW as his favorite album and main source of inspiration. Kind of cool.Comment
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Re: Nas: Untitled
Is there another meaning for the whole Fried Chicken thing? It's kind of a dope track even if not, but the whole "it's gonna be the death of me" thing makes you wonderComment
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Re: Nas: Untitled
I don't know how I missed this song but thanks for mentioning it.In "Undying Love" (VERY underrated song) he raps about a man at the end of his rope who catches his wife cheating on him, kills her, then kills himself. It's a song filled with passion and crazy emotions, but the part that kills me every time is at the end, you can hear a cop walk in and he only sees the aftermath... two dead bodies. He looks and you can faintly hear him say "Stupid f***ing n***rs". Powerful line, because he only sees the aftermath, not the story/buildup to that point.Originally posted by BlzerComment
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Re: Nas: Untitled
I think art and poetry is somewhat subjective and can be (but not always) open to many interpretations, so I can only give you mine.
"Sleep is the cousin of death" is essentially a reminder that our time on this earth is short. Saying "never sleep" is another way of saying "live life to the fullest". Sleep and death are both necessities and are an inevitable part of life. However, while most people do their best to avoid death (especially in our culture), Nas is taking it a step further saying he avoids sleep as well, because it is close to death in that it detracts from his time living on earth."It drops deep, as it does in my breath
I never sleep, cause sleep is the cousin of death
Beyond the walls of intelligence, life is defined
I think of crime, when I'm in a New York state of mind"
"Beyond the walls of intelligence" is basically some Matrix type ish. Nas is saying that life begins and ends in the mind's eye. What happens is what happens, but how we define it, the interpretation we put on it, what we see and how we feel, is life. An easier way to put this is to give a quote from Kanye's book... "life is 5% what happens, and 95% how you react to it". Life is defined in the mind.
Basically saying that your luck could change at any moment and to never give up on life. Also saying that while luck exists (winning the lotto), we have to put ourselves in a position to succeed. You can't win the lotto if you don't play. What you choose to do with your money, time etc. is ultimately up to you. You can take a risk and try to hit it big, or continue to literally piss it away and give up on life."I switched my motto -- instead of sayin **** tomorrow
That buck that bought a bottle could've struck the lotto"
Life is extremely tough and at times torture. However, no matter how bad it gets, the worst thing that could possibly happen is for it to end.Life's a Bitch, but God-forbid the bitch divorce me
I'll be flooded with ice so hellfire can't scorch me
I'm not up on history so I cant explain the first part. The "who's to be praised" line is a social commentary on our society's obsession with money over religion/spirituality. The rest of the lines have a religious subtext. He goes on to say that his words are truth.... we are all accountable for our actions. And once you know that you are accountable for your actions, you no longer have an excuse. God shines light on the ignorant and they are thus accountable for their actions. Some people become murderers some become hoes, but they are all accountable for their actions because once god shines light on them, they are no longer ignorant.As the night close down on the Earth like gray dark rings
Light of cities in the nights, destination for Kings
with big dreams, like Castro, overthrew Bautista
from Cuba, and pointed nukes toward the U.S.
About to shoot us for revolution; that's how you gotta move
A lot of rules, some locked in solitude
Curse the day of they birth confused, who's to be praised?
The mighty dollar -- or almighty Allah
I'm like the farmer, plantin words, people are seeds
My truth is the soil; help you grow like trees
May the children come in all colors, change like leaves
but hold before you, one of those, prophetic MC's
with blunted flows, seven hundred souls in me
Each channelin, from past to present times, heaven shines
light on those, innocent to how the world grows
Some men become murderers, and some girls become hoes
And you accounted for, everything that you heard
Do not speak to fools; they scorn the wisdom of your words
My heart is wise, bloodshot eyes, the saga never dies
Ghetto prisoners rise rise rise
He's talking about how life goes in cycles. Every generation deals with the same struggles and the same types of oppression. However, it is our hope that future generations will not have to endure the same pain and suffering we did. Some people have it easier than others (think Race, religion, SES, sexual orientation, disability, etc.), but these groups without power do not lose faith. Rather, they get smarter. However it is harder for them because when looking to the past for help with their struggles, they are reading someone else's history, or their own history written by those with power."Life is every man's kingdom, a dyin man's past
and a newborn's, first time to be here at last
And shouldn't have to grow up fast, and suffer our pain
Hustlin harder than the generations here before he came
Goin through the same bull**** as our fathers
Readin history, but who's the authors?
