Here's the i-tunes bonus track for Nas' "Untitled". I'm dropping by Best Buy later today to pick up my copy. DL for free? Nah brotha buy an album. Props to Sean-o.

[audio http://cp0788.googlepages.com/nas_-_proclamation_i-tunes_bonus_tra.mp3]

Nas -- Proclamation (itunes bonus)

(Foxy Brown & Young Jeezy on the September issue of XXL)

This month, XXL decided to put the semi-psychotic female "rapper" Foxy Brown & ad libbin' Young Jeezy (i.e. the dude every new rapper got their style from) on the cover.

On one hand, these two aren't especially good at music (although Jeezy's "Go Getta" was my shit!, as Katt Williams would say, for probably three months once it dropped; just go out into the streets at night in the winter, walk around with that shit in your headphones, and just try not to feel gangsta), I don't mind XXL putting them on the cover that much. Mostly because they're not Lil Wayne, and that's something you don't get to say about most XXL cover models.

This issue they'll be covering, of course, those two, plus hipster rap (A.K.A. douche bag rap) and, hopefully, reviewing that new Nas shit.

Of course they won't have the balls to give it the M or S it deserves, but I've got my fingers crossed that they'll at least demote it to an L.

On the real, they better not give that shit XXL. It would be like the time The Source gave motherfuckin' Lil Kim 5 mics.

But I doubt Nas is at XXL's office right now giving the writers blow jobs as Kim undoubtedly was, so the review will probably be reasonably fair.

We'll just have to wait and see, won't we?

(Untitled vs. Hip-Hop is Dead)

A comparison of Nas' two most recent studio albums based on five crucial criteria.

LYRICISM

Untitled: The lyrics are all over the place. Nas has brief flashes of inspired lyricism, but is mostly on autopilot. The lyrical highlight is "Sly Fox."

Hip-Hop is Dead: The lyricism is mostly up to par, although Nas falters on songs like "Still Dreamin'" and "Where Are They Now."

Untitled: 0

Hip-Hop is Dead: 1

PRODUCTION

Untitled: The beats here aren't provided by any legendary producers like Dre or Preemo, but there are more good beats than you would think. Highlights include "Hero" and "Sly Fox."

Hip-Hip Is Dead: HHID's beats is obviously the result of either Def Jam's lack of faith in Nas or of severe budget cuts, considering that the only beats from big name producers (Dre, Kanye) are low enough quality to have been produced by no-name producers. Dre's "Hustlers" is especially lame, shocking considering Dre's reputation as a perfectionist. The last song doesn't even have a beat, and I suspect it wasn't because Nas wanted to drop knowledge acapella. Low points include "Where Are They Now," "Hustlers," and "Blunt Ashes."

Untitled: 1

Hip-Hop is Dead: 1

 GUESTS

Untitled: The guests are pretty consistently mediocre, but rarely awful. Game and Busta Rhymes are highlights ("Make The World Go Round" & "Fried Chicken" respectively).

Hip-Hop is Dead: The artists are mostly mediocre here, too, but occasionally do great jobs. Jay-Z, The Game, and Kanye West do the best.

Untitled: 1

Hip-Hop Is Dead: 2

 THEMATIC CONSISTENCY

Untitled: Is all over the place, with even individual songs having difficulty staying on subject. Plus there are several irrelevant pop songs thrown in to be more consumer-friendly.

Hip-Hop Is Dead: It's the same story here. Both are off-topic most of the time. I'm declaring this a tie.

Untitled: 2

Hip-Hop is Dead: 3

NUMBER OF GOOD SONGS

Untitled: Listenable songs are pretty restricted, despite being reasonably long. They include, and are limited to, "Hero," "Sly Fox," and "Fried Chicken."

Hip-Hop Is Dead: Most of the album is worth listening to, despite itself. Good songs include "Money Over Bullshit," "Hip-Hop Is Dead," "Who Killed It," "Black Republicans," "Still Dreaming," "Hold Down the Block," "Let There Be Light," "Hustlers," and "Hope."

