Albums Nas & DJ Premier - Light-Years (Discussion Thread)

[CHERUB]

Maybe im the only one but i hear melodies in my head from this album randomly. i keep playing it.

 

[((ReFleXioN)) EteRNaL]

What is your criteria for a great hip hop song? If you're talking about making hits, that's an entirely different thing.

Are "N.Y. State of Mind," "One Love," "I Gave You Power," "Street Dreams," "Nas is Like," "Hate Me Now," "Undying Love," etc. not examples of elite songwriting? Nas has talked about damn near everything in music, rapped from multiple different perspectives. He rapped a two-part song as a woman. How is not that a sign of versatility?

Yes to me. Great songwriting should be able to appeal to a worldwide audience. Nas has tried MANY of times to do that and failed. That's just a fact. He tried desperately to cross over. Then when he couldn't he dropped this cope


"Making hits is easy.
Put a famous bytch on the hook
there you go with a platinum CD"


This was 100% sour grapes on nas's part. He knows making hits isn't easy. Even with a "famous bytch". It takes a very special talent to make worldwide rap HITS. Nas was never that guy. Kendrick is far more versatile with the pen. You're telling me gun to your head if you needed Nas or Kendrick to make a song that charts top 10 worldwide. I don't care what the beat is. You're gonna give it to Nas?....let's be serious here. Kendrick is just in a different league as an all around song writer. And yes. Song writing is apart of lyricism.

 

[TheJet]

This is an album that people will probably go back to and appreciate down the line.

I could see that. But fukk I wish it hit immediately like MAGIC or KD3

Michael &Quincy
I'm on Fire
Legit
Thun
Reminisce
WTF SMH ( second half)
Were a moment breh

 

[thekidfromqueens]

I took a break from this thread for the weekend, and now we got people saying NASIR JONES is not an elite songwriter? He has some of the most unique concepts in hip hop. What are we doing.

 

[Metal Face]

What is your criteria for a great hip hop song? If you're talking about making hits, that's an entirely different thing.

Are "N.Y. State of Mind," "One Love," "I Gave You Power," "Street Dreams," "Nas is Like," "Hate Me Now," "Undying Love," etc. not examples of elite songwriting? Nas has talked about damn near everything in music, rapped from multiple different perspectives. He rapped a two-part song as a woman. How is not that a sign of versatility?

my auntie is a man now >>> all those songs

 

[Overpss]

Yes to me.

Don't waste your time with Spliz the dikkrider

 

[Mike Wins]

It’s at least an aspect of good songwriting. Ask any songwriter what the hardest thing to do is and almost every one will agree that it’s to craft a hit. These are commercially released albums not SoundCloud uploads.
Let’s not pretend Nas is Prince here either releasing album after album of wildly experimental songs that don’t even have a potential radio song. He has collabs with an extremely long list of commercially viable singers, rappers and producers where he is clearly trying to make a hit.

They will tell you that but how many of them could write Nas verse on Verbal Intercourse? Not a single one.

For most of its history hip hop was different from every other pop music genre in that lyrics and verses was the focal point. Once lyricism got minimized and pop hooks plus catchy melodies became the focus it lost what made it unique and became like every other pop genre. Which is why so much of the genre now is disposable garbage far as what get label support.

 

[Overpss]

the 21 savage album has better songwriting than this

 

[Mike Wins]

the 21 savage album has better songwriting than this

Who let this bot out the bushes?

 

[FunkDoc1112]

Kendrick Lamar is one



Nas wishes he could write something that good.

I dunno why this song is some "Checkmate" for Kendrick critics. Dude has one or two songs every album where he leans into the weird idiosyncrasies of his voice; it's supposed to be silly, just him saying a bunch of words that allow him to do an over the top Cali nikka accent, no different from an NY verse that's just a bunch of "Word is bond what up dun" shyt

 

[Izanami]

If you think Man at the Garden is better than One Mic the just leave this thread.

One Mic is literally praised for the energy and tempo switch.

The funny thing about “Man at the Garden” is not only it’s an inferior version of “One Mic”. Kendrick has done a similar song in “FEEL”. Which is 10X better than MATG. Once I saw people praising MATG I realize Kendrick might be the most overrated of this era.

 

[((ReFleXioN)) EteRNaL]

I dunno why this song is some "Checkmate" for Kendrick critics. Dude has one or two songs every album where he leans into the weird idiosyncrasies of his voice; it's supposed to be silly, just him saying a bunch of words that allow him to do an over the top Cali nikka accent, no different from an NY verse that's just a bunch of "Word is bond what up dun" shyt

On top of that he was clearly mocking no substance rappers who don't say shyt in their raps. Similar to black thought mumbling on "don't say nothing".

 

[cheek100]

the 21 savage album has better songwriting than this

 

[Mike Wins]

Yes to me. Great songwriting should be able to appeal to a worldwide audience. Nas has tried MANY of times to do that and failed. That's just a fact. He tried desperately to cross over. Then when he couldn't he dropped this cope


"Making hits is easy.
Put a famous bytch on the hook
there you go with a platinum CD"


This was 100% sour grapes on nas's part. He knows making hits isn't easy. Even with a "famous bytch". It takes a very special talent to make worldwide rap HITS. Nas was never that guy. Kendrick is far more versatile with the pen. You're telling me gun to your head if you needed Nas or Kendrick to make a song that charts top 10 worldwide. I don't care what the beat is. You're gonna give it to Nas?....let's be serious here. Kendrick is just in a different league as an all around song writer. And yes. Song writing is apart of lyricism.

Nah. He understand the reality. Almost all hits are bought and paid for. If a label want a hit for a priority artist they will pay one of the industry top writers for one of their best hooks, drop the payola bags and buy a hit. Even if the artist wrote the whole track themselves they still need the label machine behind them 99% of the time. Organic hits happen but rarely.

 

[Overpss]

It's a fact though