For a long time I said he needed a color man. A Flava Flav.

90% of my appreciation for Nas is Illmatic. The mixes on that album are really cool. I do get where you’re coming from. Not interested in opening up a hip hop war right now but a lot of the time when I check out the hip hop you recommend I feel like there’s too much Nas in it actually. I think a lot of the hip hop you like is really influenced by Nas but that doesn’t mean you have to like him yourself (or even that I’m right)

Ja his influence runs through a lot of what I enjoy. I'm probably just attracted to the more modern production. I do think that it's easy to get hung up on influences and miss what makes newer artists unique too.

I’ve decided I want to unite the workers at our restaurant and demand that everyone who works on average at least 20 hours a week be given the same health care as county workers with no employee contribution. I think we need to fight for our rights at the local level. Pay up or the place shuts down. Watch me get fired. So ****ing what? This is how **** has to get done.

I totally understand all of that. He had more punch on later albums, but was also much less interesting as an MC and going for songs he was hoping would get on the radio. But Illmatic is definitely pretty dry and undynamic in a lot of ways, but his flow is crack on that album. It's got a rhythm that circumvents a need for more sonically diverse sounds by virtue of its less showy but totally well-crafted flow. I can absolutely see why some might see it as boring but it's low key engaging as **** in a way that very very few MC's can match. At the very least you have to admit that not many but an MC on Nas' level could have released an album like Illmatic that was as good as Illmatic.

Seriously

Show some respect :bringit:

This is the perfect example of how Nas could be a great pop rapper but compared to Illmatic it's dumbed down and far less pure. Illmatic is just the bare roots of what an MC does but done perfectly. Stillmatic is gimmicky by comparison.

I freaked out the first time I heard this track.

There are hip-hop concerts with seats? lol

Nas isn't lame but I can't be arsed with Hip Hop any more. Feel like I've heard it all before, nothing I hear excites me any more.

The only thing that could get me interested again is a new Outkast album or Andre 3000 solo album (a proper one).

I felt all kinds of wrong today

Unstable and angry

Pulsating through me