When people say Nas "is back" what exactly do they mean?

Dooby

إن شاء الله
Joined
May 3, 2012
Messages
8,383
Reputation
-425
Daps
10,409
Nas never fell off...

Looking at lyrical content he was always solid in that department.

So the people claiming that "he is back" or overly praising LIG are bangwagon boys :manny:

People that have a hard time listening to rap unless the beats are on point :smh:

Explain ya'llselves :smugdraper:
 
Joined
May 2, 2012
Messages
67,910
Reputation
29,950
Daps
403,345
Reppin
Ft. Stewart, Ga
He's been the best lyrically since Illmatic. I guess when people say he's "back" they mean back to rapping over universally dope production. I've NEVER felt that Nas's production was lacking, however the perception on this album seems to be influenced by the singles, the Don and Nasty were bangers remiscent of Made You Look and Thiefs Theme while Daughters is a feel good type song with an important message ala I Can.

Besides that Def Jam promoted the album VERY well in comparison to his last two solo releases. This is the most in public Nas has been since Stillmatic
 

inndaskKy

Superstar
Joined
May 6, 2012
Messages
12,448
Reputation
3,105
Daps
44,769
Reppin
NULL
People usually say that Nas is terrible at selecting dope beats but the real problem has always been his hook game. When a beat is just average, it doesn't really matter much if you create a good hook and write a good song. If you're a good songwriter, you can turn a very average beat into a great song.

The problem is Nas' hooks have often been very simple or amateurish. Even on Illmatic, most of the hooks were just repeating the name of the song. Obviously, on Illmatic that doesn't bother anyone and it works well for that album.

However, on his later albums Nas has been really hit and miss. Nas is one of the best pure spitters of all time easily but he's not quite a natural songwriter like Pac, Scarface etc. I think they are better songwriters overall though when Nas does stay focused he obviously writes some of the best songs in hip hop too. The reason for that is just the way he writes his lyrics. Nas often jumps from topic to topic in a single verse without necessarily sticking to one theme. It's like he doesn't really know where he's gonna go with his verse and just tries to follow up one dope image with another, even if they are not necessarily related. You kind of have to read the coherence into the songs which can be quite a fun exercise but which can be annoying when there seems to be very little (which is basically what Jay accused Nas of doing on Takeover and Blueprint 2).

It's a problem that happens to a lot of people who are more lyrical, their content kind of switches up more because the content follows the rhymes. That's why rappers with simpler rhymes like Ice-T, Ice Cube, Slick Rick, Easy-E etc. are able to write more straightforward songs and stick to the same topic. Nas takes more of an approach of conjuring up some sort of imagery which is more poetic but also less focused usually.

That's why he has trouble writing hooks that describe what the song is about unless he's doing conceptual songs which are usually his most revered songs.

The Lost Tapes and Life Is Good are as good and popular as they are because Nas' songwriting abilities seem more focused and the hooks are more on point.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents.
 

pon

All Star
Joined
Jun 11, 2012
Messages
2,216
Reputation
385
Daps
7,050
Reppin
NULL
People usually say that Nas is terrible at selecting dope beats but the real problem has always been his hook game. When a beat is just average, it doesn't really matter much if you create a good hook and write good song. If you're a good songwriter, you can turn a very average beat into a great song.

The problem is Nas' hooks have often been very simple or amateurish. Even on Illmatic, most of the hooks were just repeating the name of the song. Obviously, on Illmatic that doesn't bother anyone and it works well for that album.

However, on his later albums Nas has been really hit and miss. Nas is one of the best pure spitters of all time easily but he's not quite a natural songwriter like Pac, Scarface etc. I think they are better songwriters overall though when Nas does stay focused he obviously writes some of the best songs in hip hop too. The reason for that is just the way he writes his lyrics. Nas often jumps from topic to topic in a single verse without necessarily sticking to one theme. It's like he doesn't really know where he's gonna go with his verse and just tries to follow up one dope image with another, even if they are not necessarily related. You kind of have to read the coherence into the songs which can be quite a fun exercise but which can be annoying when there seems to be very little (which is what Jay accused Nas of doing on Takeover and Blueprint 2).

It's a problem that happens to a lot of people who are more lyrical, their content kind of switches up more because the content follows the rhymes. That's why rappers with simpler rhymes like Ice-T, Ice Cube, Slick Rick, Easy-E etc. are able to write more straightforward songs and stick to the same topic. Nas takes more of an approach of conjuring up some sort of imagery which is more poetic but also less focused usually.

That's why he has trouble writing hooks that describe what the song is about unless he's doing conceptual songs which are usually his most revered songs.

The Lost Tapes and Life Is Good are as good and popular as they are because Nas songwriting abilities seem more focused and the hooks are more on point.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents.

I'm a big nas fan and I totally agree with your sentiments
 
Joined
Jun 29, 2012
Messages
1,752
Reputation
0
Daps
1,735
Reppin
NULL
do you realize that only Nas stans feel like everything he drops is classic? hahahaha. people who aren't stans, as lyrically murderous as nas always is, feel pretty damn :snooze: about most of his albums. this LIG is different.
 

up in here

Superstar
Joined
May 9, 2012
Messages
7,689
Reputation
2,396
Daps
20,148
Reppin
NULL
basically what they mean is that they have been frontin on nas and they now see the error of their ways but they are too proud to admit it.
 

