Nas Could Have Been the King of Hip Hop

Threyev · 05-19-2009, 05:27 PM

Anybody feel the same?

Illmatic is one of the dopest albums in the history of the genre, and is pretty damn universal. even people who stick mostly with mainstream tend to like this album at the least, and old school heads hail it as possibly the best ever.

nas had everything going for him: a smooth flow, crazy lyricism, an attitude of his own, street persona, etc etc.

producers were lining up to give him the hottest beats, and he could've been on top of the game, and the greatest ever.

but something happened. and nas went suddenly from:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKjj4hk0pV4&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPkuOxeDRHc
to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2vv_lmeP8E
where he was trying WAY too hard, and then:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoEnHC8ddVw
finally, he became a fucking idiot with gimmicky album names:

FacilDinero · 05-19-2009, 09:00 PM

I Wanna Neg Yu And Rep Yu At The Same Time

....Imma Really Neg Yu And Then Press Props

1. I Agree All The Way Up Till Greatest Ever....
2. Nas Is The King Of Hip-Hop....
3. Hip-Hop Is Dead = Near Classic... 4.5/5....Not Wack At All
4. Untitled = A 4/5...It Wasn't That iLL But It Was A Real Good Album

Threyev · 05-20-2009, 03:44 PM

I thought Untitled was wack as fuck, but that wasn't the point of the final note. it was that he keeps using gimmicky premises with his albums and their titles to get himself some publicity.

also, he's tried to be more intelligent and more commercial, and fails at both. he says stupid shit when talking about the government, and that song "hero" was one of the worst of the year.

Snapper · 05-21-2009, 11:10 AM

WTF Are You Talking About... 'If I Ruled The World' Was Dope...

All His Albums Besides 'Street's Disciple' & 'Nastradamus' Are Atleast 3.5/5's.

Baller · 05-21-2009, 04:26 PM

I'm gonna have to disagree with you...

Illmatic is the best album ever...
If I ruled the world is dope beyond words...
HHID gimmicky? How so? He wasn't the first one to say it...
Everything said on that album was real on that subject...
Untitled was good for the most part and Hero was nice...

Komplex · 05-21-2009, 06:47 PM

I think people put way too much pepper on Illmatic. As dope as it was, the album lacked any sort of direction or steady concept.

As an album, I prefer It Was Written. His flow got much better, the production was more polished than Illmatic, and he had way better concepts and dope storytelling tracks (I Gave You Power, The Setup, Shootouts, The Message, etc.). and dude......If I Ruled The World is one of the dopest and most creative Mainstream singles ever so I don't know what your knock is.

After that, he has Stillmatic and Lost Tapes..which can both be argued as classics. I AM minus 2 or 3 songs is a very dope album as well. I also liked HHID and Untitled alot. Even on his bad albums (God's Son, Street's Disciple, Nastradamus), he still had insane lyrics and stayed creative.

The fact that people put such unreal expectations on Nas shows you that he's THAT much better than everybody else. Musically, nobody gets the type of criticism he does.

Threyev · 05-21-2009, 08:23 PM

nah i really think if i ruled the world was an example of him trying way too hard to be something that he isn't. On illmatic and it was written, he was dropping primarily street shit, with references and such to the world around him. then he tried to get way too cerebral and intelligent, and started talking about shit he knows nothing about.

i know he didn't invent the phrase "hip-hop is dead," but that's a gimmicky ass title. it grabs attention instantly, just like he wanted, just like "******" did. it's stupid. then he comes out on hhid and almost gets his shit back, but there are weak beats and once again he strives too hard to be epic and grand, rather than be who he is.

then on "untitled" he dropped bullshit (except for the first track). who didn't know fox news was racist? that's about as controversial as a late-night tv show making a bush joke. who was impressed with that fried-chicken metaphor? he spits tired things and tries to sound WAY too smart - he dropped out in the fucking 8th grade - and fails.

that's my feeling.

Komplex · 05-21-2009, 09:10 PM

What was he trying to be on If I Ruled The World? It was a concept song where he was imagining a life with no troubles. Doing a concept song (something he's been doing since his first album) is trying too hard? Nas has had a high-level vocabulary and been on an intellectual tip since his debut. That's always been him.

I also disagree with you about the beats on HHID. Production-wise, I'd say that was one of Nas's better albums. Listen to Money over Bullshit, Hustlers, Black Republican, Who Killed It, Hold Down The Block, Can't Kill Me, etc........you can't tell me those aren't dope beats.

