Stillmatic

by

Nas

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Why compare "Stillmatic" to "Illmatic"? They're different albums from different years, and each deserves to be experienced on its own terms. I listened to "Still" before I bought "Ill", so I was able to enjoy it fully without having to compare it to its illustrious predecessor. And I loved it...

Nas is an amazingly talented rapper. His lyrics are the meat and his beats are the bones of his music. It's fun (and pretty rare) to listen to a catchy rap that actually says something besides merely celebrating ho's, dope, and guns. Blazing tracks like "One Mic", "My Country", and "What Goes Around" testify to that. "Rewind" is one of the most cleverly structured raps I've ever heard (a musical "Memento"?), and Nas slings some dirt on Jay-Z, Prodigy, and others on "Ether" and "Destroy and Rebuild", which would be a tiring conceit if it didn't sound so damn good.

Get this album. Nas has made some missteps ("Nastradamus" anyone?), but he's stepped back on his throne with this one.

This Nas album was very anticipated when it comes to the war of words between Nas and Jay-Z. Jay-Z lyrically attacked Nas on his joint "The Takeover" and it was good. But now it's Nas' turn and he made the most of his opportunity to kill'em. The song which is one of my favorite songs on the album named "Ether". This one was better than his street-song answer back at Jay-Z which was also called "Stillmatic"( that version is not on the album). This album is in my opinion much better than "Nastradamus" and "I Am". He still has the gift to tell graphic stories with his lyrics in which he displays in "Rewind" which he tells the story backwards!! Very nice concept. Nas is good at that. The other standout songs to me are,"Stillmatic", "You're the Man", "Got Ur Self A..", "2nd Childhood", "Destroy & Build" which he is answering to Cormega (another rapper that has publicly dissed Nas), and "What Goes Around". Nas is a gifted emcee and always will be. He has good production to go along with his lyrics. Producers such as Megahertz, Swizz Beats, Dj Premier, Hangmen 3, TrackMasters, and Large Professor (glad he's back w/Nas!). To sum it all up, this album is pretty good. This review is really based on 3.5 stars and it would have been 4 but there were a few cuts that lagged to me. Nas has himself a winner and way better than his last release and he sounds focused to be on top again!!