Harry B

Veteran
Joined
May 20, 2012
Messages
32,792
Reputation
-897
Daps
66,292
He's been the best lyrically since Illmatic. I guess when people say he's "back" they mean back to rapping over universally dope production. I've NEVER felt that Nas's production was lacking, however the perception on this album seems to be influenced by the singles, the Don and Nasty were bangers remiscent of Made You Look and Thiefs Theme while Daughters is a feel good type song with an important message ala I Can.

Besides that Def Jam promoted the album VERY well in comparison to his last two solo releases. This is the most in public Nas has been since Stillmatic

:laugh: Were you even a Nas fan when Hiphop is dead dropped? That promotion could make Maino move units. And Untitled was also everywhere, a lot was due to the attention seeking value of the titles but def jam spun it well. Besides that Nas is the only cat on Def Jam except the two bosses Jay and Hov that basically are their own a&r:s musically.


As far as Nas being back I think they mean that he's back to spitting that shyt. The previous two albums he wasn't spitting that shyt, he was spitting creatively and shyt like that instead, btw Untitled >> every album since God's son.
 

DANJ!

Superstar
Joined
May 8, 2012
Messages
8,608
Reputation
4,077
Daps
27,946
Reppin
Baltimore
LIG... it's just different.

Yeah, Nas was never terrible lyrically. But his music hasn't exeactly been settin' the world on fire in a looooong time. People can say it's about the lyrics and not the beats and all that, but yeah I kinda need both to be on point. There's lots of great lyricists with halfass albums, and Nas is no exception.

And from being very much out of the loop for the last few years, he's definitely "back".

He's just way more focused on this album than he's been for the last 10 years.And it's good to get a Nas album that fully delivers. It's been a while.

It's just... different.
 

Versa

American Weirdo
Joined
May 23, 2012
Messages
18,143
Reputation
4,501
Daps
56,143
Reppin
Jersey
I think when people say he's back they mean he's back both musically and lyrically. Not too many people would tell you HHID or Untitled are top 4 Nas efforts, but you hear that all the time with LIG so far.
 

Mike Otherz

All Star
Joined
Jun 7, 2012
Messages
5,237
Reputation
-175
Daps
10,318
Reppin
NULL
haha i saw Chris Rock say Nas is back on twitter.

i feel they just mean they can fk with every track on the album or at least most tracks. Some Nas albums you might fk with just one or two songs, then Nas go leftfield and lose you. also production Nas has had has been hit and miss.

I feel like whatever it that makes Nas universally seen as great, he achieved it consistently with this album. its not that he lost his lyrics, its that his lyricism is exciting as well as intelligent and concise on LIG when sometimes its deep but kinda boring and rambling.
 
Joined
May 2, 2012
Messages
67,910
Reputation
29,950
Daps
403,345
Reppin
Ft. Stewart, Ga
:laugh: Were you even a Nas fan when Hiphop is dead dropped? That promotion could make Maino move units. And Untitled was also everywhere, a lot was due to the attention seeking value of the titles but def jam spun it well. Besides that Nas is the only cat on Def Jam except the two bosses Jay and Hov that basically are their own a&r:s musically.


As far as Nas being back I think they mean that he's back to spitting that shyt. The previous two albums he wasn't spitting that shyt, he was spitting creatively and shyt like that instead, btw Untitled >> every album since God's son.



nikka don't try me. I brought TWO copies of both Hip Hop Is Dead and Untitled the day they dropped. I'm well aware of the amount of promotion that went into both albums and most of the media attention went to the titles of the respective albums. They were extremely controversial album titles that sparked a ton of debate. Def Jam didn't even really have to do a whole lot. With Life Is Good Nas was being pushed heavily as far back as last year when Nasty dropped. The Nasty video was considered a "big" event with him going back to QB and shooting it. Then in April he had the Behibd The Music special, he was pushed through NFL Draft, Performed at the ESPY's, The Don video is probably his best budgeted video in YEARS. Def Jam really endorsed him as the premier artist he IS this time around instead of letting album titles cause most of the attention
 

Soymuscle Mike

Formerly known as Vincenzo Corleone
Supporter
Joined
Jun 6, 2012
Messages
11,980
Reputation
5,193
Daps
59,496
Reppin
Sweetlake City
People say it because when Nas ain't dropping shyt it's like there's a vacuum in the game.

Which is why he's the GOAT :lawd:
 

E-MAC

Rookie
Joined
May 26, 2012
Messages
72
Reputation
0
Daps
59
Reppin
NULL
They don't mean anything by it because it's a false statement, Nas has never gone anywhere he's always been on point with his lyrics and music. But unlike alot of artist he can step back from the game and let it breathe until he drops a new album. When that happens and he drops his next project, it's almost like a wake up call to alot of people saying i'm back and ready to own the game again.
 
Top