I think so. More than any other album (and I love a bunch of Nas' albums), this is the one that "does it" for me. From beginning to end, this is just a beautiful album. The term "lyricist" gets thrown around way too often, but here Nas sounds like a true poet. His flow and delivery are relaxed and very natural, but he still sounds full of passion and energy. The theme/content is undoubtedly the best in any of his albums.
Production wise, I think this is my favorite along with HHID. The production is consistent throughout the album. There are many memorable beats, and having Nas work with 2 of my favorite producers (Alchemist and Eminem) was like a dream come true.
There are just so many excellent songs and concepts in this album it's hard to list the best. "Thugz Mansion" is a fucking powerful song with incredible verses from Nas and 2Pac. "Last Ni*ga alive" is like a more mature "Ether". "Dance" is a deep, emotional song that manages to be very uplifting even with the sad theme.
It's hard to find faults with this album. Probably the only song that's not very strong is "Zone Out" and that's because Jungle, like always, has a crap verse. Other than that, this album is near perfect.
I had this album for a while, but since I loved it so much, I had to go and buy an official copy. Looked on every shop and couldn't find it, so I got it online and have been listening to it almost religiously.
Discuss.
















