Nas "untitled" formerly known as N****r

Wassup people? Hope this finds you well as always. As I mentioned last time, I was going to do the review of Nas' new album for this post after I got a chance to critique it. And we begin.....


1) Queens get the Money: The first track starts off with nice piano melody, setting the mood perfect for the album. It's kind of half a song that introduces what the album will be on. I like this track because Nas states he's back to focus on some real issues, not just making money, which is a refreshing change in hip hop. Rating: 4/5
Hot Line: Hip hop was aborted, so Nas breaths life back into the embryo


2) You Can't stop us now (feat. Eban Thomas from the Stylistics and The Last Poets): This track samples "Message from a Blackman" by the Temptations and gives a survey of black history with various black historical figures from Superfly to Crispus Attucks. I like the lyrics, but this sample has been killed quite a bit. Rating: 3/5
Hot Line: Pyramids to cotton fields to Wrigley fields..

3) Breathe: Very hot beat on this one, although lyrics tend back to his older stuff: ie. getting money and overcoming the hatas.... Ehh. Beat definitely gives this all of it's rating. Rating: 3/5
Hot Line: fresh linen,sip Pelligrino with airs on, they sick mixin' they water with Airborne....

4)Make the World Go Around: This song doesn't do too much for me. Toasting to hustle *yawn* which why it probably features the Game and Chris Brown. Rating: 2/5
Hot Line: I burn so much trees, I keep environmentalists angry

5)Hero: THIS SONG IS HOT! It features Keri Hilson and the beat is fire. Nothing too deep but his delivery is sick. Probably my favorite song on the album. Rating: 5/5
Hot Line: Everytime I close my lids, I still see the borough, I still see the bridge...

6) America: I like the beat and it's a deep song focusing on how America is not really as great and wholesome as we want to think. Rating: 4/5
Hot Line: Too many rappers, athletes and actors, but not enough n***as at NASA....

7) Sly Fox: Hot joint...got rock rift over the beat that describes that lovely Fox NEWS channel. As my mother always says: Satan owns FOX. I gotta agree. Rating: 5/5
Hot Line: The only Foxx I love is the Redd one, the only black man that FOX love is in jail or a dead one....

8) Testify: I'm not big on this one, although it starts off pretty funny. It is about whether if I would stand with Nas and testify for him since I buy his songs and understand the struggle. Depends on the trial, I think. Rating: 3/5
Hot Line: I'm loading tefs in my mag, to send these redneck bigots some death in a bag....

9) N.I.*.*.E.R. (The Slave and the Master): I like this song. The focus is to not live down to what America expects of us but to achieve so much more because we've always managed to rise even with our setbacks, many times from our own. Rating: 4/5
Hot Line: This history don't acknowledge us, we were scholars way before colleges....

10) Untitled: Not crazy about this one, although the beat is hot. It contains a sample talking about they couldn't stop Louis Farakhan who we all seem to forget was a part of the conspiracy to kill Malcolm X, how soon we forget. Rating: 2/5
Hot Line: You left full of bullet holes when you tell the people go free...

11) Fried Chicken: I love this song. It's a metaphor about the love affair black folk have with fried chicken and pork even these foods eventually kill us. It's hot and Busta's rhyme about pork is genius. Rating: 5/5
Hot Line: butterflies up in my stomach, when I laid eyes on you or was it infection manifestin', confused over the feelin', impatiently eatin' you, Tricino worm chewin' on the wall of my intestine...

12) Project Roach: LOVE THIS SONG although it's more of an interlude. It has a jazzy beat with the Last Poets showing the nonsense of having a funeral for the word n****r since the mentality never dies. It's compares n****s to the concept of roaches...genius.. Rating: 5/5
Hot Line: We need to have a movement to resurrect brothas and sistas not a funeral for n****s because n*****s...don't.....die......

13) Ya'll my N****s: An intelligent song and I like it focused on how our culture is loved and hated at the same time. Rating: 5/5
Hot Line: marketing companies is hiring blacks, fresh hip hop lingo for your campaign ads....

14) We're not alone: It's a good song, more for the lyrics than the beat and chorus. I like the focus on doing the right things for ourselves and changing our actions to positive ones in our daily life. Rating : 3/5
Hot Line: America's brownin', 20 years from now every town will be brown and latin, an African lookin' Manhattan....

15) Black President: This song samples 2pac's line from " I wonder if Heaven gotta ghetto". It focuses on the idea of actually having a black president (of course Barak). As said before, the idea is appealing, but I'm still wondering if Barak is ready to run this country. He seems he's heading the way of Kerry's campaign where there was a lot of ambiguity in his voting record. More on that later but he's definitely having to walk a tighter line because he is black. Anyway, the song considers what can happen. Rating: 3/5
Hot Line: But on the positive side, I think Obama provides hope and challenges minds of all races and colors to erase the hate.....

16) Bonus Track: Like me: Wack, a pimps and hos song thrown on the end and quite frankly brings down the album on a weak note. Rating: 0/5

Overall Rating: 3.5/5 An overall good album I have to bump it up to a 4 because the garbage that most mainstream artists are coming with, just for Nas to approach the topics on this album shows maturity and depth lacking in the game. I recommend it to all true hip hop heads. I'm out, I'll catch you next time.....Peace and blessings....