Get To Know H.E.R.

After a long wait, here it finally is. The new Nas album, Untitled, Nigger, The N, or whatever the fuck else you wanna call it. It’s amazing what a name change can do to an album. Nas fans as myself should remember the adversity Nas was met with when he first announced that his album was to be titled Nigger. Then, when the supposed release day came by, there was no new Nas album. Not even a single to listen to. I, for one, was starting to fear that this would end up being one of those legendary always talked about, never gonna come out albums ala Rza’s The Cure, or Dre’s Detox. Fortunately for us, he decided to change the name and pretty much screw a title all together. Brilliant. That way, we can call it whatever the hell we want to, and everybody else is happy.

As Nas fans also know, this album was leaked in its entirety about 2 and a half weeks ago. So why, you ask, did it take so damn long for me to get a friggin review on here? Well, for one, I like doing reviews on the week the album is released. But more importantly, I like taking my time with Nas albums. I’ve found that Nas albums either initially underwhelms me and then gets better, or hits me hard at first only to lose replay value within a week. People speak of judging Nas unfairly and comparing his new material to Illmatic. Rest assured. New Nas is new Nas. Gza ain’t never releasing another Liquid Swords, OBFCL2 is not gonna touch the original, Q-Tip is not gonna release anymore Tribe worthy material, and Nas is never gonna top Illmatic. I’ve accepted that by now, and his new work is judged solely on its own merit. With that said, let’s get on with this shall we?

The Good:

1. Queens Get The Money - Nas rhymes over a simple but sweet piano based Jay Electronica beat and I almost don’t care that his lyrics don’t make sense in some spots. I love an album that starts out right.

2. You Can’t Stop Us Now (ft The Last Poets & Edan Brown) - What is with everyone using this sample this year? I’ll still take the MF Doom version any day but this song is good enough to satisfy me. At least it’s better than the Rza’s from earlier this year.

3. Breathe

5. Hero (ft Keri Hilson) - I’ve heard a lot of mixed opinions on this song. I personally think that despite it’s glossy production and R&B laced hook, it’s a great track.

6. America

7. Sly Fox - stic.man, who’s produced three of the tracks on this album, is the real surprise here. Although he doesn’t drop any rhymes, his production is very nicely on point all three times around. Can’t honestly say I expected that.

9. N.I.G.G.E.R. (The Slave and The Master) - It’s tracks like this that makes me think that regardless of the name change, at least in Nas’ mind, Nigger is still this album’s proper name. Most of you guys have probably been bumping this song for months now. It’s still pretty good.

10. Untitled aka Louis Farrakhan

11. Fried Chicken (ft Busta Rhymes) - Yeah, I know. Sounds like the name to a pretty shitty song. But I shit you not when I tell you that this just may be my favorite song on this whole damn thing.

14. We’re Not Alone (ft Mykel)

15. Black President - It features Tupac on the hook and Green Lantern behind the boards. What’s not to like? I may post up the whole mixtape he did with Green Lantern on here later this week if I’m feeling up for it.

The Solid:

12. Project Roach (ft The Last Poets) - It’s short and fairly forgettable.

13. Ya’ll My Niggas

The Bad:

4. Make The World Go Around (ft Chris Brown and The Game) - Man, Nas had support from rappers such as Common, Ice Cube and Method Man, and the best he can do for guest features is Chris Brown and the Game?? I mean, it’s not that this son is horrible or anything, and the Game actually does a decent job here. But it funks up the whole flow of the album thus far and sticks out like hell.

8. Testify

Final Score: 9.0

First the Roots. Then NYOIL and Immortal Technique and now Nas. So far, it’s been a pretty angry year in hip hop. Not that I’m complaining at all. Like I said before, although the name of the album has changed, it’s essence is still that of the original title. And I’m glad for that. Nas hasn’t sounded this focused in a long time. It’s better than Hip Hop Is Dead and actually follows the theme of the album this time around. Pick it up and check it out.