#42 - Phil

Nas

God's Son

2002

Much like Liz Phair, Nas began his career in the early 90s with a universally-praised debut, Illmatic. Although he was crowned the greatest lyricist of all-time in many hip-hop circles, his career never sustained the same level of acclaim in the years that followed. Along with Jay-Z and Biggie, I consider Nas to be one of my greatest influences for inspiring me to write rap music. And the introspection and vulnerability that drew me so much to him originally has never been more present than on his sixth album, God’s Son.

For starters, this album allowed for the release of Nas’ greatest single to date: “Made You Look.” A true anthem in every sense of the word, Nas spits some of the cockiest rhymes of his career, perfectly encompassed by its chorus: “They shootin’! – Aw, I made you look / You a slave to a page in my rhyme book!” Ironically, this cockiness is hardly present on the record’s other tracks. “I Can” is a tremendously inspirational song in which Nas samples Beethoven’s “Für Elise” to tell young children to believe they can be whatever they want to be in life. “Thugz Mansion (N.Y.)” beautifully describes a place in the ghetto where people go to clear their mind from life’s worries. And perhaps my favorite track on the record is “Dance,” which finds Nas talking to his late mother one last time: “Jesus finally got his bride, Mommy, dance with ‘em / And you've been my guide threw all the trouble I faced / They playing our song, 'The Lifebeat,' my hand on your waist / I grab your other hand and try not to step on your toes / Spin you around with my eyes closed / Dreaming I could have one more dance with you, Mama.” -P.W.

I definitely see why Phil likes this album so much. Nas is a great story teller and his lyrics are powerful. You can tell this is a personal record for Nas as he touches on a lot of sensitive subjects like the death of his mother. This albums shows more of a sense of maturity that I can’t really put my finger on. Unfortunately for me, I felt the production was nothing to write home about, which made it difficult for me to stay engaged for the whole 57 minutes. - Ryan

A dark and inspired set of songs for Nas that touches base with bleak concepts ranging from the loss of faith to the loss of life. A narrow focus, but Nas has the talent and lyrical prowess to pull it all off with delicate sincerity. With all of his talent, though, it's just too bad that it also comes with a terrible inconsistency. But for our purposes, we still have "Illmatic" and "God's Son". - Steve