New Music: Nas

Nas' new album is out, and was released with no title, to the surprise of no one. The title controversy, at this stage in his career, felt like a desperate ploy for attention and publicity, and it worked, since this is the most people have talked about him in years. His stunt gave me low expectations for the album (after all, if it was any good he wouldn't have to pull shit like this to get people to talk about it), but I was really surprised by how good it actually turned out.

Lyrically, he's as solid as ever. He's at his best when he's doing just solid poetry and not trying to write hooks, which why he falls apart during "Breathe" and "Make the World Go Round" (which features a WTF appearance of Chris Brown). The usual complaint about Nas remains valid: his beats are fucking useless. His beats are usually a couple bars long and looped endlessly through the track with no fills or variation. The real highlights are tracks like "Queens Get the Money" and "Project Roach", tracks that are all about the words and don't give a shit about pop hooks.