Ayo whattup...yall in the presence of greatness once again. The Hands of Zeus aka Volcano Hands aka the mighty powerful Cocaine Biceps also known as Galaxy Knuckles n the illustrious Phantom Raviolis is now in the place to be nahmean. Turn my muthafukin mic up tho cuz Im bout to get on my MC sh1t. Nowadays ey'body n they moms...they nannies...they kids...n they fukin pets is tryin to rap namsayin. Forreal tho...anybody can rhyme two words together b. That dont make that sh1t poetical tho...dont get it confused son. Theres niccas that RAP n theres niccas that EMCEE. Theres niccas that spit bars n theres niccas that create poetry...that timeless sh1t. Word is bond. I dont fuk wit all that YO IMMA JUS SAY SOME WILD SH1T mess but the whole verse aint even poetical like that. Naw...get that amateur sh1t outta here yo. The boy Nas tho? Ayo pardon that...the LEGENDARY Nasir Jones tho? Not him...you dont address that dude as a "rapper". Callin Nas a "rapper" is like callin Mike Jackson a "singer" or sayin "yeah...durin World War II...niccas wasnt really gettin along" or sayin Jimi Hendrix kinda did his thing on the guitar n sh1t. Fuk all that. Son been in the game 21 years n he still challengin muthafukas half his age to come wit some better sh1t whenever he drops a new joint. And like that...ya boy back. We BEEN waitin nahmean. Son had the streets starvin for damn near half a decade yo.... The fuk kinda sh1t is that Esco? Anyway lets get into this sh1t g.
1. No Introduction - This sh1t is probably the most elegant track Nas ever started one of his albums off wit ever yo. J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League known for all that....they got some elegant beats son. But its like Nas wanted to come right out the gate showin muthafukas that he aint lose his touch. Matter fact his touch got more extraordinary than it was nahmean (pause tho). These might be summa the flyest bars that son spit since It Was Written son. He speakin on his evolution right here namsayin. He takin it back to his own essence...he paintin vivid portraits of his childhood n sh1t. Next he walkin us thru his adolescent sh1t namsayin. Then he bringin us to the present nahmean...his grown sh1t. He speakin on his marraige fallin apart...he enlightenin yall. Like that...he settin the tone for the album. This whats on the menu b. Next he gon break all that sh1t down for you nahmean. He gon go chef that sh1t up. He got that sh1t on the grills right now. He let that sh1t marinate n now its all on the fryin pans n in the ovens n sh1t...he got the pots n pans on the burners. He sprinklin his little herbs n his spices on the joints...he addin the secret ingredients n sh1t namsayin. He bout to serve that. Get ya plates ready... this that gourmet sh1t. "Relate to me...only a few will. This how it sounds when you too real...they think its jus music still"
2. Loco-Motive ft. Large Professor - Ayo the legendary Exrtra P blessed this joint son. Nas really makin a statement right here namsayin. For yall little rugrats n 90s babies out there who wasnt part of that era who be havin the high waists n the short torsos n got necks that be lookin like a baby's forearm n sh1t...little niccas who got heads the size of grapefruits n sh1t like that...yalls might not kno who that is...but this the man who put Nas on when son was still a teenager like yalls namsayin. Large Pro was the leader of Main Source...which was basically Large n two DJs from Canada. They had a classic album called Breaking Atoms nahmean. Nas was on a little joint called Live From The BBQ. Son was like 17 yo...n he bodied that sh1t par. Son was talkin wild sh1t bout shootin nuns n physically assaultin the Son of God...sh1t I dont necessarily agree wit...but he was definitely ill yo. So now we back full circle. What better way for son to start off this sh1t...he done spoke on his childhood n now he bringin it to the next stage. My man No I.D. laid out a gritty track that got quotes from the pianos on the New York State Of Mind beat...n Nas spittin like he transported hisself back to '94 to pen this sh1t n hop in the booth at Battery or D& D Studios to spit it namsayin. Son sounds like NASTY Nas on this sh1t. Meanwhile Large Pro doin his thing to take this sh1t back to the 90s on the "hook". Large aint really doin nothin but remindin niccas bout the legacy. This sh1t make me wanna go bomb a train n slap the sh1t outta some transit cops b. You can almost smell the train yards...the tar...the dried up urine inside the cars...the scent of the dust blunts n green Polo cologne niccas use to rock back in the day. Son took it back. This my sh1t yo. "So much to write n say yo I dont kno where to start...so I begin wit the basics n flow from the heart"...Word life.
