Rick Ross teases Executive Producing Nas Album

[King Ming]

Ross or Game would be perfect executive producers for a Nas album

 

[MoneyTron]

This would be a good look honestly.

 

[Ziggiy]

Nas been successfully executive producing his OWN albums for years now. Let that man live

 

[BmoreGorilla]

get those trash soul-less Justice League beats away from Nas

just work with Knxwledge and Thelonious Martin already Nas

Cut that out breh. Nas would sound incredible over beats like this

 

[BmoreGorilla]

hes not wack but ross has never put out anything on the level of a chronic or ready to die
im not trying to shade ross..just an artist as legendary as nas I would rather see him work with alot of other EP before ross

Not many people have put out albums on those levels. But since Ross been in the game he’s been the most consistent artist in hip hop

 

[BmoreGorilla]

Eh....not really man.

"Illmatic" was revered from day 1. That's literally all it had going for it. Hip-hop media back then was calling Nas the second coming of Rakim.

When that's your introduction....it's damn near impossible to live up to those expectations.

I get what you're saying, as far as the other more commercially successful albums increased his fan base, and probably made people go back to "Illmatic"....which only increased it's stature....but if there is no "Illmatic" then there is nothing to go back to in the first place. Most people's introduction to Nas was "IWW" judging by the sales....yet no asks for a sequel to that. And it's not because of "The Firm" or "I Am". Both of which weren't well received, in real time.

And Nas dropped "Stillmatic" in 2001, before mainstream media had really jumped on the "Illmatic" hype train. So the idea that retroactive praise somehow played a role in Nas trying to "go back" to his glory days....is kinda silly.

Fred.

Yea Illmatic was called a classic album from the jump. No big singles. But it had some of the top east coast producers at the time and a young MC rhyming his ass off sounding wiser than his age. 5 mics in the Source back when that meant something. I would say that Source rating was the main reason people checked for the that album in the first place. It’s been the gift and curse of his career tho

 

[hex]

I know The Firm wasn't well received, but a lot of people liked I Am... and that was more of Nas Escobar and the mafiosos style he had going with IWW. That's why there's no need to ask for a sequel because there's not a huge jump stylistically from IWW and I Am... Nas dropped Illmatic and there's a huge jump from what he was doing with Illmatic and It Was Written (at least in the eyes of critics) and he continued moving further away from the sound of Illmatic with each album. So his answer to critics was Stillmatic. What I mean by the hype train, I'm talking about documentaries, tours, and re-releases.

I dunno breh. Personally I thought "I Am" was trash. So did my entire peer group. I would've been 23 at the time.

Obviously I mean trash for Nas. I'm not saying it's a Blueface album or anything.

And honestly he answered critics immediately with "Nas Is Like", off "I Am". Because people in his circle (Q-Tip, etc.) was telling him the direction he was headed in with "IWW" was career suicide. Obviously that's over stating things but by the time "I Am" dropped Nas clearly knew he needed to reconnect with Premier to reassure fans.
But then the B-side was "Dr. Knockboot", which was terrible.

Anyway, I'm sort of rambling but my point is, even as early as 2001 it became obvious to Nas he needed to revisit "Illmatic". Which is where "Stillmatic" came from.

Fred.

 

[BmoreGorilla]

I know The Firm wasn't well received, but a lot of people liked I Am... and that was more of Nas Escobar and the mafiosos style he had going with IWW. That's why there's no need to ask for a sequel because there's not a huge jump stylistically from IWW and I Am... Nas dropped Illmatic and there's a huge jump from what he was doing with Illmatic and It Was Written (at least in the eyes of critics) and he continued moving further away from the sound of Illmatic with each album. So his answer to critics was Stillmatic. What I mean by the hype train, I'm talking about documentaries, tours, and re-releases.

Idk breh. I was 17 when I Am dropped and it’s where he fell off imo. Even tho Nas Is Like is my favorite track of his. Honestly it took a while for IWW to grow on me becuz I was such a huge fan of Illmatic that i was disappointed at first. By the time Nastradamus dropped he fell all the way off. He was late 80s LL status. Stillmatic was his Mama Said Knock You Out

 

[Izanami]

Eh....not really man.

"Illmatic" was revered from day 1. That's literally all it had going for it. Hip-hop media back then was calling Nas the second coming of Rakim.