Untitled: 2

Hip-Hop is Dead: 3

NUMBER OF BAD SONGS

Untitled: Untitled is clearly full of shitty songs, which is why it is such a bad album. However, it is worth noting that they aren't usually as bad as HHID's low points.

HIp-Hop Is Dead: Doesn't have a lot of truly bad songs, but when a song is bad, it's really bad. See "Blunt Ashes" and "Where Are They Now."

Untitled: 2

Hip-Hop Is Dead: 4

Hip-Hop Is Dead > Untitled

But you already knew that.

(Chamillionaire's last CD > Nas' new CD)

I was just sitting around today, deciding what song to listen to, when I remembered Chamillionaire's "Hip-Hop Police," a surprisingly good song with Slick Rick from his sophomore album, Ultimate Victory. You don't remember Ultimate Victory? It's that one album by the guy who did "Ridin''" - the one you didn't buy because you didn't like the chorus on "Hip-Hop Police." It's also the one I didn't buy because Cham swore to not swear, but decided to just swear and bleep it out until the songs were nonsensical instead of, you know, writing songs without swearing (Lupe Fiasco did the same thing on Food & Liquor).

Anyway, I was listening to "HHP" when I realized how well it could have fit on the new Nas joint, the abortion currently referred to as Untitled, once titled Nigger.

Well, to make a short story shorter, I downloaded the torrent for the leaked explicit version of Ultimate Victory, and realized how much better it is than Untitled.

They don't have the same ambitions - Chamillionaire wants to make LCD rap, but have occasional flashes of insight, Nas wants to redefine race relations in America and spark a revolution, and all that shit - but they both try to be smart and address current events with a vengeance.

Well, being from the Dirty South, Chamillionaire's CD is full of tired chest pounding, talking about pimpin, money, and the streets, among other things. However, when he does try and be smart, he actually sounds smart. Like he has something to say, which is more than Nas can say.

I would take UV opener "The Morning News" over any of that faux-intellectual shit Nas drops on Untitled.

And I don't even like southern rappers, except for Scarface, really.

The difference, I think, is that Chamillionaire genuinely cares about issues he's dropping knowledge on to make actual points and write coherent raps. Nas, on the other hand, reaches into a grabbag of buzzwords, pulls one out, and then rambles until the beat fades out.

So, the next time you get the urge to go buy the new Nas CD, head over to the Pirate Bay, cop the explicit Ultimate Victory, and enjoy the smattering of politically charged rap.

Or you could go buy an actual political rap CD, like Public Enemy's last joint.

Oh yeah - He's gonna be at The Rome Forum on July 23rd with the Unashamed Tour.  I got some extra tickets.  Let me know if ya want 'em. 

Nas & Kimora Lee Simmons dropped by MTV's TRL on tuesday to film an episode for the show, which aired yesterday.

Nas talked about his album, while Kimora discussed her clothing.

[dailymotion id=x9yzp]

Well it looks like this five part Rock the Bells preview is quickly coming to a close, and while it's been fun writing about my musical relationships with all these arts, I'm also anticipating the end, when I actually get to head up to Chicago tomorrow and see a slew of some of the most legendary and talented hip hop artists to ever bless the mic. And even though everyone realizes that the Tribe Called Quest reunion is going to be the focal point of the evening, I'm sure there is just as much of a level of excitement building for Nas' performance , as his highly anticipated and generally well-received new album, Untitled, was just released on Tuesday. I've reviewed the album and I enjoyed it quite a bit, but I'm going to wait to post the review until after I get back from Chicago.

I'm cutting this one short, because I've got some other things to attend to this evening. However, Nas trumps everyone on this list of five artists that I'm excited to see at Rock The Bells in Chicago tomorrow. I remember first seeing the video for "When I Ruled The World" on The Box (a now defunct music video channel) and realizing that Nas was one of the most multi-faceted, talented lyricists of our time. Many go as far as to call him G.O.A.T. and I don't like getting in to titles or labels much, but if Nas isn't the G.O.A.T., then he's damn near close to it. He's holds a spot in many hip hop fans' Top 5 list, including my own.