3. A Queens Story - More of that fly elegant sh1t...but son sounds like he rhymin over some sh1t from the openin credits to Miracle on 34th Street on this muthafuka. If I had peeped this sh1t without no vocals I mighta told niccas to get the fuk outta here wit that George Gershwin sh1t forreal tho. Word. But the homie Nas put that grime on that sh1t n dirtied that sh1t right on up. Niccas bumped the BPMs up a little on this sh1t so Esco spittin like its '88. The sh1t came out kinda fly tho. Plus son back on his "way back when" sh1t reminiscin on his past n whatever whatever. He paintin the virtual images for yall on some celebration of life sh1t for the niccas who "made it out the stash spot n here to tell the story". Three n a half minutes in...the beat switches up to some dark piano chords...n son starts reflectin on the downfall of the hustlers n crime partners he use to roll wit namsayin. The realest line tho..."I kno a few dealers...n some accident murderers / They act like the killed on purpose...liars brag they put work in / You aint mean to merk him ya guns a virgin..." gon bring us to...
4. Accident Murderers ft. Rick Ross - SON... No I.D. did his MUTHAFUKIN thing on this track. Ayo Imma break the sh1t down for yalls. First you got the quiet fade in wit the church organs n niccas ticklin the ivories on some Issac Hayes sh1t namsayin. Next you got the snares from MC Shan's "The Bridge" kickin the beat in. From there...SON....this track is like some dragons wit gonorrhea yo. I aint kno what else to say b. This sh1t is so much fire that you might gotta splash the speakers wit water after the joint finishes. They might gotta ban this sh1t from niccas thats locked up in the pen forreal son. Matter fact they might gotta hire some muthafukas to listen to the cassette tapes niccas is receivin n makin sure that this joint aint nowhere on the tapes unless they want riots jumpin off anytime a nicca got this sh1t bumpin in his walkman headphones in the yard b. Niccas might start throwin barbells at each other n end up killin other niccas by accident. Might sound like a joke to yalls but you put this joint in the hands of some niccas who aint got no type of regard for life like that n you liable to see innocent muthafukas losin they lives over that sh1t son. Nicca might be gettin they little shoulder press on n hear this sh1t n start wildin out n throwin the 50 lb plates in the air on some jubilant sh1t n catch bodies not even on purpose yo. Niccas might forreal get on some accident murderers sh1t...jus by coincidence. I aint even speak on the fact that Rawse killed this sh1t too. Straight up...I fuks wit this joint forreal son.
5. Daughters - Lotta yalls was taken by surprise when you heard this sh1t the first time. "How son gon drop a joint bout raisin daughters as a single yo? The fuk is you thinkin b? Niccas aint tryin to hear all that par... The nerve of this dude yo." But yo...this some fly sh1t right here son. You dont even gotta have a daughter to relate to this sh1t b. You jus need to be a normal ass muthafuka witta soul n a conscience to be able to relate to how son was feelin when he recorded this sh1t . The video was probably my favorite sh1t I had seen in a minute too. This was jus one more ill ass concept that no other dude in the history of rap had ever touched on that the lil homie came up wit. The REALEST line hands down had to be "They say the coolest playas n foulest heartbreakers in the world...God gets us back he makes us have precious little girls"...REAL talk yo. The Lord is seein how yall trill muthafukas move.
