Nas – ‘Untitled’

Nas – ‘Untitled’ (2008)

Nas has created one of the most socially conscious and important Hip Hop albums of recent times. His concepts and themes for this album bring back the glory days of Hip Hop when lyrics actually meant something and a MC’s words had thought and intent behind them.

The original title for this album: ‘Ni**er’, although fought by Nas at great lengths to remain, in hind sight actually doesn’t do justice to how conceptually strong this album is. Not just in connotation of the word, but the growth of African-American people and their history.

Nas conveys his message in a powerfully direct albeit impartial way, leaving the ultimate meaning to the listener. Glorifying his afro-centric culture through both positive & negative imagery, there is a consistent sarcasm to Nas’s lyrics that meld so perfectly together and never become dull. No selfless braggadocio to be seen here, except for the opening Jay Electronica produced intro. No chorus or beat, just a beautiful section of keys which Nas unleashes a blazing verse over, that relives Nasty Nas at his best. You won’t hear a more intelligent and graceful battle rap.

There is so much variety and range to Nas’s flow whether it be on ‘Testify’ where he rhymes an almost spoken word verse. Or perhaps re-educate yourself on an MC technique called flow on ‘Breath’. The cadence and pace Nas controls on each song are poles apart but each pour out immense passion. 

Following on from the 1996 classic ‘I Gave You Power’, Nas once again takes on the first person point-of-view to break down the term in question so poignantly on ‘Ya’ll My Ni**ers’ ;

“Yo, I was thinkin’ a little bit
What would it take to authenticate my nigganess?
Ball ridiculous?  26 inches when I call up the dealership?
Aww that’s some nigga shit
We only out for our own benefit?
We havin’ too many kids?  We Claudines?  Welfare recipients?
The infamous free clinics is the sickest shit
Make me think what the hell they clean they syringes with
Everybody bleeding, the cops are the demons
Courtrooms full of goons, jail buses leanin’
Handcuffs squeezed too tight on youth life
If you fight they just give in, people used to do sit ins
They got Nigeria and Niger, two different countries
Somehow Niger turned to nigger, and shit got ugly
The problem is we started thinking like the colonists
‘Til Noble Drew Ali started droppin’ that consciousness”

They say Hip hop is beats & rhymes. The latter has never been an issue for Nas. However, his beat selection has always been his Achilles heel. In some aspects this album is no different, though it is a testament to how much knowledge and thought Nas expresses on this album to make any debate on musical choice irrelevant. The lyrics and more important the concept, is that great.

The evolution of Nas as an MC, good or bad makes for a great artistic timeline. Beginning as the raw street poet-prodigy to the East Coast’s proclaimed savior. Through the sellout bling days, becoming the self indulgent Nastradamus to the comeback beef and claims for kingship of New York. Finally Nas has come full circle. Dropping conscious, significant lyrics as done by past legends like Chuck D and KRS One, but delivering them in the most highly skilled rhyme scheme and articulate grasp of the English language. It is a level that has rarely been equaled this consistently before.

Comparing MC’s is a topic that essentially has no ending because it has no measuring point to begin with. What Nas has achieved with this album though, must put him above all in present day. He is touching on themes and social ill’s that so-called critically acclaimed rappers today have become too lazy to pursue.

Scores of artists panned Nas’s title for his last release; ‘Hip Hop Is Dead’. The title was seen to be an insult to many that may have thought otherwise. Though with the release of his latest album, it’s no coincidence that it bears a strong lyrical connection to ‘Hip Hop Is Dead’, and proves that for a while it was.

~ Marc Scalercio

Marc, you write an extremely thoughtful and poignant review of this album.  I had goose bumps reading your review as I too share your vision on Hip Hop, Nas and this landmark album.

The skill with which you wrote this review is only surpassed by Nas’s own rhyme articulation.  Well done, great review.