Staff Album Reveiw - Neville

Nas - Untitled
Hard-hitting lyrics provide staying power

If verbally crushing left wing politics and preserving African–American culture is your idea of a kick-ass album then, Nas’ Untitled should be at the top of your list. With his ninth studio-release, Nasir Jones crafted this album more conscious, intellectual, and lyric driven than any of his albums to date. Known to most as one of the few mainstream artists who present meaning and substance in his lyrics, Nas manages to bluntly present his feelings and views on many issues in America. The album is generally themed around the use and the lifestyle that follows the word ni**er.

Untitled, originally titled Ni**er, was initially protested by Al Sharpton and the NAACP, and was to be banned in stores for the offensiveness of the titled. After listening to the album, Ni**er actually seems to be appropriate title, in that, almost every song addresses an issue of the word. Songs like You can’t Stop us Now, Be a Ni**er too, N-I-*-*-E-R, and Ni**er Hatred, personally I haven’t really figured out if this album offends me or not, but it’s nice to hear Nas stray away from his old school gangsta-rap style and takes aim on the establishment that he’s been addressing since Illmatic. In Sly Fox, Nas instructs people to, “watch what you watching” concerning media sources and specifically attacks FOX news.

Even though he is one of my favorite rappers going all the way back to his first release, Illmatic, Nas seems to be a little preachy with his rebel persona. Because this album is so politically driven, Nas becomes more preachy than ever, basically using his status as a celebrity to tell his audience what to believe. This also goes with Nas’ tendency to give himself a kind of iconic status, with nicknames like God’s Son, or as explained in Hero. Nas can prove to be preachy or too cocky at times on this album. He presents many of his beliefs in a “with me or against me” style, which is nice because hip-hop artists don’t really do that, but it can get very annoying after a while. With all that said, I also would appreciate if there was just one song with no message, meaning, or substance just heavy bass and gangsta rap. But that’s just me.

The album also has good use of interesting samples and excerpts from different places such as Barack Obama’s change the world speech in Black President and Paul Mooney in Ni**er Hatred. With credits going to Dj Green lantern, Cool and Dre, Jay electronica, and Mark Ronson; the production on the album offers a creative mix of classic bass-heavy hip hop beats, but also some jazz driven melodies and great use of horns with a Motown swagger in Fried Chicken.
After a decade “in the game” Nas has proven that the talent that got him in the industry is still thriving. Between catchy thought-provoking lyrics, and top shelf production Untitled manages to show us Nas’ transformation as an artist and his beliefs on American culture a way that no other rapper can. I think this was a good album with a strong message, (maybe too strong) and amazing production. 3 out of 5 spins