6. Reach Out ft. Mary J Blige - Ayo the god had expected this to jus be some regular ol R&B type joint thrown into the mix for some commercial appeal n all that...but son...this joint is another throwback to that fly ass 80s sh1t Nas be on. Mary took it back yo...on some Teena Marie or Evelyn Champagne King type sh1t. Nas payin tribute to QB again wit the little Ike's Mood sample that the legendary Marley Marl had flipped on more than one occasion for one of his classic joints n sh1t nahmean. This jus some memory lane sh1t for muthafukas who was round durin the crack era....not as babies tho. Im sayin niccas who use to aspire to own Jettas n M3s n sh1t. If you aint never rock no Coca Cola rugby or a Benetton sweater you might not kno the feelin yo. Thats my word. Ayo like Nas says... "My British Knights could rival ya foamposites...dont make me pull my Lottos out the closet".
7. World's An Addiction ft. Anthony Hamilton - Personally yo...the god woulda pushed this sh1t more to the end of the album to like track 12 maybe...cuz the sh1t is type depressin b. I aint sayin I dont like the joint. But forreal son it kinda fuks up the good mood of this sh1t so far. Like you at a pool party n Lupe Fiasco jus walked in on some "Yo...hol up...yall females dont gotta be disrespectin yallselves like THIS..." type sh1t. But I fuks widdit. Son definitely kinda lookin at the glass half empty on this joint...but its cool.
8. Summer On Smash ft. Miguel & Swizz Beatz - Theres mad joints that I can think of that was cool until a certain muthafukin individual hopped on that sh1t n sprayed his lyrical urine all over it n took the magic down a few notches. So whenever I be thinkin 'yo this whole album been dope as fuk so far..' I jus kno that THIS muthafuka bout to come surfin in on a wave of dikks to fuk ALL that sh1t up yo. Lotta the time I be askin myself why Swizzy even still here... Why son even still here par? ...Still lookin like the in between stage of Snoop Dogg morphin into Joe Budden n sh1t. The nicca still here gettin his "ONE HAND IN THE AIR IF YOU DONT REALLY CARE LIFE CAN BE SOMETIMES RIDICUOUS" on. Bad enough this nicca tainted the fuk outta Alicia Keys (Still love you tho boo...holla at me) but do he really gotta be jumpin in recordin booths like that? I dont want my seeds growin up in a world that lets Swizz "Rape Face" Beatz record hooks on dope albums b. That aint right namsayin. DMX droppin his joints on DatPiff while this kangaroo faced ass muthafuka been gettin features on all the Jay n Kanye joints of the last 4 years? Now he on Nas sh1t too? Word? FUK. THAT. SH1T. But I aint gon front...I aint gon front... That whippet lookin muthafuka did his thing behind the boards...n the god actually still kinda fuks wit this joint regardless of the fact Swizzy all up on the hook like that again. Pretty sure he dont even make beats these days that DONT got his ass on the hook in the first place yo. But Miguel really had to squeeze a couple bars in there like that tho? Fukouttahere wit that sh1t Miguel....singin ass muthafuka...
9. You Wouldnt Understand ft. Victoria Monet - Truthfully...Nas commercial joints usually aint the greatest sh1t to me b. Not since like the It Was Written days anyways. After that it was all You Owe Me...Rule n Hero type sh1t. He jus dont sound comfortable on sh1t like that tho. But this joint got more of that 80s crack era feel to it...like some Rakim jumpin on a Jody Watley track type sh1t. Yall little soy milk babies probably dont kno what the fuk Im talmbout right now cuz yalls wasnt even zygotes yet when that sh1t was happenin nahmean. Yalls wasnt even cells clustered together in the egg after yalls dads had bust his nut in ya moms n whatever namsayin. So these is probably some references yall muthafukas wont understand nahmean. But do the knowledge n wikipedia that sh1t or whatever whatever. This sh1t is defintely Esco's lane tho.The nicca Buckwild did his thing on the beat too.
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