OneManArmy · 05-21-2009, 11:12 PM

If i Ruled the World is one of his best songs. :/

Baller · 05-22-2009, 02:22 AM

I'm gonna have to disagree with you on God's son Komplex...shit was ill. Take out Hey Nas and Zone Out I consider it a near classic

Komplex · 05-22-2009, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baller

I'm gonna have to disagree with you on God's son Komplex...shit was ill. Take out Hey Nas and Zone Out I consider it a near classic

To be honest, it's my second personal favorite Nas album after It Was Written but most people consider it one of his weaker albums (which I totally disagree with). but yeah, I was just trying to present an unbiased argument and not come off as one of those stans who think every one of their favorite rapper's albums is a classic.

June7 · 05-22-2009, 04:50 PM

If i ruled the world was a real ass track, i still bump that like it just came out

Threyev · 05-22-2009, 07:00 PM

i guess i'm the only one who feels this way. i just think he completely fell off, and now is real weak.

05-19-2009, 05:27 PM	#1
Threyev Join Date: May 2006 Location: The Bronx Posts: 553 Repped: 82 Repped 46 Times in 29 Posts Neg Reps: 3 Neg Repped at 5 Times in 5 Posts	Nas Could Have Been the King of Hip Hop Nas Could Have Been the King of Hip Hop Anybody feel the same? Illmatic is one of the dopest albums in the history of the genre, and is pretty damn universal. even people who stick mostly with mainstream tend to like this album at the least, and old school heads hail it as possibly the best ever. nas had everything going for him: a smooth flow, crazy lyricism, an attitude of his own, street persona, etc etc. producers were lining up to give him the hottest beats, and he could've been on top of the game, and the greatest ever. but something happened. and nas went suddenly from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKjj4hk0pV4&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPkuOxeDRHc to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2vv_lmeP8E where he was trying WAY too hard, and then: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoEnHC8ddVw finally, he became a fucking idiot with gimmicky album names: Last edited by Threyev; 05-19-2009 at 05:31 PM.

05-19-2009, 09:00 PM	#2
FacilDinero EasyMoney™ Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Queens Posts: 3,943 Repped: 973 Repped 746 Times in 455 Posts Neg Reps: 262 Neg Repped at 231 Times in 158 Posts	I Wanna Neg Yu And Rep Yu At The Same Time ....Imma Really Neg Yu And Then Press Props 1. I Agree All The Way Up Till Greatest Ever.... 2. Nas Is The King Of Hip-Hop.... 3. Hip-Hop Is Dead = Near Classic... 4.5/5....Not Wack At All 4. Untitled = A 4/5...It Wasn't That iLL But It Was A Real Good Album __________________ Hawks: 11-3

05-21-2009, 06:47 PM	#6
Komplex Poetic Swagger Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 1,164 Repped: 117 Repped 99 Times in 50 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 2 Times in 2 Posts	I think people put way too much pepper on Illmatic. As dope as it was, the album lacked any sort of direction or steady concept. As an album, I prefer It Was Written. His flow got much better, the production was more polished than Illmatic, and he had way better concepts and dope storytelling tracks (I Gave You Power, The Setup, Shootouts, The Message, etc.). and dude......If I Ruled The World is one of the dopest and most creative Mainstream singles ever so I don't know what your knock is. After that, he has Stillmatic and Lost Tapes..which can both be argued as classics. I AM minus 2 or 3 songs is a very dope album as well. I also liked HHID and Untitled alot. Even on his bad albums (God's Son, Street's Disciple, Nastradamus), he still had insane lyrics and stayed creative. The fact that people put such unreal expectations on Nas shows you that he's THAT much better than everybody else. Musically, nobody gets the type of criticism he does. __________________ "Set up to be a loser but was made to be a winner If they paint Hip Hop I bet my face be in the picture If they wrote a Rap Bible bet my name be in the scriptures If shorty say I'm her Idol, bet her face be in my zipper"-Joell Ortiz

05-21-2009, 09:10 PM	#8
Komplex Poetic Swagger Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 1,164 Repped: 117 Repped 99 Times in 50 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 2 Times in 2 Posts	What was he trying to be on If I Ruled The World? It was a concept song where he was imagining a life with no troubles. Doing a concept song (something he's been doing since his first album) is trying too hard? Nas has had a high-level vocabulary and been on an intellectual tip since his debut. That's always been him. I also disagree with you about the beats on HHID. Production-wise, I'd say that was one of Nas's better albums. Listen to Money over Bullshit, Hustlers, Black Republican, Who Killed It, Hold Down The Block, Can't Kill Me, etc........you can't tell me those aren't dope beats. __________________ "Set up to be a loser but was made to be a winner If they paint Hip Hop I bet my face be in the picture If they wrote a Rap Bible bet my name be in the scriptures If shorty say I'm her Idol, bet her face be in my zipper"-Joell Ortiz Last edited by Komplex; 05-21-2009 at 09:12 PM.

