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Nas is Like....Really Good by Sam Costello Nas "I Am" Columbia Records 1999 In the last issue, I challenged Nas in my review of The Coup's "Steal This Album." Well, Nas's newest album, "I Am" has hit the streets, and more than amply answered my challenge. As soon as I bought this record, I dreaded hearing it. I just had a feeling about it, that feeling you get when you buy a record from an artist you've loved for years, but you're sure has lost it. And Nas hadn't done much to dissuade me since 1996's excellent "It Was Written." So we all had to suffer through Nas' and various others' (most of whom didn't deserve to have a single second of their voices recorded) mobster fantasies in "The Firm," and the snippets of the first single from "I Am," "Nas is Like," certainly had not impressed me. And neither did "I Am" the first time I listened to it. But, luckily, I listened again. Upon my second sitting with this album, I knew it was nearly all I could have hoped. Aside from a slightly masturbatory intro (designed, apparently, to remind listeners what songs Nas recorded in the past--as if we didn't know), the 17-track album contains almost no duds. From the fine, stripped-down beats of "NY State of Mind Pt. II" and "Small World" to the guest-star-studded "Hate Me Now" (with Puffy--wouldn't you know it, just after I write something nasty about him, he produces one of this album's best tracks) and "Favor for a Favor" (featuring Scarface, in a segment that would almost convince you to buy a Geto Boys record, but not quite), the album shines. Many team-sport athletes are highly praised by saying they make those around them better, and on "I Am," Nas does the same. To say that I don't care for that impresario of hip pop, Puff Daddy would be an understatement, but he's put together a dramatic and catchy song in "Hate Me Now." "You Won't See Me Tonight" makes me almost care about Aaliyah, which is a pretty big achievement, and "Life is What You Make It" showcases everything that's good about DMX--his voice and delivery. The album does hit a few low points, such as the sex-ed. lecture "Dr. Knockboot," in which Nas dispenses some good advice, but seems to get a little too caught up in the sex rap genre. I could also do without the pedestrian "K-I-SS-I-N-G" and "Money is My Bitch." Otherwise, a great record. And not only great, but Nas seems to be going in an interesting new direction with his work. That, as he admits in "Big Things," in the past he was only interested in money, cars, and women, is illustrated in the gangster fairytale of "It Was Written" and the (supposedly) high-style, high-drama "The Firm." "I Am," though, marks the debut of a Nas who seems interested in the larger issues that may help truly solve the problems of the ghetto he raps about so often. Nas frequently mentions dream scenarios--a nationwide movement of ghetto residents, and more black office holders, both at local and national levels. It's just talk for now, but music is never a bad place for a movement to begin. So if Nas can forget about calling people "faggot-ass," caring about his "cheddar," and calling women "bitches," he could well be on his way to a leadership position in something far more important than the music world. And according to the CD case, we'll get a chance to see where Nas is going on October 26, when his next album, "Nastradamus" finds its way into our CD collections. Sam Costello is still a junior at IC. He doesn't really like hockey. That was a joke. So was the part about South Dakota. He is, however, still, and probably always will be, a cracker. |
