In 1994, before he’d even turned 21, Nas introduced himself as rap’s new voice with Illmatic, a tight-knit series of street-corner cautionary tales. On Nas’ Life is Good, out today (
In 2009, his four-year marriage to Kelis dissolved. More recently, reports revealed that Nas allegedly owed $6 million in taxes, in addition to the $55,000 in child and spousal support that Kelis demanded for their son Knight Jones. While Nas does address these bits of gossip in Life is Good, he also makes clear that he’s yet to really make sense of it, by trading lyrical precision for a more conversational tone. Some of his admissions are endearing. “Not saying sons are any less important,” he says in “Daughters” — a cop-out of a chorus, but also precisely what an egalitarian father would learn to say. Some are far more awkward: “I want you dead under six feet of soil / At the same time, I want you hear to witness me while you’re in misery,” he says in “Stay”.
But instead of dwelling on what he hasn’t figured out, Nas spends more time revisiting stories he’s already told as producers-in-crime No I.D., Salaam Remi and even Illmatic‘s Large Professor help steer through savory boom-bap beats. In “A Queens Story”, complete with a “Sucker M.C.’s” sample (“You all know how the story goes!”), Nas sprints through his list of hometown role models-turned-casualties. In “Reach Out”, he boasts of being “too hood to be in Hollywood circles” and “too rich to be in the hood that birthed you” without a twinge of regret, over that reworking of that DJ Hot Day mix and with the ever-reliable Mary J. Blige. Sparks fly in the Rick Ross collaboration “Accident Murderers” as Nas erupts in a tough lecture to foolhardy, trigger-happy youth. The Maybach Music Group honcho manages to keep up, spit for spit, over a delicious Hammond organ lick.
Then there’s “Cherry Wine” — a carbon copy of “Hey Nas” from 2002 career highlight God’s Son, a list of criteria for his future wife that he’s barely revised aside from one major change: trading out the breathy Kelis (the two of them had just met) for a pristine Amy Winehouse chorus. At first, the track feels like a missed opportunity. But after a few listens, the reiteration works. Life is Good isn’t just for trapped-in-the-’90s listeners, and it isn’t simply a midlife crisis album. It’s Nas sounding 10 years younger, in an apt reminder of, simply, what works.
The Best Song Wasn’t The Single: Or was it? In a perfect retro-rap world, “Reach Out” would be a big summer hit. That said, “Accident Murderers” already released as a single, is deservedly so.
Pops Like: In parts, Life Is Good plays out as if 9th Wonder immersed his rhymes in his own sublime retro rap production. The album’s biggest misstep, “Summer on Smash” featuring Miguel, is a Jersey Shore club anthem in which Swizz Beats commits an act of self-plagiarism by ripping off the rhythmic gait he originally created for Drake‘s “Fancy.”
Best Listened To: First while drinking beers with friends, then at home while sipping Hennessy.
Full Disclosure: After their highly touted beef, and even after an equal showing in “Black Republican”, I’ve always sided with the more stylistically daring Jay-Z.
Idolator Rating: 3/5
— Christina Lee
How does Nas measure up in Life is Good? Let us know in the comments below, or on Twitter and Facebook.
Your an idiot. 3/5 – average? smh.
you’re an actual dumb person. total lack of respect for a legend i the game and lack of recognition of the fact that the man has not slipped in lyrical aptitude despite 10 solo albums. the same cannot be said for the “more stylistically daring” Jay-Z, whose most recent efforts – Watch the Throne, Blueprint 3, have been lazy and gregarious. Get your head out of your ass.
This review is terrible. Revisting stories? Nas actually makes original music and his themes though not as POP are very mature and a breath of fresh air. This review talks more about his past, and not the actual album.
Destiny is from another relationship and the 50k per month has since been lowered.
