God's Son
label: sony

producers: nas, eminem, salaam 'the chameleon' remi, ron browz, alchemist, chucky thompson, alicia keys, others.

guests: bravehearts, kelis, claudette ortiz of city high, 2pac, alicia keys, lake, j. phownix.
year of release: 2002
website: godsson.net
 
Maybe it really was the death of Nas' mother that had him move away from his thug persona. Maybe it was all the beefs that went too far. Whatever the case, this Nas is more Nasty then 'tradamus. What also means that Nas is good again, is excellent again, lyrically very strong, what then makes this album only struggle from mediocre production, with only few beats being good or better. But maybe we should start from the get go:
There's still the street tales on here, like the gritty "Warrior Song" that features Alicia Keys on the production and hook, or "Get Down" the Nas' produced song with the effective James Brown loop. But also on "Revolutionary Warfare" where Lake glitches with a confusing Hitler reference and "Zone Out" featuring the Bravehearts. And while this beat here is better beat than the horrible "Oochie Wally", the cats still struggle to find anything worthwhile to say. What maybe is due to, as Nas says himself: "I'm six cribs deep, six bank accounts in six countries / naw I'm lying, who gives a fuck, that's so tired". And you get these little quips dismissing the flossing past throughout the album: On "Mastermind" Nas says: "I live a clean life, I don't even steal cable / I speak for myself: my niggas will slay you / lucky us, this rap done worked out fine / FEDs, check me out, it's no dirt y'all find / this king of New York shit only last 15 minutes". On the club friendlier "Hey Nas", he speaks on his search for a women, his intent to take it slow and that he needs "a queen not a hoe". And not much more, so he says on "The Cross": "but a Dutch, a bitch to fuck / a six, a truck, some guns to bust".

tracklisting
1. Get Down
2. The Cross
3. Made You Look
4. Last Real Nigga Alive
5. Zone Out feat. Bravehearts
6. Hey Nas feat. Kelis & Claudette Ortiz of City High
7. I Can

8. Book Of Rhymes
9. Thugz Mansion (N.Y.) feat. 2Pac & J. Phoenix
10. Mastermind
11. Warrior Song feat. Alicia Keys
12. Revolutionary Warfare feat. Lake
13. Dance
14. Heaven
This Eminem produced beat uses regular crappy Japan video game instruments that sound bad minus the usual energy and epic bigness. Nas ends his Rap & Bullshit area as he says: "I changed it up from that pop shit; it's hard to see R&B / rappers arguably started fucking up the game horribly", probably referring as much to the decline of rap as well as R&B. And further "y'all can keep y'all weak beats from your corny producers / there's a new king of the streets, you're gonna get used to / I was the old king of the streets, that y'all once hated / but now I reinvented myself, and y'all all waited".
But why this brisk change? The answer partially lies in "Dance", the song where Nas speaks on the death of his mother. But the answer mainly lies in the track "Heaven", where he wonders about the willingness, if not desire to follow his mother, concluding "hell it hurts just to fathom the thoughts wishing that I fled the earth", ending the track with Nas speaking and reminding us of all the great things in life. As he does himself, in only somewhat abstract ways when he dreams of luxury and a "Thugz Mansion (N.Y.)". But he makes sure that these are fantasies, and not flossing, although they should be, because Nas mainly desires a place of peace. As much for his body as for his soul, that he clears on "Last Real Nigga Alive", where all the beefs with everyone get mentioned, with Nas deescalating them though. Because he's addressing them in earnestness, and a content strength.
Nas clears literally his closet when he digs out old rhymes on "Book Of Rhymes", where he looks through the binder to never having to do them again, to not have to spit those styles and thematic anymore. And he criticizes himself strongly, despite some of the verses being ill: "soul on ice death threats given by clowns / I guess living is prison when you live around clowns / I'm hexed cursed worse I been blessed first / I thought I was abnormal cause I would overcome any tasked called to / so there it is: I'ma prince, I'ma get slain / some do minor shit swear they on the top of they game". Instead he spends the time giving actual advice to the children (and some adults that still don't get it) on "I Can": "act your age, don't pretend to be / older than you are, give yourself time to grow / you thinking he can give you wealth, but so / young boys, you can use a lot of help, you know / you thinking life's all about smoking weed and ice / you don't wanna be my age and can't read and right". And he gives us a chance to dance and get buckwild with "Made You Look" the first single and another proof why sampling is so dope and needed, as Salaam Remi (of Fugees remixes fame) takes "Apache" of all breaks and chops it up incredibly, making this one of the best songs of 2002, with Nas going: "here's the anthem / put your hand up that you shoot with, count your loot wit' / push the pool stick in your new crib, same hand that you hoop with / swing around like you stupid". Simple pleasures of a humbled man.
And that's maybe the best word for Nas: humbled. He really changed, or better he came full cycle, completing the first circle in his career. So this seems to be another case of that it unfortunately needs a tragedy for the humans to have to open their eyes. Why ever Nas is again very good may be secondary to many listeners. For them it only counts that he again puts on the prophet shoes that were put in front of him after "Illmatic". And this time it really looks that he grew into them.
review: tadah
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