From listening to Nas' music over the years, you get the impression that music was born in to his blood, as he, like Mos Def, has mastered the art of lyricism and now moved on to expanding in to other genres and more abstract ideas, as evidenced by his most recent albums, Hip Hop Is Dead and Untitled. Technically, music WAS born in to Nas' blood though. He is the son of jazz musician, Olu Dara, who, as we've learned from Nas' lyrics, first exposed Nas to jazz, the blues and eventually marijuana. This colorful upbringing gave Nas the foresight to realize that he didn't have to appeal to necessarily one audience. He took a risk with Will.I.Am using "Hip Hop Is Dead" as his first single from HHID, which used the same sample as "Thief's Theme," but added a hard rock vibe.

Nas' music was obviously be influenced by the squalor he grew up around in the infamous Queensbridge Projects, the largest federally funded housing project in the country, which was also home to Mobb Deep and Ron Artest at one point. The drug activity, prostitution and violence that was present in Queensbridge during the early 90s gave Nas a complex perspective on social issues, which in his earlier work, led to him condone criminal activities, like drug dealing, as a way to get by and at other times, condemning the same activity for holding back the advancement black communities.

Hip Hop has always been the most contradictory genre of music, however, and Nas represents that aspect to the fullest. At the end of the day though, much of Nas' material isn't so contradictory, you just have to read deeper in to the lyrics to understand certain concepts. Nas is a smart man in the business sense, I'll give you that, but when I hear people say that Nas actually wanting to call his new album the N Word to generate a buzz, I don't just can't buy it.

I think Nas genuinely wanted to created an engaging discussion on race relations in modern America and 2008 was the perfect time to do it. Nas seems to think that the original Black leaders like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, though still vocal, are on their way out and jump on certain issues simply to build exposure for themselves, rather than promoting pertinent issues in the Black community. With Untitled, Nas is conceptualizing a movement of new Black leaders like Barack Obama, who are more in touch with the younger generation and have a better idea of what issues need attention, people who are willing and able to actually put in work for the future. And though Nas doesn't always give the best quotes or insightful ideas in his interviews, I'm not be opposed to having him as a spokesperson for hip hop, as he his one of the most intelligent and talented artists in the industry.

The other day I got in on a conference call with Nas through the good guys over at Best of Both Offices, and I asked him his upcoming performance at Rock The Bells and whether or not he'll have any special surprises for us. Check it out, but turn the volume up. The call was so spur of the moment, I had to record it on Garage Band through speakerphone on my Blackberry. I've also provided some various other audio and video goodies for you.

Critical Acclaim x Nas Conference Call - Rock The Bells

MP3: Nas - One Love

MP3: Nas feat. Quan - Just A Moment

Video: Nas feat. Lauryn Hill - When I Rule The World [YouTube]

Video: Nas - One Mic [YouTube]

Video: Nas - Street Dreams [YouTube]

here's a look @ the new Nas cut, "Hero".

who wears this swag better, Nas or KanYe?

jus' sayin'...

Unfortunately for Lil’ Wayne, his bid to release a classic has been upstaged barely a month later by a release from the pantheon of artists he is trying to join. Nas, of course, has been approaching Wayne’s challenging task of creating a classic from the opposite direction, having tried, fruitlessly, to live up to Illmatic and having the onus of recreating it on him ever since its release. It is safe to say that Nas will never make another Illmatic, but he has just dropped the hip hop album of 2008 that most deserves to be called a classic.

There will probably always be people who consider Untitled to be an unacceptable capitulation of message, and The Nigger Tape has already been hailed as the great album that Nas could have released this year. There are a number of reasons that these points can be glossed over, but the main reason that Untitled can be considered a great album is that it has an excellent and unified aesthetic to which the first of these detractions contributes and which the second does not have.

Specifically, Untitled is an incredibly effective album because Nas keeps both his lyrics and his sound palette focused on the racial themes so intensely underlying the work.