Incredible. The review is riddled with factual inaccuracies. Stay isn’t about Destiny’s mother and the second verse (To which you refer) isn’t even about a woman. Neither is Destiny Kelis’ daughter. The latter bit is neither here nor there but the first bit shows just how much you actually listened to the album. I think it’s unfair that someone who never bothered to engage with the music can be allowed to give a review which damns a brilliant album with feint praise. You didn’t bother to do your job. You just handed in a review based on your preference for Jay Z. I love Jay Z and he has a place in hip hop and pop culture as an icon. But stylistically more daring then Nas?? Again, this shows how shallow your approach to this review was. As a fan of hip hop music, it’s really frustrating to read stuff like this. You get paid to do it. I can’t see what would have hurt about actually giving the album a proper listen and writing an honest, insightful review. Instead, we’re just getting your preconceptions about Nas as an artist and the fact that you like Jay Z, who in all honesty has only managed to put out two “stylistically innovative” albums over the past decade since his masterpiece, The Blueprint.
And what’s this about 9th Wonder?? Maybe you listened to another version of the album because I don’t understand why you’re mentioning 9th Wonder on the version I have been listening to.
really im not understanding y jay-z waz brought in2 this dat battle tooK place in 2OO1 son n slimez iz still comparing, but since we wanna do dat ima jus put it out dea dat jay iz in no way shape or form a better RAPPER than nas n heres why
illmatic > reasonable doubt
it was written > in my lifetime vol.1
i am… > hard knock life vol. 2
nastradamus < the life and times of s. carter vol.3
qb's finest the blueprint
god’s son > the blueprint 2
streets disciple american gangster
life is good > the blueprint 3
distant relatives > watch the throne…now datz an opinion but dis is the opinion of a person who sat bacK n listen n study deez albums
I think it was Jay Z himself who said “I dumbed down for my audience to double my dollars.” He also said “If skills sold I’d probably be, lyrically Talib Kweli./ Truth be told I wanna rhyme like Common Sense (But I did 5 mil) I ain’t been rhyming like Common since.”
Jay Z himself would laugh in your face if you called him stylistically more daring than Nas. I don’t question his talent or the wisdom of his artistic choices. But this kind of bile can only be coming from someone who wants to look cool by saying they think Jay Z is the best rapper, like ever. He quite possibly is, because when he decides to get going he’s just as brilliant as Nas. But while Nas has spent the past decade pushing himself as an artist and trying to find a perfect balance between a forward looking sound while sticking to his artistic roots (which he finally achieves on Life Is Good) Jay Z has been doing whatever he thinks is necessary to top the Forbes list at the end of each financial year. Like I said, I love Jay Z as an artist because when he wants to make “stylistically daring” music, he does it just as well as anyone else. But please. Save that nonsense for your middle class white friends at a dinner party or something. In hip hop circles, Nas is has quietly gone about building the most consistent catalogue of all time. (Nastradamous stands out but even then, the release of Lost Tapes, widely considered a classic, which contained the mateiral that was originally intended for Nastradamous has smoothed over that bleep. Jay Z has put out about 5 albums of dubious quality (Volume 1 and 3, Blueprint 2 and 3 as well as Kingdom Come.) We may not agree on all of them (Blueprint 3 did what he set out to achieve with that album, which was catapult him back into the mainstream and volume 3 had his best single ever.) BUT, having said that, I want you to question any of Nas’ other albums for quality besides Nastradamous.
Hey fellow Nas fans!
First of all, I love you as much as I love Nas. I think it’s a huge testament to his career that he’s garnered as much loyal fans as he has, because of the bar he’s set. We pat newer rappers on the back for churning out a few mixtapes in between albums, but if Nas didn’t pour his heart into proper label releases, he’d probably trump all of them in terms of sheer output.
Now, let’s cut to the chase. First of all, by “stylistically” I did mean in terms of production and sheer sampling, whether to his advantage (Watch the Throne) or not (The Blueprint 3? Kingdom Come? Bleh). And to be totally transparent, The Black Album came into my life right as I was dealing with my own father issues, so because of its timing, it holds a lot of sentimental value. That said, I should have been more clear. Y’all are definitely right to stand up for Nas and defend the fact that he’s LYRICALLY daring — no question. No other rapper would have had ruffled the feathers of mainstream Southern rappers as he did with Hip Hop is Dead, or toyed around with “Fur Elise” to create a mainstream hit, or tried to name his untitled album, well, you know.
