Nas Features > Nas Albums?

[5th Letter]

I like Nas features over his albums because I feel Nas' weakness is his ear for beats. I love to hear Nas over a dope beat. Agree or disagree?

Are people still saying this in 2016?

 

[The Recipe]

Disagree, Nas concepts on albums are second to none and I dont have a problem with his beat selection he doesnt need beats to carry him like some artist his lyrics, delivery, story telling etc makes any beat he is on an after thought.

 

[Revolver Ocelot]

 

[Built 4 cuban linx]

You niggas that complain about his beats, what type of beats y'all want him to rap on? The beats fit him

 

[a_list]

Never had an issue with the production....Compile all of the features and they're not touching songs like I Gave You Power, Represent,Theifs Theme, The Message,Your The Man etc

 

[5th Letter]

R&B and Rap? Here are some of my favorite Nas features.

Gimme Yours

Mo Money Mo Murder Mo Homicide

Verbal Intercourse

Fast Life

How Ya Livin

Love Is All We Need

Head Over Heels

John Blaze

Body In The Trunk

The Essence

Hot Boys

 

[Maximus Rex]

I like Nas features over his albums because I feel Nas' weakness is his ear for beats. I love to hear Nas over a dope beat. Agree or disagree?

These new cats just need to quit. If you think Panda is a hot song and Fetty Wop is dope artist then your thoughts and opinions on rap are null and void. Anyway, if the following is a dope beat, (then pray tell,) what the fuck is?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKjj4hk0pV4

State of Mind

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCnqDvvZrcM

Life's a Bitch-Ft. AZ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMJH2XWBQGU

The World Is Yours ( Remix)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvmjZkFcCh0

If I Ruled The World

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCOURZ-yx4E

One Mic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhPtRA7zieE

Made You Look

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC4ORS5n9Hg

Nas Is Like

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvDjQKkHJC4

The Message

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ePQKD9iBfU

Ether

 

[qawshun]

So you're saying Nas has verses better than his album ?? Bruh you wilin if that's the case. For example

1.the verse on last words is waaay better than hot boys could ever be

2. Last verse on Nas is like better than ever feature he did that year

3. The message first verse or the 1st verse on take it in blood any feature

4. The last verse on every ghetto >>

5. Get down >>>

6. SD live now >>> unless victory came out that year

7. Hiphop is dead you're probably right

8. Untitled you're probably right i think victory came out this year

9. Life is good you're probably right

But Nas goes in on his albums. If you know better verses out side the albums than what i said please list them

 

[RuffDraft]

Nas' raps should be locked in a cell, It Ain't Hard to Tell...

Of all the rappers to mention when it comes to features, how did you come up with Nas?

Illmatic, It Was Written, Stillmatic, The Lost Tapes etc. barely a bad beat... many classics.

 

[Like Water]

@smp4life You're normally a relatively cool poster, but I have no problem hitting you with "The .Gif".

Do us all a favor and don't make stupid threads like this again, please.

 

[Cleveland7venty6]

The message sample:

 

[HovTheGawdMC]

Yes it is true but u can say the same for other MC's like Hov, Kiss, Fab, Snoop, Busta

 

[_God_]

Yes and add mixtape material

 

[The Nuisance]

Nas beat selection is trash. He finds a couple dope tracks every album tho

 

[Lou Cypher]

I like his albums more. He's had some classic features but his overall projects are way greater than a handful of showoff verses. Ive never had too big of an issue with his production. There are some songs that I get confused with what he was hearing when he picked the beat though. A majority of it I'm fine with.

 

[za'kiss]

The basis for the Nas "doesn't have an ear for beats" criticism I think rests entirely on the lull period in the 90s between It Was Written and Stillmatic. In other words, I Am... and Nastradamus. It was a fair criticism then. It was really odd what happened because it really seemed like Nas did have a tin ear for beats after It Was Written. Outside of the big name production credits on I Am... (i.e. "NY State of Mind Pt. II" and Nas Is Like") I think the production is fairly poor.

The production on Nastradamus is mostly garbage and doesn't hold up well at all IMO. Those beats sound like run-of-the-mill synthy bootleg beats common to that era and that we've never really heard again. LES and Dame Grease dropped the ball on that album. Oddly enough, his best beats from this era went to The Lost Tapes.

Stillmatic and God's Son were well-produced albums. Whether or not you think Street's Disciple is well-produced depends on whether you're a fan of the Salaam Remi aesthetic. I can handle him in doses, but I found that album's production boring. It at least had vision though.

I think Untitled's production is also weak, which is a shame because lyrically it's fire. A lot of Nas fans adore that album for some reason though and think it's a classic. I don't get it. The production on a lot of the songs grates. I haven't listened to it in a while though so maybe it will hold up on a re-listen. That's the thing with a lot of Nas material is that sometimes I'll think songs that were badly produced at one time I'm able to finally "get" and appreciate later.

Hip Hop Is Dead, Distant Relatives, and Life Is Good have great production. And The Firm album lowkey has great production too. So being as generous to the "Nas can't pick beats" criticism as I possibly can, and being someone sympathetic to that criticism for at least one stage in his career, I count 4 albums at most that have weak production out of 12 albums total from Nas. That's a damned good ratio and a great body of work if you ask me.