Nas
Street’s Disciple
After barreling out of New York with 1994’s epochal “Illmatic,” Nas struggled to match such an esteemed debut. He released five uneven albums after that, but frankly he may as well have taken the decade off. Now, with arch rival Jay-Z semi-retired and the ghost of Notorious B.I.G. fading, the time seems right for Nas to reclaim his place as NYC’s premier MC. There were probably better ways to do that than releasing a typically bloated double disc, but “Street’s Disciple” is nonetheless a vital step in Nas’ hip-hop rehabilitation. One-third political (if immediately dated, post-election), one-third love letter to his sweetie Kelis and one-third repository for some of his sharpest rhymes in recent memory, the album shows he still has plenty of interesting things to say.
Take away: Nas renewal
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Edited by Cara DiPasquale ([email protected]) and Michael Morgan ([email protected])