Since Illmatic Nas has been criticized for trying to adjust his style to be radio-friendly, but even the concessions on this album, “We Make The World Go Round” and “Hero,” fit in nicely with its soulful ambience. The polished soul sounds on Untitled paint Nas’ lyrical masterpiece in black and chrome, giving the album a sinister, alarming backdrop that seems perfectly conjured for both the current political climate and the contradictions lacing Nas’ persona. Starting with Jay Electronica’s throwback piano loops on “Queens Get The Money,” the album embraces Nas’ gritty simplicity, while beats like the sparkly synths on the Polow da Don-produced “Hero” build up Nas’ glamorous aura. Overall, these are Nas’ most consistent and logical beats since Illmatic.

Stepping out from the dramatic stage these beats provide, Nas arrives like a prophet for a world oppressed from every angle. Unconcerned with anything other than the urgency of his message, Nas paints bleak pictures and unrelentingly attacks authority. In many artists’ hands, this album could come off as paranoid, unfocused, and poorly realized. Nas steps away from many of the clichés that haunt so many socially aware rappers, though, making well-founded claims, basing his complaints in anecdotal realities, and refusing to compromise his contradictory materialism.

The ideological odyssey begins with the twisted, often nonsensical imagery of “Queens Get The Money,” establishing Nas’ purpose before he heads into the brilliantly sequenced discussion of the next fourteen tracks. The first sequence of tracks, “Can’t Stop Us Now,” “Breathe,” and “We Make The World Go Round” charts a progression from slavery through socio-economic oppression to the materially obsessed world of radio hip hop, on the three tracks, respectively. In a brilliant move, “Make The World Go Round,” the obvious radio single here, actually satirizes itself due to its placement on the album. Nas, having charted the ascendancy to overly material hip hop in this thematic buildup, immediately pledges to save hip hop as a “Hero” in the following track. From there, the album turns intensely political for “America” and “Sly Fox,” Nas’ tirade against Fox News, before the calm ending of the first half of the album, “Testify.”

Having created an effective ideological landscape for the album, Nas uses the second half to explore racial stereotypes and plunge into the etymology of the word “nigger.” After the album’s tour de force, “Y’all My Niggas,” the sappy racial harmony track “We’re Not Alone,” which is the only truly disappointing track on the album, builds toward the redemptive climax of “Black President.” Over a sample from 2Pac’s “Changes,” “Black President” is a triumphant but tortured reflection on the possibilities that exist on the eve of an Obama victory.

By the time the final track arrives, it is clear that this album is a distinct product of the times, channeling the intense climate of frustration in the America of 2008 that has grown to a head during the Bush years. Yet beyond the anger and the invectives to watch PBS (possibly the first time that’s ever happened on a mainstream rap release), this is primarily an examination of race in America, and particularly of that one word that Nas couldn’t name his album.

Nas characterizes being a “nigger” as a condition of oppression. In “America” he claims that he’d “Love to sit in on the Senate/ And tell the whole government/ ‘Y'all don't treat women fair/ She read about herself in the bible/ Believing she the reason sin is here/ You played her, with an apron/ Like bring me my dinner, dear / She the nigger here’” before asking “Ain’t we in the free world?” He also peers into the racial difficulties that reach deeper than the words, pointing out, “We in chronic need of a second look of the law books/ And the whole race dichotomy/ Too many rappers, athletes, and actors/ But not enough niggas in NASA.” The word, he claims in “Project Roach,” is never going away. The racism and social difficulties exacerbated by a history of oppression are deeply entrenched.

Yet in the depths of this etymological quandary where “an elite group” is “making all, ethnicities, colors, and creeds niggers,” Nas finds some hope for the word. In “Y’all My Niggas,” he concludes: “We changed the basis of derogatory phrases/ And I say it's quite amazing/ The use of ghetto terms/ Developed our own language.” It’s not a particularly reassuring idea in the face of the world that Nas has depicted, but it’s all there is to offer.

Other than, of course, the promise of the post-racial future that Barack Obama embodies.