For some the game is easy, for most of us the game is much harder
But never lose faith; through the years just get smarter"
He's talking about how much our country has. How 95% of the wealth is controlled by 5% of the population. Saying that in essence, no one should be without basic needs in our country. However, the power structure in our country is set up so the rich stay rich and the poor stay poor, and it shouldn't be like that. The president part is talking about how America likes to police the world, but how can we do that if we have so many problems here at home. Think about it? It's like that person who tells you how to handle your relationship when their marriage is falling apart.Look at what this country's got
There shouldn't be nobody homeless
How can the president fix other problems when he ain't fixed home yet?
The earth wasn't made for one man to rule alone
To all colors increases, to home it belongs
Saying find your calling, your worth, your destiny. And once you figure it out, live it to the fullest. Most people never wanna see you "find your wealth" because they are unhappy themselves (i.e. haters who complain but do nothing to fix a situation). Few people actually find their calling in life, and so many are unhappy that it is important to hang on to it when you do and let noone get in your way.Look way deep inside yourself
Discover the diamond inside, find ya wealth
Once you get it, you gotta live it the limit
Niggaz never wanna see you with it, **** THEM THO'
He's saying that the wise are usually the ones who are quiet, and those who talk a lot are the people who do not know. The second part talks about how men are not born tough. We are actually born very weak, dependent on other human beings for our very survival and throughout life we are taught (it is not innate) to become tough, emotionless, etc. The end part is him basically saying that he's been targeted by both god and the devil (kissed by god and marked for death), as we all are. By while Satan has ripped him apart, he is still alive (he missed his mark).He who has ears, let him hear
And he who has sight, let him see
He who has life, let him be
See everything goes through change
Those who know don't talk
and those who talk don't know a thing
Men are born soft and turn tough
Dead lay a stiffened heart, I've been kissed by God
I've been hurt, I've been marked for death, almost ripped apart
by the beast but he missed his mark
N/P man. Did you listen to it yet? Yeah, I think I Am... is a very underrated album as a whole, but that song is especially overlooked.Comment
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Re: Nas: Untitled
Didn't get all into it, but did let it play the other day and was intrigued. Too early to call 'classic' though. I'll tell you if I still feel like putting it in next year.Xbox 360 GamertagRAW 910
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Re: Nas: Untitled
Thanks for the insight, Streets. Your answers help me understand the perspective of Nas' supporters.
Just as an aside, "Sleep is the cousin of death" is a Nietzschean quote, meaning we should always be working. There was a time where Nietszche deprived himself of sleep partially because he thought it was wasted time.Comment
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Re: Nas: Untitled
Yeah, I'm a metalhead guitar player. And not just Metallica, but obscure metal bands like Necrophagist and stuff. However, I'm a storyteller and a musician first, and when someone says that work has a depth to it, I try to gain an understanding as to why.
With rap it's strange, because the range of popular rap is very, very broad in a lot of ways. So when someone says that a rapper is intelligent, part of me wonders if that's because their comparing him to a guy like Plies. Everyone looks like a genius next to Plies.
Usually I only have room for one or two rappers in my diet. Right now I like Lupe at the same level that I like many metal bands, and that's rare for me. But at a glance I can see Lupe's depth of metaphor, layers of wordplay and ability to flow.
I need insight for a guy like Nas, because at a glance he just seems like a rapper who glances at books and wraps his words in scripture voicings trimmed with gansta fan service.
P.S. 24th..part of the reason I like the Spurs is they play nearly a whole CD's worth of Dream Theater during their games. And not just old stuff, oh no...someone is making sure they update it with new albums. I suspect Tim.Last edited by Bornindamecca; 07-05-2008, 11:44 PM.Comment
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