I recently had a couple discussions with friends about the quality of music that the self-proclaimed "Queensbridge's Finest" creates. Nas emerged as a hip hop prodigy in 1994 with the critically acclaimed Illmatic. Nas' first album earned 5 Mics from The Source--a rating that only 43 albums have earned since Run-D.M.C. in 1989.
Illmatic is often appreciated for Nas' honest, image-filled, and fresh lyrics. With production from some of Hip Hop's greatest, including the Large Professor, Pete Rock, and Q-Tip this freshman album received acclaim as the best album of '94 by Toure, who then wrote for Rolling Stone. He writes,
"On Broadway, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) remains as hot as August concrete and Doggystyle as cold as ice – meaning that Dre and Snoop will not be returning as the Man. But the race ain't over, as a horde of major albums have recently been released or are slated for the last half of '94: Ice Cube and Dr. Dre's Helter Skelter, Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth's The Main Ingredients, Coolio's It Takes a Thief and Shyheim's AKA the Rugged Child, as well as albums from Smif n' Wessun, Redman, 2Pac, the Lady of Rage, the Method Man, Rakim and a solo album by A Tribe Called Quest's Phife. But they'll all be chasing the MC with a street buzz so loud it's threatening to silence the Death Row bass thump on Broadway: Nas."I don't disagree with most of this. Illmatic is a great album and Nas added something very new to hip hop and paved the way for many. What does often bother me is the subsequent acclaim and reverence with which many hip hop listeners treat the post-Ill Nas.
To many, Nas is considered a provocative thinker, social commentator, contemporary philosopher--in sum, a "conscious rapper". Nas' most recent album, Hip Hop Is Dead, 2006, held more punch in the title than it did in the actual tracks. The concept of the album, did not carry throughout the entire album. For quality concept albums, I look to Little Brother's The Minstrel Show and Lupe Fiasco, who did it masterfully on his sophomore album, The Cool.
Hip Hop Is Dead was a valiant attempt to reinvigorate the artistry of hip hop in a dry spell, and I think it may have actually been successful. However, the album itself did not stand as an standard by which hip hop and social awareness, consciousness, and artistry should be measured.
Nas has definitely contributed greatly to hip hop music and I commend and admire artists for stepping out of their comfort zones, continually pushing the art. After missed attempts, however, one cannot make the same attempts. To me, Nas just hasn't proven himself worthy of the hype about being a "conscious rapper" that has surrounded his music. Hopefully, his upcoming attempt Nigger, due out in 2008, will not mimic the disappointment of Hip Hop. I think I'll have to download that one before I actually buy it.
Better yet, hopefully I'll be wrong.