“Black President” offers the redemption at the end of this bleak album that Nas sees Barack Obama offering to an America at a point of bleak frustration. The dichotomies exist, of course: Nas wonders “What’s the black prez thinkin’ on election night?/ Is it how can I protect my life?/ Protect my wife?/ Protect my rights?/ Every other president was nothin' less than white,” but he sees the promise of a regime that “challenges minds/ Of all races and colors to erase the hate.” Ultimately, though, Nas’ depiction of Barack Obama is fascinating because it calls to mind the same problems facing a rapper riddled with the pressure of creating a classic. Much in the way that Nas or Lil’ Wayne’s fans might wonder if their favorite rapper can deliver an expected classic album, Nas foreshadows the inevitable disappointment with Obama’s almost messianic reception in an America exasperated with Republican scare tactics. Nas asks, fearfully, “When he wins, will he really care still?”

I wish that I had an answer for Nas, but it’s impossible to say what Barack Obama’s legacy will be as president. Perhaps the only wisdom I can impart is that Nas himself proves that expectations can sometimes be met. He may be only marginally improving on his purported one hot album every ten years average (make that every seven years, Jay), but, with Untitled, Nas has delivered a great album whose powerful examination of the difficulties plaguing America achieves its almost literary ambitions.

: : : : : : : : : : :

Nas drops by Nutz In The Morning to discuss all that needs to be discussed.

Go get Untitled.

A TRIBE CALLED QUEST, NAS, MOS DEF, METHOD MAN & REDMAN, DE LA SOUL, RAKIM, IMMORTAL TECHNIQUE, DEAD PREZ, MURS, WALE, JAY ELECTRONICA, B.o.B, KIDZ IN THE HALL

WITH SPECIAL GUESTS: THE PHARCYDE

HOSTED BY: B-REAL, SUPERNATURAL & SCRATCH, DJ GREEN LANTERN

I'll be back on Sunday. I'll miss each and every one of you.

(What can I say? I'm thinkin' bout copping some of them shits myself)

A bit controversial but there must be something in it given the poses and the lyrics. It has generated a lot of heat since it was first released and you have to say the editing was great. It is amazing what can be done with home editing and knowledge of Hip Hop. Obviously most people have not studied the influence of the secret societies but given that it has had half a million views that is good going.

4. Puffy Is Poison

This is a very talented comedian and when he said that Mase was preaching like he had a stroke I fell out of my chair. But this raises the question uit seems the record companies are the only ones who are doing out of gangster rap. On a serious note the only constant is P Diddy dancing on his artist records and when they do not sell records he gets to dance on their replacements album.

The one liner he had about LaTito ( a combination of LaToya Jackson and Tito) kids was great.

3. Prosperity Gospel and Hip Hop

Look at the reaction of Creflo Dollar when the woman says he talks to her first billion dollars ? If the prosperity gospel is Christianity then gangster rap is makes produced well arranged music. The video was so very observant.

2.Jay Z back masking

You did not think there was a thought process in hip hop? Well they can get a whole lot of subliminal messages because it is hard to know what they say. The truth Behind Hip Hop has caused a storm with fans being violently against G Craige Lewis but you have to note that he has done his research, I wish he had adopted a teaching style then you could have learnt more form the series.

1. Rick Ross Before They Were Famous

I give it number one status simply because it was vindicated, remeber who the real Rick Ross caused the Crack Cocaine Epidemic with the co-operation of the CIA. Now please remember the biggest taboo is being a snitch and we see that Rick Ross was sheriff> Can his career survive these revelations?

Although revelations have dented the tough exterior of gangster rap I still do not think it will stop women going to clubs dancing to all the profanities against women? I know it will not stop that simply because people are addicted to the beats.

Stumble

Related to: Bully Boy Beatdown

Je me souviens encore comme si c'était hier de ce 2 Décembre 2004 où je me suis procuré ce double-album Street's Disciple à la Fnac Bellecour de Lyon, avec l'intime impression d'être comblé. L'excitation avait commencer à me submerger lorsque je lisais dans les revues de presse que son septième disque était un classique avant l'heure. En aucun cas j'ai eu l'idée de le télécharger au préalable, je me suis senti comme moralement poussé par son achat. Je me rappelle l'avoir écouté tard le soir, jusqu'à une heure du matin, dans ces eaux-là. Et le lendemain après-midi, la chronique était prête à la parution sur Rap2K, tellement j'ai été subjugué par ce fabuleux album.

