i'll probably get a good amount of flack for this, but i've listened to this album multiple times and i could never really get into it. maybe because i was never too big on 90s hip hop, but every time i listened to this album i just felt like i was meandering and nothing really grabbed me. i would agree that it's overrated.
really, in terms of describing urban inner city life, i think Cannibal Ox's The Cold Vein expressed it with much more of a visceral way that hits right where you feel. compared to that, Nas' way of descriptive rapping falls short.
even so, i do respect its influence and i can understand why people at the time and even now can see it as greatness. it's just that it didn't grab me, is all.
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