Nas - Untitled Review

Posted by Patrick Robinson on 07.15.2008

Nas finally achieves a balance between good production and his signature lyrical style to deliver an album that will appear on many Album Of The Year lists without a doubt.

After creating a veritable whirlwind of controversy and outcry after 2006s Hip-Hop Is Dead, Nas announced that his next album was to be titled Nigger. He had initially wanted Hip-Hop Is Dead to be titled thusly however, he had faced too many blockages from both label and retail outlets and changed the name.

With backing from LA Reid, Chairman of Def Jam Records, Nigger v2.0 seemed ready to go with a release date scheduled sometime in the first quarter of 2008. However, again, Nas faced backlash from retail outlets, public figureheads (such as Al Sharpton) and even Jay-Z seemed a little uncomfortable about the album title suggesting that Nas had the right idea, but was executing it ineffectively.

Nas eventually conceded defeat to an extent after his management was concerned that major retail outlets such as Walmart would not stock the CD and would thereby limit sales and subsequently the number of people being exposed to the message he was portraying.

With the name change came the assurance that the content would remain the same so how effectively does the now titled, Untitled album push the message?



Tracks

1. Queens Get The Money
2. You Can’t Stop Us Now Ft. Eban Thomas & The Last Poets
3. Breathe
4. Make The World Go Round Ft. Chris Brown & The Game
5. Hero Ft. Keri Hilson
6. America
7. Sly Fox
8. Testify
9. N.I.G.G.E.R. (The Slave And The Master)
10. Untitled
11. Fried Chicken Ft. Busta Rhymes
12. Project Roach Ft. The Last Poets
13. Y’all My Niggas
14. We’re Not Alone Ft. Mykel
15. Black President

The opening track, “Queens Get The Money” is a lyrical exercise for Nas and in typical fashion, he manages to rap about anything and everything in just over 2 minutes but switches between topics so seamlessly you really feel like the song has more to it. A quiet piano loop provided by Jay Electronica is the entire beat as there are no drum claps, snares, 808 drums etc. which allows the focus to be on the lyrics.

Next up is “You Can’t Stop Us Now” with production care of Salaam Remi and sounds very much like something RZA may have come up with in recent years. Over a fairly mellow beat, Nas reflects on the influence black people have in American society and how they have come so far from the days of slavery.

There are only a few guest appearances on Untitled which allows Nas to truly shine much like he did on Illmatic however, the few guest appearances here are actually quite good. Chris Brown provides a simple yet effective hook in a call and response style with Nas on “Make The World Go Round”. Game meanwhile flips a flow he hasn’t used in a few years and spits a mostly materialistic verse which works in the context of the song.

Busta Rhymes shows up on “Fried Chicken”, a song I’m still a little undecided on. On one hand, the two use fried chicken metaphors for describing women. It’s quite different to the usual money = women metaphor many rappers use and whilst some of the lines are a bit silly, the majority work but it won’t be a song that everybody likes, I can say that now.

“Project Roach” features spoken word interludes from The Last Poets as Nas raps from the perspective of a cockroach as Nas furthers the message by comparing black people to cockroaches. It might sound ridiculous, and on your first listen you could be forgiven for thinking so, but it’s definitely one of those songs that makes more and more sense with subsequent listens.

On most of Nas’ albums he has a ‘left field’ song, Stillmatic had “Rewind”, Streets Disciple had “U.B.R.”, Hip-Hop Is Dead had “Who Killed It?” and now Untitled has “Fried Chicken” and “Project Roach” to add that collection. They’re easily two of the most creative songs you’ll hear this year I can say without doubt.

Production wise, Nas has always suffered from having nothing outright irritating, but often tracks that are just average. Hip-Hop Is Dead showed a move away from that trend and Untitled is a testament to Nas FINALLY developing a good ear for production. “Make The World Go Round” has a uplifting, celebratory feel to it care of Cool & Dre whilst the single, “Hero”, produced by Polow Da Don has a hybrid of sounds, combining elements of the club and the streets in probably the best crossover beat of the year.

DJ Toomp, who you may know from the work he’s done on T.I.’s albums, drops by on “N.I.G.G.E.R.” with one of the better beats on the album as Nas laments the image that non-African Americans have of black people and how many choose to perpetrate that stereotype, rather than dispel it.

One of my favorite tracks on the album though is “Black President” which uses a sample of 2Pac from “Changes” very effectively. DJ Green Lantern makes a marching-style beat with the use of a military drum as Nas imagines a world with a black president, before melding into real life and the prospect of Barack Obama winning the upcoming election.

Nas’ message does indeed shine through on every track, something which made this album a much better listen each time round as I kept noticing things I had missed between the lines. Whilst it may not be as prominent on some as others, “Sly Fox” is one of the better ones as Nas, as only he can, raps about a wide variety of topics, changing seamlessly every few lines. Backed by a guitar riff provided by stic.man from dead prez, the track serves as one of the most engaging on the album.

The flaws with Untitled are minor, but there are a few. “America” is a very good track in itself and again, the message is quite prominent (that of some of the issues in current day America), however the production isn’t as energetic as the previous tracks, or the ones that follow. Likewise, “We’re Not Alone” kills the momentum the album was building up until that point with slower production, making it another minor slump just as things were really getting started. Really, it’s a minor quip, but they could have served a better purpose appearing closer to the start of the album, allowing the energy to build over time towards the end.

Content wise, the album really does deal with mostly the same topics. The misconceptions of black America, the misconceptions of modern day American society, racism in it’s different forms and the hardships that face a young black person trying to grow up. In that sense, some people may find the album repetitive, but there’s enough creativity and lyrical gems to keep most people interested.

The 411: It’s not an album for everybody, but even those with hesitations, I strongly urge you to check this album out. Nas came forward wanting to present a message through his music, and whilst it isn’t effective on every track, those that do portray a message are some of the best tracks Nas has done in years. For most people though, this album is going to make a lot of ‘Best Of’ year end lists easily. Highly recommended.

Final Score:  9.5   [  Amazing ]