En lisant scrupuleusement le livret - la veille de la publication de l'article donc -, j'ai regardé les crédits et en particulier les samples utilisés. Une caverne d'Ali Baba dans la black music : Barry White, Isaac Hayes, James Brown, Run DMC, George Clinton, Earth Wind & Fire, Marvin Gaye... La production de l'album se partage principalement entre Chucky Thompson, l'ami L.E.S. et Salaam Remi. Pour le reste, en ce qui concerne l'inspiration de Nas, fervant élève de la rue et du Hip Hop, il ne faut pas aller chercher loin puisqu'il a étudié à l'école des Rakim, EPMD et les membres du Juice Crew, label Cold Chillin', etc... ça tout le monde le sait. En fait, ce n'est pas Nas, ni Nasty Nas, ni Nastradamus, ni Nas Escobar, ni le God's Son qui rappe, c'est Nasir Jones au microphone. Rien que de penser ça, je me sentais pressé de l'écouter pour en donner mes sentiments à chaud, qui furent décrites de manière subjective dans les lignes les suivantes.

Disque 1: Une introduction perpétua cet intense suspens jusqu'à ce que "Message To The Feds, Sincerely, We The People" démarre. Et là, déjà, je me disais que Street's Disciple va dépasser tout ce que j'ai pu imaginer. La prestation de Nas est autant époustouflante que l'instrumental en deux parties qui l'accompagne. Mon enthousiasme se poursuivait avec "Nazareth Savage", une oreille sur le beat et l'autre sur les lyrics. Inutile d'en discuter longuement, ses textes demeurent plus éloquents que je ne saurai les décrire. J'avais bloqé ensuite sur un morceau complètement dingue : "American Way". N'ayez franchement pas peur du featuring de sa femme Kelis d'abord, la production de Q Tip reprend un sample de George Clinton (celui du crapuleux "Atomic Dog"), ce qui rend la chanson bondissante, presque dansante.

Ensuite ce sont deux tueries qui prennent le relai, à commencer par le très grand "Disciple", une surprenante réinterprétation de "Road To The Riches" de Kool G Rap. Quel moment jouissif ! La seconde tuerie, c'est "These Are Our Heroes", produite par Buckwild, que s'avère en fait une critique assez réaliste de l'influence du Hip Hop sur d'autres domaines indirectement liés au rap (sport, cinéma...). Nas y fait entre autre le tri entre les personnalités afro-américaines qu'il préfère ou pas en fonction de leurs agissements et de leur attitude. Enchaînement sur deux autres morceaux atypiques qui doivent s'écouter à la suite de par l'évolution de la narration, "Sekou Story" et "Live Now", avec en featuring Scarlett... qui n'est qu'en réalisé Nas avec une voix féminisée ! Pas de craintes à avoir non plus, l'illusion est parfaite. La fin du disque se cantonne dans des morceaux plus calmes, des mid-tempos assortis par de superbes samples. Les trois chansons dont il est question, dont "The Rest Of My Life" et "Reason" qui clôture en beauté ce premier disque, sont produites par L.E.S. Je retiens par-dessous tout "Just A Moment", avec la révélation Quan qui m'a énormément ému grâce à son incroyable talent de lyriciste.

J'avais avoué sans embarras que rien que ce disque m'avait suffit à faire revigorer en moins le passionné de Hip Hop que je suis - et je le pense toujours à chaque écoute -, et qu'il surclassait presque toutes les sorties rap de l'année 2004. Pour faire un point, on retrouve sur cette galette divers thèmes socio-politiques et culturels suivant l'opinion de Nas. Mais l'exercice est risqué, il fallait absolument que le 2e disque soit du même acabit, si ce n'est meilleur, pas pour juste histoire de doubler la durée de vie de Street's Disciple. Que nenni, il est aussi bon... Plus introspectif aussi, car Nas y parle ouvertement de sa vie personnelle dessus. Bon certes, c'est un peu relou de devoir se lever changer de CD dans la chaine hi-fi à chaque fois, mais pour 1h30 de plaisir, on ne va pas chipoter sur ce détail. 