05-21-2009, 11:12 PM	#9
OneManArmy Super Moderatоr Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: enecS eht no kcaB Posts: 10,944 Repped: 2,664 Repped 673 Times in 356 Posts Neg Reps: 150 Neg Repped at 48 Times in 44 Posts	If i Ruled the World is one of his best songs. :/ __________________

05-20-2009, 03:44 PM	#3
Threyev Join Date: May 2006 Location: The Bronx Posts: 553 Repped: 82 Repped 46 Times in 29 Posts Neg Reps: 3 Neg Repped at 5 Times in 5 Posts	I thought Untitled was wack as fuck, but that wasn't the point of the final note. it was that he keeps using gimmicky premises with his albums and their titles to get himself some publicity. also, he's tried to be more intelligent and more commercial, and fails at both. he says stupid shit when talking about the government, and that song "hero" was one of the worst of the year.

05-21-2009, 11:10 AM	#4
Snapper ◆ㅣㄴㄴㅆ∂┳┃¢◇ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: England. Posts: 5,621 Repped: 1,867 Repped 820 Times in 351 Posts Neg Reps: 102 Neg Repped at 71 Times in 56 Posts	WTF Are You Talking About... 'If I Ruled The World' Was Dope... All His Albums Besides 'Street's Disciple' & 'Nastradamus' Are Atleast 3.5/5's.

05-21-2009, 04:26 PM	#5
Baller Vulture Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: NM Posts: 3,098 Repped: 111 Repped 264 Times in 149 Posts Neg Reps: 96 Neg Repped at 61 Times in 39 Posts	I'm gonna have to disagree with you... Illmatic is the best album ever... If I ruled the world is dope beyond words... HHID gimmicky? How so? He wasn't the first one to say it... Everything said on that album was real on that subject... Untitled was good for the most part and Hero was nice...

05-21-2009, 08:23 PM	#7
Threyev Join Date: May 2006 Location: The Bronx Posts: 553 Repped: 82 Repped 46 Times in 29 Posts Neg Reps: 3 Neg Repped at 5 Times in 5 Posts	nah i really think if i ruled the world was an example of him trying way too hard to be something that he isn't. On illmatic and it was written, he was dropping primarily street shit, with references and such to the world around him. then he tried to get way too cerebral and intelligent, and started talking about shit he knows nothing about. i know he didn't invent the phrase "hip-hop is dead," but that's a gimmicky ass title. it grabs attention instantly, just like he wanted, just like "******" did. it's stupid. then he comes out on hhid and almost gets his shit back, but there are weak beats and once again he strives too hard to be epic and grand, rather than be who he is. then on "untitled" he dropped bullshit (except for the first track). who didn't know fox news was racist? that's about as controversial as a late-night tv show making a bush joke. who was impressed with that fried-chicken metaphor? he spits tired things and tries to sound WAY too smart - he dropped out in the fucking 8th grade - and fails. that's my feeling.

05-22-2009, 02:22 AM	#10
Baller Vulture Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: NM Posts: 3,098 Repped: 111 Repped 264 Times in 149 Posts Neg Reps: 96 Neg Repped at 61 Times in 39 Posts	I'm gonna have to disagree with you on God's son Komplex...shit was ill. Take out Hey Nas and Zone Out I consider it a near classic

05-22-2009, 04:50 PM	#12
June7 aka ...HI HATER Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: T.O Posts: 3,569 Repped: 606 Repped 1,306 Times in 378 Posts Neg Reps: 104 Neg Repped at 76 Times in 66 Posts	If i ruled the world was a real ass track, i still bump that like it just came out __________________ First Place Is Often The Worst Place But Fuck It I Love Here I Call It My Birth Place - Drake

05-22-2009, 07:00 PM	#13
Threyev Join Date: May 2006 Location: The Bronx Posts: 553 Repped: 82 Repped 46 Times in 29 Posts Neg Reps: 3 Neg Repped at 5 Times in 5 Posts	i guess i'm the only one who feels this way. i just think he completely fell off, and now is real weak.

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