Nas Untitled Album Review

For Nasir Jones, a.k.a. Nas (or NaS), after declaring for the past two years that "Hip Hop Is Dead" (which was the namesake of his late 2006 album), the mastermind rapper/street poet decided that he needed to drop an official album that would somehow put the N-word properly in perspective. So, with a light bulb over his head and controversy looming around the corner, Nas decided that an album called "N****r" would be appropriate to properly address the ills of American society. While the album name eventually had to be changed due to label politics and the lack of co-signs from music retailers and distributors, the "Untitled" album still carried the same content, while a horse-whipped picture of Mr. Jones on the front cover (with his signature N, no less--also a play on the record's former name).

Much of the album, while informative and interesting due to Nas' take on age-old issues that plague America and its use of patriotism to sweep many home-based social issues under the rug, is flawed because of Nas' disposition. Being a "street poet" as he had been called is one thing; but marketing the album as some sort of complete re-education of African American history is another. Much of Nas' interjections about Jim Crow, lynching, the Civil Rights and Black Panther Movements, welfare, drug usage and dealings, and the Reagan and Bush administrations are quick in word and lack the depth expected of someone selling the idea of a vast amount of knowledge on an album's recording. To be frank, Nas doesn't hit the mark or make his points about injustice totally clear, even having the audacity (and brutal honesty) on acknowledging that he still spends his money on super-expensive vehicles and gaudy jewelry. It just takes away from the album's supposed point--the point being that the N-word is a complicated term in defining a whole group of people who are still judged by the word and its meaning to this day, a word that goes at least three centuries back in the history of the American territory.

There are no real standout songs on the Untitled album, besides the single "Hero", which features up-and-coming singer/songwriter Keri Hilson and popular producer Polow Da Don (of Rich Boy, Fergie and Usher fame). Other songs that are notable are "Black President", which uses the sample of slain rapper 2Pac on the chorus with fellow rapper Eminem (who is credited on the song under an alias) singing "Yes we can/save the world"; Barack Obama opens the track with a snippet of a recorded speech, which serves as the song's main inspiration. "N.I.G.G.E.R. (The Slave & The Master)" was originally slated to be the album's official first single, before the album's retitling changed the plans for the song; nevertheless, it was recorded and released with a video that was popular via video hosting sites like YouTube and music site okayplayer.com.

In the end, while Nas did a noble job in getting some people to think about the history and impact that such an objectionable slur has on the "native" inhabitants of American soil, it falls short of producing a real dialogue through the music. While the album itself lacks in quality storytelling, there are some things that it can hang its hat on. One being that Nas explored using more producers to create an interesting overall sound--not that the collaborations with the (big-name) producers like DJ Green Lantern, Salaam Remi (of Amy Winehouse fame), Jay Electronica and Cool & Dre did much to inspire a very listenable album, but Nas did craft some fair songs with the aforementioned. Also, Nas is credited for creating the first true mainstream dialogue about the specificity of the N-word since the heyday of N.W.A. (N***az Wit Attitude).

If you're looking for a better alternative to Untitled, just download the free Nas mixtape "The N***** Tape"; it's a much better listen with stronger songs and content (and free).