Disque 2: D'entrée, je fus ébouriffé par "Suicide Bounce" feat Busta Rhymes (produite par Nas himself!), énormissime et surpuissante. La track commence par créer un sentiment de tension avant que les violons puis le beat entrent en action, et pis Busta au refrain et au pont est en super forme. "Street's Disciple" se passe de commentaires, je ne savais pas quoi en dire en fait. Le nom de "U.B.R. (Unauthorized Biography of Rakim" m'a interpellé : il s'agit d'une rétrospective discographique de la carrière de Rakim, son maître lyrical, qui contient pas mal d'anecdotes intéressantes. Et le prochain serait KRS-One... On peut encore attendre. Un autre temps fort de Street's Disciple, "Virgo" avec Doug E Fresh dans son rôle de human beat-box et Ludacris, dont la présence aux côtés de Nas reflète une reconnaissance de ses véritables talents de MC.

Les chansons rap suivantes parlent de femmes, et avec style. L.E.S. est de nouveau sollicité à la prod, sur "Remember The Times" notamment, où Nas évoque ses nombreuses conquêtes. Pas les meilleures titres, mais encore une fois, c'est du lourd. "Getting Married" est une sorte de métaphore pour comparer l'amour qu'à Nas pour l'art qu'il excelle, le Hip Hop, pour le meilleur et pour le pire (pourrait-on dire ironiquement). Le chanteur Maxwell vient apporter une touche soulful et avec classe sur le dansant "No One Else In The Room", agréable en soirée grâce à cette rythmique similaire à "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" de Michael Jackson. Mais le must du must, c'est bien évidemment "Bridgin The Gap" avec son père Olu Dara, où Nas va chercher encore plus loin dans ses origines musicales en injectant un blues des plus efficace. Ironie et easy listening sont les paradoxes de "War", qui traite des mésententes conjuguales que Nas a vécu avec la sulfureuse Carmen. On finit avec sa chanson dédiée à une des autres femmes de sa vie, sa fille Destiny Jones sur "Me & You", très touchant.

Bonus: des bonnes surprises et encore des surprises avec "You Know My Style" qui sample allégrement les Run DMC. On n'attendait pas un tel morceau ! La seconde est "Thief's Theme", une bombe qui augurait cet été 2004 le retour de Nas dans une forme impeccable.

Le disciple de la rue m'avait pleinement comblé, voire dépassé toutes mes espérances. C'est un disque extraordinaire avec lequel Nas m'a bluffé totalement autant sur l'aspect créatif que artistique. Nas avait réussi là où Jay-Z avait échoué avec Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse : Street's Disciple pourrait très bien se classer entre Life After Death de Notorious BIG, All Eyez On Me de 2Pac, ou plus récemment à côté de Speakerboxxx/The Love Below des Outkast dans le classement des meilleurs double-albums de hip-hop jamais sortis. Chapeau bas Nasir Jones... Il avait grandement remonté dans mon estime. C'est à cet instant précis que j'avais soumis par écrit l'idée, ou le fantasme (je préfère ce terme) d'une improbable collaboration avec Jay-Z pour aller plus loin, un événement invraisemblable qui s'est réalisé en 2006 quand Nas a signé chez Def Jam sous la présidence de Shawn Carter. J'avais affirmé pour finir que Street's Disciple était, selon moi, la meilleure sortie de l'année 2004 toutes catégories confondues et de surcroit, je confirmais personnellement l'authentification de ce nouveau classique.

Comme quoi, les choses arrivent souvent quand on s'y attend le moins, quand l'espoir est au plus bas. Nas m'a infligé une mémorable leçon de Hip Hop qui m'a laissé des souvenirs impérissables, que je redécouvre à chaque nouvelle écoute.

(chronique originale écrite le 3 Décembre 2004, rédaptée le 18 Juillet 2008 )

Thank you Nas.

Rap Artist Nas deals a percussive blow to Fox News and news in general with this music video, Sly Fox.  Best lines:

Propaganda: visual cancer"

"The Fox has a Bushie Tale."

"I watch CBS and I see BS."

"Only Fox that I love is a red one.

Only black man Fox loves is in jail or a dead one."