@MightyHealthy First of all, I do apologize about the factual error, re: Destiny. In my mind, I guess it was difficult for me to understand why Kelis would demand such high child support payments for a child that isn’t even hers, but I digress — that’s no excuse. Second, 9th Wonder just has this incredible ability to seep our ears into retro-rap soundscapes and transport us back to hip-hop’s golden era in an instant — just as parts of Life is Good does. I was mainly thinking of “Queens Story” here, but as I pointed out in the album review, I also wonder if it’s because Nas sounded rejuvenated as if he was so eager to get back into the game.
@k soasa @Nore Aside from what I already said, I wonder now that if I never brought up Jay-Z’s name, if my appreciation for Life is Good/Nas would have been made more clear. That confession, however, did not taint my review of this album. The most important criteria in reviewing his album was his past discography, featuring plenty of standards that Nas must live up to now. And all in all, I just think that Nas has released more consistent albums even in the second decade (!) of his career, God’ Son probably being my favorite and The Lost Tapes and Hip Hop is Dead definitely up there.
Let’s continue to talk about Nas forever and ever, because I think y’all are more than capable. Keep the opinions coming here, or hit me up on Twitter. I’m @MinaAnnLee.
when you say more consistent, do you a greater amount of focus throughout the album, or just consistent quality of tracks during the second decade?
smh at this review
@Julian By consistent, I was referring to the quality of tracks. It definitely doesn’t have to be a concept album for it to be great, you know?
definitely agree, although critics have discounted some of his work for lacking a consistent focus throughout. As far as quality of tracks, I would have to put this above Hip Hop is Dead. The only questionable/out of place record is Summer on Smash – not sure whose idea it was for that track to make the cut. Lyrically I haven’t heard him as on point since God’s Son and Lost Tapes
I’m actually a Jay Z fan. I just happen to think that Jay Z has been slacking on the creative front. You say he’s experimenting more than Nas? Nas has rapped a cappela (Hope), he has rapped over a piano riff with no drums (Queens Get The Money) , he has rapped over an acoustic guitar (Thugs Mansion) Have you listened to Street’s Disciple? The production on there is not edgy? Maybe you don’t enjoy it. But to suggest that he plays it safe is simply not true. Nas never cops out with his singles (Summer On Smash being the exception pretty much over the past ten years.) Jay always goes for a big name producer for his singles whether it’s Pharrel (Black Album) Timberland (same), Just Blaze, Dr Dre (Kingdom Come) Puff Daddy (American Gangster), Swizz Beats. Nas has worked with Will I Am (HHD) and you could say Polo Da Don was on a hot streak when he did Hero but the rest of the singles were done by either Salaam Remi (criminally underrated unless he is working with the more tabloid friendly, but genuinely talented Amy Winehouse) or guys who are not known for their pop friendly sound (stic Man of Dead Praz anyone?) In fact, one of the reasons why you’re even making this statement is precisley because Nas experiments so much with his sound. Jay Z just goes for what he knows will work and to you, that’s “experimenting.” The exact same thing happened in reverse in the years leading up to The Bluepring. Nas was resting on Illmatic and gradually slipped into complacency because the fans just kept buying it until Jay Z said – this guy hasn’ actually put out a hot album since Illmatic. It wasn’t completely accurate, but there was enough truth in it for Nas fans to question their idol.
I’m not trying to sound all negative about Jay. He’s the best to ever do it talent wise. But he’s been sleeping on that talent for so long and getting away with it. Kanye and Nas have made the best hip hop albums of the past ten years while Jay has pissed projects away trying to clock that Billi on Forbes. It’s frustrating a bit.
You didn’t adress a few things I raised. How did you miss the fact that Stay is about gold digging home wreckers and Nas’ failure to resist them (first verse) while the second verse speaks of a relationship between Nas and his friend which has been poisoned by jealousy (or possibly paranoia on Nas’ part.) You said he was talking about Kelis. You still haven’t sold me on that random mention of 9th Wonder. Kelis never asked for child support on Destiny. Destiny lives with her mother named Carmen Jones or something like that.
XXL gave the album a perfect score. The Source will probably give it 5 mics and pretty much everyone who actually listened to it agrees that it’s something special. You might be able to get a few hits on your site by trolling Nas fans but is it really worth it in the long run?
Like I said, my frustration is with two things – 1) The review is pathetically poor and off the mark.
