Too many times after an artist encounters great success in their genre, he/she loses the hunger and fire to put forth the effort necessary to lay proper claim to their legacy.
Nasir Jones was different.
After experiencing critical and commercial acclaim for albums such as “Illmatic,” “It Was Written” and “I Am,” Nas went into a funk. Still, whereas the Queensbridge-based rapper could have gone into recluse, he persevered, and culminated his rise back to the top of the industry with “Stillmatic” and most recently, “God’s Son.”
The lyrics and topic on the album can be compared most appropriately to a convenience store; it has a little something for everybody.
Street anthems such as “Get Down,” “Made You Look” and “Zone Out,” will make the most thorough hip-hop listeners nod their heads and bump the tracks in their trunk. While pieces like “Hey Nas” and “I Can” teach about relationships and taking righteous paths to leading a successful and fulfilling life.
For hip-hop purists, tracks like “The Cross” and “Book of Rhymes” depict the lyrical prowess of the emcee.
In “The Cross” phrases such as “I carry the cross/If Virgin Mary had an abortion/I’d still be carried in the chariot by stampeding horses/I had to bring it back to New York/I’m happy that the streets is back in New York/For you rappers I carry the cross” shows Nas’ oratorical ability, while he rhymes verses out of an old notepad in “Book of Rhymes.”
Fresh off of the controversy brought about by his recent squabbles with Jay-Z and other members of the industry, Nas pulls no punches in the track “Last Real N*gga Alive.” In this track, he addresses his dilemmas with Jay-Z, Wu-Tang Clan’s Rae Kwon and the late Notorious B.I.G.
Still, the most important and prominent aspects of the album are the overtures made to his deceased mother, Ann Jones, who recently lost her battle to cancer.
The issue is touched upon in every song, but is directly addressed in the tracks “Warrior’s Song (with Alicia Keys),” “Thugs Mansion (with the late Tupac Shakur)” and “Dance.”
The production is razor sharp, as Eminem, Alchemist, Keys and Salaam Remi lend their skill to the tracks.
Each beat seems to evoke and amplify the meanings and deliveries of Nas throughout the album, adding a fuller element to each song.
Nas’ latest effort is his most complete compilation since his “Illmatic” debut. Every time one listens to the disc, a new facet of the artist is discovered in the process.
“God’s Son” is a dedication and tribute to life, the streets and most importantly, his late mother. The wide-ranging topics on the piece offers a different musical element to everyone, making it easily one of the most eclectic hip-hop albums to come out in several years.
