The thing is that Nas doesn't really make "Bangers" anymore. Even his harder, more boom bap sounding tracks (The Don) aren't really something simple you can just mindlessly zone out too.
"New York is like an Island a big Rikers Island
The cops be out wildin, all I hear is sirens
Its all about surviving same old two step
Tryna stay alive when
They be out robbin, I been out rhyming
Since born knowledge like prophet Muhammad
Say the ink from a scholar
Worth more than the blood of a martyr"
Nas's last 5 albums have all revolved around a certain concept. Street's Disciple was about him fusing all of his different rap personas (Nasty, Escobar, Nastradamus, God's Son) into one man, maturing and settling down. Hip Hop Is Dead was him channeling his frustration with that era's EXTREME dumbing down and disrespect for the culture into a musical cry for Hip Hop's collective artists to wake up and take responsibility for the damage they were causing to the genre. Untitled and Distant Relatives were poignant observations on Race relations and Black identity in America and the greater influence on African culture throughout the world. Life Is Good was the work of a man entering middle age reflecting on the ups and downs of life and existence. NONE of these concepts alone, really would offer you the type of music that a crowd could "get hype too" whereas his earlier work offered sprinkles of that.
In my opinion I prefer New Nas, simply because the Nas of THIS era as an elder statesmen who is unafraid to use his platform to create entire albums centered upon a unified theme is fascinating. I'd rather be impressed by an album as an entire body of work then have a few "bangers" here and there to satisfy a fleeting moment in a club or DJ set. There are plenty artists who serve that purpose but only few artists (in my opinion) who can craft an excellent to classic album surrounding the themes of ones own personal growth. We'll ALWAYS have Illmatic, It Was Written, I Am and all the classic Nas freestyles to give us that old feeling of when he was a young, hungry MC, who just wanted to kidnap, torture, and rape any beat he spit on. The catalogue isn't going anywhere, but Hip Hop is better off when artists of Nas's talent and pedigree utilize their lyrical gifts to craft albums that are true to who they are at a certain time period, instead of going after the "banger" or the "Hit". Hip Hop doesn't need Nas for that any longer, Hip Hop needs Nas to continue to
BE NAS
"Unforgettable, unsubmittable, I go by N now
Just one syllable, it's the end cause the game's tired
It's the same vibe, Good Times had right after James died
That's why the gangsta rhymers ain't inspired
Heinous crimes help record sales more than creative lines"
That's the Nas of today. You can't tell a person that HHID isn't the "real Nas" as in actuality, Nas has been telling this that this is in fact the him of TODAY. Either you rock with it our you don't, but as we ALL know the 18-25 year old version of ourselves will be drastically different from the 30-40 year old versions of ourselves. What Nas has done is simply funneled all of that growth, maturity, and experience into his music. Hip Hop Is Dead-Life Is Good is the most honest version of that.
#TPC
when they hear it was written and go 
for anything after 1999
when I told them jay wasnt in my top 10 but nas and tragedy were.