2) You are exactly the kind of Jay Z “fan” who sucks up to every move he makes and has allowed him to just lose that fire in his belly. All it took was for Nas to deliver an album like this and you’ll see how much peope are going to revise their opinions on who is actually the greatest of all time. And I’m talking about people who actually listen to the music.
I see the 9th Wonder refference – uuuuhm. That doesn’t make any sense. 9th Wonder is a producer, not a rapper. What are you saying?
@Julian I’ll give you ranking this over Hip Hop is Dead. I’ve forgiven him for it since, but on Hip Hop is Dead, he still sampled an instrumental that he’d previously rapped over in 2004 — and on his magnum opus of all things.
@MightyHealthy I don’t think it’s fair to say that Nas hasn’t really messed around with “what works.” “Hate Me Now” (Diddy)? “Nas Is Coming,” plus a good portion of The Firm (Dr. Dre)? Eminem and Alicia Keys on God’s Son? Plus, part of the reason why people couldn’t help but to picture Nas as Rakim’s successor was because of Large Professor — no doubt about that!
On the other hand, Jay-Z’s utilized well-known rap producers, absolutely. “Beach Chair” with Chris Martin just didn’t work — as, for the most part and as I said above, Kingdom Come and The Blueprint 3 were terrible. (Watch the Throne raised enough thought-provoking questions for me to forgive him a bit after all that.) But, production-wise — he also essentially catapulted Kanye West into the rap game, hired 9th Wonder AND shouted out to him on The Black Album, sampled freakin’ “Forever Young” in a single (again, NOT defending it — but it happened!), OK’ed the massacring that Miles Davis single and enlisted Frank Ocean before people other than Odd Future really gave a damn.
Re: “Stay,” Nas may not bring up Kelis’ name as he did earlier in the album, but especially with his initial talk in the first verse and how , it’s hard not to picture this as a letter to her throughout Re: 9th Wonder — I brought him up because the production on Life is Good plays out like his. That’s my opinion, because I listened to the music.
“XXL gave the album a perfect score. The Source will probably give it 5 mics and pretty much everyone who actually listened to it agrees that it’s something special.” I didn’t say it wasn’t special. Like I said in my review, as a rap fan it’s extremely rewarding to hear someone who sounds rejuvenated, after years of saying that he’s tired in interviews — tired of the way the rap game’s going, tired of protesting, etc. As I stated in my review, it’s hard to deny the joy that informs so many parts of Life Is Good. I’m happy that Nas is back, you’re happy to have Nas back and Nas just sounds so, so, so happy to be back. But, like I said, after having listened to Life Is Good and his past discography, I couldn’t help but to wonder what’s coming next for Nas. In my mind, and because of what Nas has accomplished in the past, I know he can do better.
Beach Chair didn’t work? Do you like hip-hop at all?
Your review stinks .
I’ve forgiven him for it since, but on Hip Hop is Dead, he still sampled an instrumental that he’d previously rapped over in 2004 — and on his magnum opus of all things.
^^^
I guess the significance of him reusing a sample he’d previously used on an album titled “HIPHOP IS DEAD” was lost on you. I thought it was obvious to everyone. I thought wrong…
” I’ve always sided with the more stylistically daring Jay-Z”. I can’t fault your preference of Jay Z but more stylistically daring, I beg to differ. Firstly, though they are both in their rights rappers their styles differ so much in that Jay Z rather the witty punch lines and not the vivid, movie-esque flow of Nas. That said in recent times Jay Z has not done anything daring or different from what works for him, nothing like a story in reverse as witnessed in rewind or the book turning flow of book of rhymes not even the style on One Mic.
Most importantly, coming back to Life is Good go listen to it again a couple times more, it gets better with each play time, no joke.
Christina Lee! for the sake of everything good about rap, stop reviewing rap albums and sell oranges at a market or somethig! Worst album review in years! Shockingly confident aswell! I thought it was a poof until i read comments section of you actually making more pointless points! I bet SouljaBoy is your hero!
I sincerely hope you don’t get paid for these opinions. Your two cents isn’t worth much more than that.
This is quite possible the worst review I have ever read. You obviously did not listen to this album, please leave the site and never review a rap album again. You don’t know jack.