When that's your introduction....it's damn near impossible to live up to those expectations.

I get what you're saying, as far as the other more commercially successful albums increased his fan base, and probably made people go back to "Illmatic"....which only increased it's stature....but if there is no "Illmatic" then there is nothing to go back to in the first place. Most people's introduction to Nas was "IWW" judging by the sales....yet no asks for a sequel to that. And it's not because of "The Firm" or "I Am". Both of which weren't well received, in real time.

And Nas dropped "Stillmatic" in 2001, before mainstream media had really jumped on the "Illmatic" hype train. So the idea that retroactive praise somehow played a role in Nas trying to "go back" to his glory days....is kinda silly.

Fred.

I Am... got 4.5 mics, was well receive, and he sold well out the gate. I’m still confused on how the narrative of I Am... has turned out to be a bad album that had a poor reception.

 

[hex]

I Am... got 4.5 mics, was well receive, and he sold well out the gate. I’m still confused on how the narrative of I Am... has turned out to be a bad album that had a poor reception.

Not sure how old you are but nobody gave a fukk about mic ratings. Not fans. That was more an industry thing.

Keep in mind albums and the magazine issue that reviewed them might not even come out at the same time. So it's not as if people had a Source mag in one hand and a potential purchase in the other, to dictate what they would buy.

The sole interest people had in The Source back then....and I mean fans talking about hip-hop on a daily basis....was who got the Hip-Hop Quotable. That was debated like hell.

And the sales angle is because of course it sold well. Nas was an A-lister by then. And the only way to listen to an album back then....was to buy it. Doesn't mean that most people that copped it liked it, though.

Fred.

 

[JustCKing]

Not sure how old you are but nobody gave a fukk about mic ratings. Not fans. That was more an industry thing.

Keep in mind albums and the magazine issue that reviewed them might not even come out at the same time. So it's not as if people had a Source mag in one hand and a potential purchase in the other, to dictate what they would buy.

The sole interest people had in The Source back then....and I mean fans talking about hip-hop on a daily basis....was who got the Hip-Hop Quotable. That was debated like hell.

And the sales angle is because of course it sold well. Nas was an A-lister by then. And the only way to listen to an album back then....was to buy it. Doesn't mean that most people that copped it liked it, though.

Fred.

On the same token, not everybody felt that way about I Am. A lot of people felt it was one of his best. That's not saying most folks did (it's just as erroneous to assume that most hated it though). At best, I Am had mixed reception.

Same goes for Illmatic. Not everybody felt or feels the same way about that album either. Not saying that a lot of people feel its wack, but there's many who don't share the opinion that its GOAT status as well. Doesn't stop people from bringing up the mic ratings though.

 

[hex]

On the same token, not everybody felt that way about I Am. A lot of people felt it was one of his best. That's not saying most folks did (it's just as erroneous to assume that most hated it though). At best, I Am had mixed reception.

Same goes for Illmatic. Not everybody felt or feels the same way about that album either. Not saying that a lot of people feel its wack, but there's many who don't share the opinion that its GOAT status as well. Doesn't stop people from bringing up the mic ratings though.

No offense to the dude that brought them up, but most people that talk about mic ratings wasn't even around back then.

There's a reason The Source retroactively changed the ratings of a gang of albums. Because how the albums were really received, didn't match what The Source said. If The Source was some indisputable authority then there's no reason to do that.

And a gang of people that got into Nas post-"IWW" was mainstream and/or casual rap fans. Not saying their opinion is completely irrelevant but it didn't dictate anything, at the time.

Fred.

 

[Ukbrotha]

I would take Q-Tip exec producing a Nas album over anyone else on the planet.

 

[SpacelySprockets]

a whole album of nas over repetitive ass "maybach music pt 10" sounding beats aint gonna sound as epic as u think

 

[JustCKing]

a whole album of nas over repetitive ass "maybach music pt 10" sounding beats aint gonna sound as epic as u think

The music that Nas has done with Ross and J.U.S.T.I.C.E League sound nothing like anything from the "Maybach Music" series. I mean,

Usual Suspects
Triple Beam Dreams
Accident Murderer
Hip Hop
One of Us
Tower Heist

"No Introduction" is the only song that sounds like a "Maybach Music" Pt. whatever, and while dope, I don't think a whole album would sound like that.